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Tag: Kotak Mahindra Bank

  • Featuring Ranveer Singh

    Kotak ActivMoney launches campaign

    Kotak Mahindra Bank has unveiled its nationwide multimedia campaign, #SalaryKoJagao featuring actor Ranveer Singh. The campaign centres around Kotak’s flagship offering, ActivMoney, and spans TV commercials, digital platforms, outdoor displays, and social media channels.

    Said Rohit Bhasin, Head of Retail Liabilities Product & Chief Marketing Officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank: “ActivMoney is a versatile product tailored to help customers monetise idle funds while ensuring liquidity and returns. Through this campaign, we aim to raise awareness amongst salaried individuals, a dynamic and fast growing segment of customers. These individuals are driven, aspirational and always seeking ways to grow their wealth. ActivMoney offers the convenience of fixed deposit-like interest without compromising liquidity, a much desired value addition for customers in this segment.”

  • Prior to joining Kotak, Kotian led corporate communications for Visa across India and South Asia

    Kotak gets Prasanna Kotian to head corp comm

    Prasanna Kotian
    Prasanna Kotian

    Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited has announced the appointment of Prasanna Kotian as the new Head – Group Corporate Communication to oversee and drive external and internal communications for the Kotak group of companies. Prior to joining Kotak, Kotian led corporate communications for Visa across India and South Asia.

    Said Rohit Bhasin, President – Retail Liabilities Product and Chief Marketing Officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank: “We welcome Prasanna Kotian to the group marketing and communication team. His experience and leadership will be instrumental in strengthening our brand and fostering effective communication with all our stakeholders.”

    Added Kotian: “I am excited to join Kotak at an interesting time when the company is focussed on transformative change across the Group. I look forward to collaborating with the talented team here to enhance our corporate communication strategies and stakeholder communications helping strengthen the organisation’s reputation across our key stakeholders.”

  • The campaign captures the power of dreams and the rise of a confident India supported by the #KhwabonKaKhaata

    Kotak Bank’s new campaign

    By Our Staff

     

    Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMBL) has unveiled its latest campaign that chronicles the story of Ashok Das, a young, aspiring cricketer from one corner of the country, as he realises his ultimate dream – to showcase his talent on the world’s biggest stage. The creative agency that worked on the campaign is Cartwheel Consultancy Pvt Ltd and the media agency is Wavemaker.

     

    Said Ramakrishna (Ramki) Desiraju, Founder & Creative Director, Cartwheel Creative Consultancy: “No other sporting event has given as many Indians an opportunity to excel, earn and entertain on the global stage. It has made it possible for a player of the most modest means from the smallest of places to aspire for and achieve greatness. To lift their families several rungs up the economic ladder. This campaign captures the emotions that accompany this dizzying journey. In a way that Kotak has made its own ever since the Kona Kona Kotak campaign. Kotak continued the celebration of inclusive growth with its India Invited and Dreams Invited campaigns. The story of Ashok Das’s spectacular success at the player auction continues Kotak’s chronicling of emerging India.”

  • The special rate of 6.65% p.a. is for a limited period

    Kotak campaigns for low home loan rate

    By Our Staff

    Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited (KMBL) has announced the launch of a multimedia campaign focusing on its 6.65% per annum interest offer. This is a special, limited period offer that is available till March 31, 2021. The multimedia campaign includes a series of three videos that will be played across digital and social media platforms. The outdoor campaign has been conceptualised by Cartwheel Consultancy Pvt Ltd and the social and digital campaign has been designed by Tonic Worldwide.

    Said Elizabeth Venkataraman, Joint President – Consumer, Commercial & Wealth Marketing, Kotak Mahindra Bank: “We have seen a fundamental shift where the home has become the centre of our lives. Not only is it a place for leisure and where we spend time with our family, it is now also a place where we work and study. As we spend more time at home, people are looking for bigger and better homes. Kotak is offering a special home loan rate starting at 6.65%* p.a. for a limited period –and this is a golden opportunity for consumers to make their lifelong dream come true.”

     

     

  • Eduseries informative series exclusively for women customers

    Kotak Silk launches financial webinar for women

    By Our Staff

    Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited (KMBL) announced that it will be conducting an informative education series on financial matters for customers of Kotak Silk under its #SheisTheChange initiative.

