Being Shah Rukh: SRK reveals his soul in ICICI’s new commercial

In a new TVC for ICICI’s newly launched division, Global Private Clients, which is targeted at high net worth individuals, the actor and brand ambassador, who’s an HNI himself, talks about what drives him

ICICI Group Global Private Clients (GPC), a division of ICICI Bank which offers investment solutions to high net worth individuals (HNIs) in India and abroad, was launched in India in April.

GPC was earlier known as ICICI Bank Private Banking. However, in April, the brand was aligned globally and a single global brand, ICICI Group Global Private Clients, was launched to ensure uniform client experience.

GPC is the ICICI Group’s premium offering with an entry threshold of $1 million. The service is different from retail banking because it offers personalized service, a relationship manager, new advanced products and customised investment solutions.

Opportunities to work with HNIs in the Indian market are growing fast. This is evident from the statistics. In terms of growth in number of HNIs, India (at 20 per cent) is second only to Singapore (21.8 per cent); China lags behind at 6.8 per cent per annum. Many reports also peg the present number of high net worth individuals in India at 100,000. ICICI claims to work currently with 2,500 high net worth families globally, of which 1,900 are from India. The bank plans to add another 1,000 such families to its roster this fiscal.

Discussing the target audience for this service, Sevantika Bhandari, head, marketing, GPC, says, “The target group is male, age 30+, SEC A++, having upwards of $1 million net investments with ICICI Bank. He is ‘successful’, not ‘on the path to success’. He is a global citizen who is aware of global trends in the areas of finance, general information and lifestyle. He is an expert in his field, be it textiles, diamonds, manufacturing or a corporate profile. He is in a leadership position, be it in an organisation or in his own business. And he has experienced the luxuries of the world and is comfortable in most global settings.”

The media plan targeting this top-end audience had to be charted meticulously. Jai Lala, general manager, MindShare Mumbai, which handles the ICICI Group’s media planning, says, “We looked at demographic and psychographic targeting and profiled accordingly. We are using niche TV channels in a mix of genres like business, news, movie and infotainment channels.” He lists some names: NDTV, CNBC, STAR Movies and The History Channel.

Lala explains that it’s a mainly TV driven campaign, with print being used sparingly – only business, sports and general news publications like The Economist, Golf Digest and Newsweek. The Economic Times is the only newspaper being used.

How do they plan to target the non-English speaking audience? Lala affirms that a large number of Indian HNIs are non-English speaking. They will be reached through television channels which are also available in Hindi, such as Discovery Hindi and CNBC Awaaz. Publications won’t play a big role here. He explains, “For other campaigns too, normally, we look at TV and dailies first, which are a priority. Then we look at radio and outdoor and then at magazines. In magazines, we first look at English magazines because there aren’t many Hindi magazines targeting men, except India Today Hindi. Thus, there aren’t many options. If you want to target women, there are many more options in Hindi magazines.”

Keeping in mind the target group, the television commercial has been given an upmarket feel and features ICICI’s brand ambassador, Hindi film actor Shah Rukh Khan. The TVC, which presents a rarely seen introspective side of Khan, opens with him seated in his study, wondering what exactly it is that drives him. His musings evolve into a passionate monologue, which he concludes by declaring that the human drive cannot be understood, it has to be felt. He says, “Is it the obsession to be unique, the desire to be second to none? I don’t know what drives me. I can’t explain it, but I can feel it. When I walk under the lights, when the camera comes on, I can feel it. Every moment I live.” The ad ends with the message and tagline, ‘ICICI Group Global Private Clients: Life on Your Terms’.

The campaign has been created by DraftFCB Ulka. Haresh Moorjani and RMV Simha have worked on the creative side of the campaign. The key insight behind the campaign is that a successful individual is not driven by wealth or power. He is propelled by an urge that is so powerful and unique that it cannot be defined, it can only be experienced.

The print campaign, too, features Khan in his study, with each ad carrying a different phrase, like ‘Things happen when you listen to your inner voice’, ‘Leaders are led by their instincts’, ‘For men who dream with their eyes wide open’.

Bhandari of ICICI says, “The brief to the agency was multifold: to create a communication which successful individuals will identify with; to illustrate to clients our understanding of what makes them successful; and to create a distinctively up-market and differentiated imagery for ICICI Group Global Private Clients.”

Haresh Moorjani, creative director, DraftFCB Ulka, says, “We were talking to high net worth individuals, and you cannot talk or sell things to such people. You have to create empathy. You have to be very up-market and not abrasive in either tone of voice or treatment.” He adds, “We tried to understand them. They are already super achievers in their respective fields, and wealthy enough to last them a lifetime. So, what drives them to wake up every morning and go to work?”

Moorjani says Khan cuts across to everybody, be it kids, adults, housewives or teenagers. People at different levels relate to him differently. The ad depicts a quiet window in his own life, where he shares that what drives him is the magic of movies and the creative satisfaction he derives from making movies.

The film was directed by Vishal Punjabi of Red Chillies and the cinematography is by Hemant Chaturvedy. The film’s music was composed by Amar Mangrulkar. The sets were designed by Indrani Pillai.

Other media being used for this campaign include the Internet and direct marketing.