<span class="htext1">Trailblazers:</span> Connecting well: ICICI Bank

The brand brought about the revolution of privatised banking in India, mainly on the back of technology

Banking, for the major part of 20th century, was process-centric essentially meant for 'safe-keeping' of one's hard-earned money. The landscape was dominated by nationalised banks with customers who have been banking with them over generations. Banks with limited transaction hours were crowded with queues of people waiting to deposit or withdraw their money. One had to travel to the primary or base branch to conduct all transactions. For the salaried class, banking was a Saturday activity and for the other working class, banking was a morning activity. This underwent a sea-change in the final decade of the last century.

As the Indian economy opened up in the '90s, strong economic growth propelled by the knowledge economy and the favourable demographic profile spurred consumption demand. For the financial services sector, this meant providing retail customers access to the full array of financial services products, ranging from credit to insurance.

It was during that time that ICICI transformed its business from a single-product, project finance company to a diversified financial services group offering a wide variety of products and services - both directly and through a number of subsidiaries, like ICICI Bank. As the Indian economy continued to transform the operating environment, ICICI merged into ICICI Bank.

With its heritage of over 50 years and its focus on customer-centricity, ICICI Bank re-defined the banking landscape. ICICI Bank leveraged on technology to create innovative solutions and introduced 'anytime, anywhere' banking through its multiple touchpoints - ATMs, phone banking, internet banking, call centres - and extended banking hours - 8 AM to 8 PM. According to experts in the financial space, currently, only around 25 per cent of all transactions take place through bank branches and 75 per cent through other delivery channels. This reduction in routine transactions through the branch has enabled ICICI Bank to aggressively use its branch network as customer acquisition units. ICICI Bank positioned itself as technology-savvy customer friendly bank. After an intense evaluation of several global vendors, ICICI Bank identified Infosys as its technology partner and selected Finacle, the universal banking solution from Infosys, as its core banking platform.

24x7 and instant banking had become a reality. These multiple channels have today become conversational language and have brought banking to the Indian consumer's fingertips.

ICICI Bank understood the growing aspirations of the Indian retail consumers and sought to partner them in realisation of their dreams by providing access to credit at affordable rates.

The brand, through its customised solutions has helped small and medium enterprises - the backbone of the Indian economy - in their growth. With its innovative solutions for international mergers and acquisitions, ICICI Bank has partnered the Indian corporates in realising their global aspirations.

ICICI Bank's continued endeavour to reach out to the Indian consumers across customer-segments and geographies has manifested in its global footprint across 19 geographies servicing the financial requirements of the growing Indian diaspora.

ICICI Bank's communication strategy at various stages reflected the stage of growth of the brand. The first campaign of ICICI Bank 'Adding a little magic to your life' was aimed at introducing ICICI as a retail financial institution. This communication sought to break the perception of banking and money being complicated and tedious and focussed on how ICICI Bank, with its customer-centricity and technology as an enabler, could simplify the financial life of an average Indian consumer.

After introducing the bank to the customers, the next task was to create an emotional connect with the customers. The brand campaigns highlighted ICICI Bank's role in offering a range of financial products and services to meet the requirements of the consumers. The Hum Hain Na! series strengthened the brand-consumer connect.

Having attained a somewhat leadership position in the private banking space, ICICI Bank's communication strategy steered towards customer education and category development. The bank started the 'Safe Banking' series to educate customers on best practices for banking safely and the 'Customer Education' series to educate customers on the details of different products and offerings.

As India transforms into one of the key economic players of the future, the brand aims to partner the country's growth by the delivery of quality financial services. Its offerings span investment banking for large companies, technology-driven transaction banking for small enterprises, conveniently accessible retail financial services and innovative solutions for rural India insurance solutions to mitigate a range of risks for individuals and businesses and investment solutions for managing and enhancing wealth.