    The financial webinar will feature leading female financial experts who will enlighten Kotak Silk customers on saving, investments, and financial behaviour.

    Said Elizabeth Venkataraman, Joint President – Consumer, Commercial & Wealth Marketing, Kotak Mahindra Bank: “Women are often dependent on male members of the family for financial advice. Through our #SheIsTheChange initiative, we want to change this male-dominated narrative. Why shouldn’t a woman take control of her money matters? Women today are making a mark in every field. They have every right to take charge of their finances in the way they like. #SheIsTheChange calls upon all women to lead, take charge of their financial matters and make well-informed financial choices. The webinars will be interactive and explanatory and will help in calming the financial worries of our esteemed Kotak Silk patrons.”

     

     

  • Official Team Partner of Delhi Capitals, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad

    Kotak partners 6 cricket teams, launches MyTeam cards

    By A Correspondent

     

    Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd (Kotak) has announced that it is the official partner of six IPL cricket teams – Delhi Capitals, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad, and has launched MyTeam Debit and Credit Cards.

     

    Said Uday Kotak, Managing Director & CEO, Kotak Mahindra Bank: “Undoubtedly cricket is at India’s heart and is keenly followed by millions of fans. I count myself as one among them. This year, due to the unique circumstances, the excitement and interest in the cricketing events are at another level altogether. In this context, I am delighted to announce that Kotak is partnering six power-packed teams and launching MyTeam Debit and Credit Cards. Indian cricket fans can now carry a memento of their favourite team in their pocket and flaunt their loyalties at every swipe.”

     

     

  • Madison World’s outdoor unit Platinum Outdoor executed the campaign in the Unlock 1.0 phase

    Platinum launches Kotak’s zero-contact account

    By A Correspondent

     

    Madison World’s outdoor unit, Platinum Outdoor executed a pilot OOH campaign during 1 to launch Kotak Bank’s zero-contact, video KYC savings account .

     

    Speaking about the campaign, Elizabeth Venkataraman, Joint President – Consumer, Commercial & Wealth Marketing, Kotak Mahindra Bank said: “We are now living in a very different world and as a pioneer in digital banking, our focus has been on enabling our customers to transact safely & securely in a zero-contact manner. We are delighted to have introduced India’s first zero-contact, Video KYC savings account through which Kotak customers can now open a full-fledged savings account from the comfort of their home without the need for a visit to the branch or in-person interaction. While the campaign is being driven by digital media, with the lockdown gradually being lifted, we decided to selectively include OOH media in our campaign targeting key, high-impact locations in Mumbai.”

     

    Added Dipankar Sanyal, CEO, Platinum Outdoor: “We always believed that OOH campaigns would pick up once the Unlocking phase starts. Kotak Bank has always been known for doing great outdoor campaigns. We managed to carve an impactful once again. The campaign was executed during our WFH status. It’s been a great learning experience.”

     

     

  • The song conveys the importance of slowing down, exercising restraint and learning from this crisis

    Kotak releases song for the new normal

    By A Correspondent

     

     

    https://www.facebook.com/KotakBank/videos/2585108728422610/

     

    To help prepare Indians to lead a safer, more thoughtful and empathic life as the nationwide lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic is gradually lifted, Kotak Mahindra Bank announced the launch of the song – “Oh jazbati Bhaarat waasi, Mann ki Lagaam ko aaj tu kass le…Tere Charan Kamal Kaabu Mein Rakh Le”, a song that conveys the importance of slowing down, exercising restraint and learning from this crisis.

     

    The voiceover song on an animated video has been composed by noted music composer and producer, Ram Sampath, and written and sung by Swanand Kirkire. The video has been conceptualised by Cartwheel Creative Consultancy and the animation has been designed by Plankton Collective.

     

    Said Karthi Marshan, President and Chief Marketing Officer, Kotak Mahindra Group: “As we get ready to restart life in the new normal, our natural instinct is to resume from where we left off and revert to the way we lived our lives before the lockdown. That is likely to be very unsafe not just for us, but also our kith and kin, as well as the community at large. Through this charming and cheerful song, Kotak is sharing the message that all of us must get wiser from our learnings, and continue practicing social distancing and all the safety norms that kept us safe and alive during the lockdown. Our aim is to spread positivity and convey that while things are tough, by staying together, taking care of oneself and each other, we can overcome mankind’s biggest crisis.”

     

     

  • According to the Brand Finance report, Kotak Mahindra Bank is India's fastest growing brand

    Brandwatch: Tata India’s Most Valuable, HDFC, the strongest

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Tata Group is by far the most valuable brand in India, with a value surpassing that of the second (Airtel) and third (Infosys) ranked brands combined, according to the latest report by Brand Finance, the world’s leading independent brand valuation and strategy consultancy.

     

    After a few years of below 5% growth in brand value, Tata Group has surged ahead with a 9% growth to US$14.2 billion consolidating its No.1 rank by a huge distance. Considering Tata has been way ahead of the rest at $13.1 billion in 2017, this 9% is a tremendous surge, reflecting a solid year. The US$1 billion increase is the result of much tactical streamlining, refocusing and re-energising of Tata’s key businesses TCS, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Tata Chemicals.

     

    Said David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance: “Under the pragmatic leadership of chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Tata Group is pursuing a consolidated long-term strategy as it ushers in a new era. Chandrasekaran has reviewed the Group’s most senior positions, introduced an experienced team of former bankers tasked with overseeing group finance’s and made tactical leadership changes across the financial services and hotel brands. This year’s success can truly be attributed to a productive first year in office for the new chairman.”

     

    India’s 10 Most Valuable Brands

     

    HDFC Bank takes title of India’s strongest brand

    A similar surge is observed in HDFC Bank which has broken into the top 10 this year, following a 19% brand value growth and claiming 8th rank among India’s most valuable brands with a US$4.1 billion valuation. Over the past year, HDFC Bank has grown steadily, making small and sensible acquisitions whilst maintaining its focus on digital banking. The bank has cleverly attracted young customers who want to buy, pay and invest at the click of a button, directly through their cellphones, even offering preapproved personal loans that can be expended within seconds. HDFC Bank is clearly proving its resilience and growth in the face of banking scrutiny and headwinds sweeping the sector.

     

    Aside from measuring the overall brand value, Brand Finance also evaluates the relative strength of brands, based on factors such as marketing investment, customer familiarity, staff satisfaction, and corporate reputation. Along with the level of revenues, brand strength is a crucial driver of brand value. According to these criteria, HDFC Bank is India’s strongest brand this year with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 88.0 and a corresponding brand rating of AAA.

     

    And Kotak Mahindra Bank is India’s fastest-growing brand

    Another banking brand which has had a successful year is Kotak Mahindra Bank, (up 74% to US$2.1 billion), making it the fastest-growing brand in the Brand Finance India 100 2018. The brand has not only expanded its countrywide presence but also shown tremendous discipline in shaping its governance and customer experience. It has also recently strategically partnered with Ripple, to provide near-instant cross-border remittances using blockchain technology.

     

    Public-sector banking brands take a dent

    On the whole, India’s public-sector banking brands have taken a big dent in both their brand value ranks and growth, whilst the country faces its worse crisis of confidence across the banking sector. Most of the top 100 PSU banks have seen a decline in brand value growth: SBI at 19%, IDBI Bank at 30%, Punjab National Bank at 16%, Syndicate Bank at 9%, Central Bank of India at 21%, and Bank of Baroda at 14%.

     

    Addd Haigh: “In a year of non-performing assets hitting the major banks, with further tightening of India’s financial sector alongside market uncertainties, the towering strength of strong governance is now more important than ever. The year ahead will be a test for brands navigating their way through the changing governance landscape.”

     

    Telecoms dial down brand values

    There are huge changes afoot across the telecoms sector too, courtesy of Reliance Group’s disruptive operator Jio, triggering a drop in brand value of Airtel (down 14% to US$6.7 billion), Idea Cellular (down 15% to US$1.7 billion) and BSNL (down 23% to US$ 0.5 billion).

     

    The Indian mobile ecosystem has witnessed incredible growth in recent years, with package offerings and cut-price plans expanding, and 4G becoming more popular in a bid to satisfy the needs of a mobile-data-hungry population.

     

    Brands to watch

    From among other notable brands featuring in this year’s Brand Finance India 100 league table, Maruti Suzuki has zoomed ahead with a 26% brand value growth to US$3.2 billion over the past year, jumping from 17th to 13th spot in the ranking. It has certainly been a year of many successes for Maruti Suzuki where it has redefined its brand standards, maintained growth of Nexa, its alternative retail dealership format for premium cars, alongside a plethora of product offerings that charmed the market.

     

    In this year’s Brand Finance India 100 2018, it is evident that brands with strong fundamentals have stood to gain significantly: Bajaj Group (up 30% to US$2.4 billion, ranked 19th), Bharat Petroleum (up 21% to US$2.4 billion, ranked 20th), Yes Bank (up 21% to US$0.7 billion, ranked 36th), and TVS (up 19% to US$0.5 billion, ranked 53rd).

     

    Finally, there is one brand that has been consistently making its presence felt in the rankings over the last 3 years. The motorcycle manufacturing brand Royal Enfield is gradually taking the “Made in India” tag to a global scale, and it has again registered a 25% brand value growth this year, making it one of the steadiest-growing brands in India. With a brand value of US$0.6 billion it moved up from 59th in 2017 to 43rd this year.

     

    View the full Brand Finance India 100 2018 report here

  • It is live across 800 million subscribers across telecom operators in India

    Mogae Media partners with Kotak Mahindra Bank for **811

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mogae Media has partnered with Kotak Mahindra Bank to provide its StarStar (**) call-to-action service, a patented B2B2C offering that enables brands to connect their advertising with customers through a convenient/memorable ‘call-to-action’ both from feature and smartphones.

     

    Kotak Mahindra Bank will use **811 (StarStar811) as a Call-To-Action to generate enquiries and to facilitate downloading 811 – India’s unique full-service digital banking ecosystem on mobile. 811 is a digital account that can be downloaded and operated from anywhere, 24×7 and serves as a platform where your money and everything you can do with it come together on your mobile phone.

     

    Sandeep Goyal

    Commenting on this, Sandeep Goyal, Chairman, Mogae Media said: “We are delighted to bring this path-breaking technology to people. We are confident that soon, StarStar (**) will become to the mobile what hashtag (#) has today become to the world of social media.”

     

    Added Ambuj Chandna, Senior Executive Vice President, Kotak Mahindra Bank:“With 811, we offer customers a unique all-in-one value proposition of a zero balance savings account with zero charges for all digital transactions, where customers can earn up to 6 per cent p.a. on their savings account balances. **811enables us to further simplify access to 811 for our customers.”

     

  • An eminent nine-member Jury, led by Mr. Dilip Shanghvi, selected the 17 finalists

    Uday Shankar among 17 finalists for EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award

    By A Correspondent

     

    EY, the global professional services organisation, announced the selection of 17 of the country’s most exceptional entrepreneurs as finalists for the 18th Entrepreneur of the Yearâ„¢ – India 2016. The finalists have been selected from among 250 outstanding nominations and will be felicitated at a grand celebratory Awards Banquet to be held on 24 February in New Delhi.

     

    Together, these 17 finalists have combined revenues of over INR 154,335 crore (USD 23.38 billion) and are providing employment to over 5.2 lakh people in India and globally.

     

    A distinguished nine-member independent Jury led by Dilip Shanghvi, Managing Director, Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries selected the finalists. Other Jury members include Subodh Bhargava, Chairman, Tata Communications; Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Executive Vice-Chairman, Info Edge (India) Limited; Naina Lal Kidwai, Chairman, Max Financial Services; Uday Kotak, Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank; Kalpana Morparia, Chief Executive Officer, JP Morgan Chase South Asia and India; Rishad Premji, Chief Strategy Officer, Wipro; Renuka Ramnath, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Multiples Alternate Asset Management and A Vellayan, Executive Chairman, Murugappa Group.

     

    Dilip Shanghvi, Jury Chairman and Managing Director, Sun Pharmaceuticals says, “Like previous years, this year’s finalists too represent extremely successful companies that have not only disrupted the industry with a new business model but have disrupted themselves to chart a new growth path. We need more entrepreneurs to propel our country’s growth and it is important to recognize such innovative entrepreneurs.”

     

    The finalists for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Yearâ„¢ 2016 India Awards are:

    – Ram Gopal Agarwal, Chairman, Dhanuka Agritech

    – Vishwavir Ahuja, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, RBL Bank

    – Hari Mohan Bangur, Managing Director, Shree Cement

    – R Dinesh, Managing Director, TVS Logistics Services

    – Dr Abhay Firodia, Chairman, Force Motors

    – Ajit Isaac, Chairman and Managing Director, Quess Corp

    – Girish Mathrubootham, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Freshdesk

    – Ravi Modi, Chairman and Managing Director, Vedant Fashions (Manyavar)

    – Vikas Oberoi, Chairman and Managing Director, Oberoi Realty

    – Darshan Patel, Chairman and Managing Director, Vini Cosmetics

    – M. P. Ramachandran, Chairman and Managing Director, Jyothy Laboratories

    – Vivek Chaand Sehgal, Chairman, Motherson Sumi Systems

    – Rashesh Shah, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Edelweiss Group

    – Uday Shankar, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Star India

    – Samprada Singh, Chairman Emeritus and Basudeo Narain Singh, Executive Chairman, Alkem Laboratories

    – Chandubhai Virani, Whole time Director, Balaji Wafers

     

    Nandan Nilekani will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his invaluable contribution to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which is a pioneering citizen identification program, unparalleled in scope and scale worldwide. As the Honorary Advisor to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), he has also helped create the ecosystem for digital financial services in India. He has also played a major role in the growth of the Indian Information Technology industry and is a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honor, in 2009.

     

    Uday Kotak, Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank and winner of the World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award 2014 says, “I was delighted to be part of this Jury and impressed with the robustness of the process. This year’s Finalists truly define the India of today and tomorrow. What is really interesting is that we are seeing real-world businesses adopting digital and transforming themselves. My message to every entrepreneur in India is, “Go out there, build your dream and more importantly, build a business model that is sustainable over time.”

     

    Says Kalpana Morparia, CEO, JP Morgan Chase, South Asia and India, “What made the Jury process truly outstanding is the richness of the candidates. This year’s theme for the Awards – ‘Ideas, Innovation and Inspiration’, are the three ‘I’s that are driving India’s economy and many of the 2016 finalists embody this theme.  Looking beyond the digital services companies, what is phenomenal is that existing established businesses are disrupting their own models to keep pace with the digital economy.”

     

    The selection criterion included the nominee’s entrepreneurial spirit, recent financial performance, strategic direction and global impact, product or service innovation, company leadership including personal integrity and risk-taking, values and key employee initiatives, and involvement with the community.

     

    The winners will be announced across several categories, while the national winner will represent India at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year (WEOY) awards in Monte Carlo from 8-11 June 2017.

     

    Rajiv Memani, Chairman, EY India, says, “What strikes me about our 2016 Finalists is how they have acquired tremendous scale and size from what were clearly modest beginnings. A strong focus on the customer and a business model based on innovative products and services for niche markets have enabled them to create a lasting impact. Also, reliance on technology and a bold vision for the future has helped them scale up rapidly.”

     

    Says Farokh Balsara, Partner and EOY India Program Leader, “Entrepreneurs have the power to impact our lives. Their unyielding drive to seize the power of transformative ideas creates jobs, energizes markets, builds wealth and spurs economic growth around the world. We salute their passion and insight that make them different and exceptional. Our EOY 2016 India finalists are a rare group of individuals who with their disruptive ideas and incredible innovation are inspiring a whole new generation of entrepreneurs.”

     

    Zarin Daruwala, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered and sponsor of the EOY 2016 India Awards says, “We are delighted to sponsor The EY awards, which captures and celebrates the spirit behind India’s economic resurgence – the Indian entrepreneur.  Never before in our history have we seen ideas and innovation spur on with such zeal, whether it is in the exciting world of start-ups with technology as the centrepiece of business ideas, or conventional business which are reshaping themselves by using technology to unleash the full potential of their products and services.  India, today, has the third highest number of Unicorns globally, with two of them in the top 20, and the IITs rank fourth across all institutes in producing billion dollar start-up entrepreneurs. The lasting impact is in the manifold ways entrepreneurship touches and changes lives: creating employment, raising health and education standards, and ushering in a stable and progressive society.  With the government encouraging new entrepreneurship through ‘StartupIndia’ and the success stories already scripted, India is becoming the crucible of ideas, ambition and entrepreneurial spirit.”

     

    The past winners of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year India Awards  include Vinita and Nilesh Gupta (Lupin Limited), Dr. Cyrus S. Poonawalla (Serum Institute of India), Uday Kotak (Kotak Mahindra Bank), Adi Godrej (Godrej Group), Rahul Bhatia (Interglobe Enterprises), Dilip Shanghvi (Sun Pharmaceuticals),  Anand G Mahindra (Mahindra Group), Anil Agarwal (Vedanta Resources), Tulsi Tanti (Suzlon Energy), Kumar Mangalam Birla (Aditya Birla Group), Sunil Bharti Mittal (Bharti Group), Ratan Tata (Tata Group), N.R Narayana Murthy (Infosys), Brijmohan Lall Munjal (Hero Group), (Mukesh  Ambani (Reliance Industries), and Subhash Chandra (Zee Telefilms).

     

  • A first-of-its-kind initiative in India, Consumer Querimetrix is a machine learning tool to “nowcast” Indian consumer behaviour using Google search queries

    Kotak partners Google to unveil Querimetrix

    By A Correspondent

     

    Kotak Institutional Equities, a division of Kotak Securities Limited, in collaboration with Google launched Consumer Querimetrix — a tool that demystifies and predicts near-term Indian consumer behaviour by analyzing Google Trends data.

     

    Using machine learning techniques and merging big data from Google Trends, the first edition of Consumer Querimetrix provides consumer insights into India’s evolving car buying journey. Using Google Trends data, the tool enables ‘nowcasting’ (near-term predictions) on consumer activity, capturing inflection points earlier than traditional forecasting tools to give a complete picture — on car launches, last mile hiccups, cannibals and competition.

     

    Each edition of the Consumer Querimetrix series will focus on consumer behaviour in a different industry.

     

    Launching the report, C Jayaram, Joint Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank said, “The digital wave is challenging conventional business practices across industries. Ground rules are evolving rapidly along with the consumer and those in the business of business intelligence need new tools to keep up with the changing landscape. Consumer Querimetrix is our step in that direction. Today, the sheer volume of consumer-centric search data available presents a tremendous opportunity to analyze and throw up actionable insights. These takeaways would be useful to both companies and investors. KIE research is highly valued by our clients and the launch of Querimetrix will further strengthen our ability to cover the Indian markets in a holistic manner.”

     

    The first edition of Consumer Querimetrix which focuses on the passenger car segment highlights the extent to which the Internet is altering the ground rules for vendors of cars and allied products/services. With growing access to easy information online, the Indian car buyer’s journey from a whim to final purchase has changed dramatically. More than 75 per cent of car buyers are researching online for reviews, comparative specifications, financial products and used car markets before making a purchase. The first edition of Consumer Querimetrix also explains how the traditional ‘funnel’ model is giving way to a more complex purchasing path where ‘initial consideration’ may not always guarantee sales.  Although higher auto-related searches correspond to higher demand for cars, this does not hold true on a brand-wise basis.

     

    Speaking about the trends for the passenger cars industry captured by analyzing Google Trends, Vikas Agnihotri, Industry Director, Google India said, “With over 300 million Internet users online and growing, India today has a sizeable population which accesses the Internet on a daily basis, making search queries as the most dynamic data input to arrive at consumer insights through machine learning as illustrated by Kotak’s research. If we look at the search trends related to car finance and car purchases, we’re seeing a 40% year on year growth in car purchase queries on Google in India. Over half of the people who evaluate car purchases change their consideration set during their research phase – adding two to three new car models in their consideration, the only non-negotiables are price and color of the car. This alone proves the growing complexity for car OEMs in the country. With this report we’re attempting to demystify this changing consumer behavior into actionable insights for the industry.”

     

    Saifullah Rais, Quantitative Analyst at Kotak Institutional Equities and the architect of Consumer Querimetrix said, “In the absence of conventional rules, traditional decision-support systems are not very effective. They fall short on scalability and adaptability. Machine learning algorithms learn from data and do not rely on explicit rules, making them the most effective method of dealing with data explosion.”

     

    The Consumer Querimetrix report outlines the influence of digital marketplaces and calls for carmakers to reassess conventional business practices. The effect is visible as car loans are increasingly being sourced outside dealerships. This trend can eat into financing margins earned by dealers and hurt profitability. On the other hand, carmakers with captive finance arms can use this opportunity to innovate and differentiate themselves during the evaluation process.

     

    The first issue of Consumer Querimetrix establishes that Google search volumes can be used as a gauge for assessing new car launches. The report underscores the linear relationship between search interest and advance bookings during a car launch. Interestingly, higher traditional media spends do not always guarantee higher search interest.