Integrated Marketing Communication

Report on

State Bank of India“Pure Banking Nothing Else"

IMT GHAZIABAD(IMT PT 08-11)

Presented By Group 5

Pankaj Masand (08EM-026)

Pavan Pratihast (08EM-029)

Pranav Kumar (08EM-032)

Ratnesh Kumar (08EM-033)

Uday N Singh (08EM-049)

Vikas Sharma (08EM-052)

INDEX

1. About SBI

2. Segmenting and promotion strategy

3. Creative and execution strategy

4. Media vehicles

5. Media planning and budget allocation

6. Strategies for measuring the effectiveness of campaign

7. In-depth analysis through the following

8. Targeting and positioning

9. Measurable objectives

10. Strategies and rationales

11. Promotion calendar

12. Measurement and evaluation methodologies

13. Recommendations

Introduction

State Bank of India (SBI) is the largest bank in India.

The bank traces its ancestry back through the Imperial Bank of India to the founding in 1806 of the Bank of Calcutta, making it the oldest commercial bank in the Indian Subcontinent. The Government of India nationalized the Imperial Bank of India in 1955, with the Reserve Bank of India taking a 60% stake, and renamed it the State Bank of India. In 2008, the Government took over the stake held by the Reserve Bank of India.

SBI provides a range of banking products through its vast network in India and overseas, including products aimed at NRIs. The State Bank Group, with over 16000 branches, has the largest branch network in India. With an asset base of $250 billion and $195 billion in deposits, it is a regional banking behemoth. It has a market share among Indian commercial banks of about 20% in deposits and advances, and SBI accounts for almost one-fifth of the nation’s loans.

SBI has tried to reduce its over-staffing through computerizing operations and Golden handshake schemes that led to a flight of its best and brightest managers. These managers took the retirement allowances and then went on to become senior managers at new private sector banks.

The State bank of India is 29th most reputable company in the world according to Forbes.

History

State Bank of India (SBI), Mumbai Main Branch India's largest bank, in Mumbai. The government of India is the largest shareholder in SBI.

The bank has 92 branches, agencies or offices in 32 countries. It has branches of the parent in Colombo, Dhaka, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, London and environs, Los Angeles, Male in the Maldives, Muscat, New York, Osaka, Sydney, and Tokyo. It has offshore banking units in the Bahamas, Bahrain, and Singapore, and representative offices in Bhutan and Cape Town.

SBI operates several foreign subsidiaries or affiliates. In 1990 it established an offshore bank, State Bank of India (Mauritius). It has two subsidiaries in North America, State Bank of India (California), and State Bank of India (Canada). In 1982, the bank established its California subsidiary, named State Bank of India (California), which now has eight branches - seven branches in the state of California and one in Washington DC which was recently opened on 23rd November, 2009. The seven branches in the state of California are located in Los Angeles, Artesia, San Jose, Canoga Park, Fresno, San Diego and Bakersfield. The Canadian subsidiary too dates to 1982 and has seven branches, four in the greater Toronto area, and three in British Columbia.

In Nigeria, SBI operates as INMB Bank. This bank began in 1981 as the Indo-Nigerian Merchant Bank and received permission in 2002 to commence retail banking. It now has five branches in Nigeria.

In Nepal SBI owns 50% of Nepal SBI Bank, which has branches throughout the country. In Moscow SBI owns 60% of Commercial Bank of India, with Canara Bank owning the rest. In Indonesia it owns 76% of PT Bank Indo Monex.

State Bank of India already has a branch in Shanghai and plans to open one up in Tianjin.

The roots of the State Bank of India rest in the first decade of 19th century, when the Bank of Calcutta, later renamed the Bank of Bengal, was established on 2 June 1806. The Bank of Bengal and two other Presidency banks, namely, the Bank of Bombay (incorporated on 15 April 1840) and the Bank of Madras (incorporated on 1 July 1843). All three Presidency banks were incorporated as joint stock companies, and were the result of the royal charters. These three banks received the exclusive right to issue paper currency in 1861 with the Paper Currency Act, a right they retained until the formation of the Reserve Bank of India. The Presidency banks amalgamated on 27 January 1921, and the reorganized banking entity took as its name Imperial Bank of India. The Imperial Bank of India continued to remain a joint stock company.

Pursuant to the provisions of the State Bank of India Act (1955), the Reserve Bank of India, which is India's central bank, acquired a controlling interest in the Imperial Bank of India. On 30 April 1955 the Imperial Bank of India became the State Bank of India. The Govt. of India recently acquired the

Reserve Bank of India's stake in SBI so as to remove any conflict of interest because the RBI is the country's banking regulatory authority.

Offices of the Bank of Bengal

In 1959 the Government passed the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, enabling the State Bank of India to take over eight former State-associated banks as its subsidiaries. On Sept 13, 2008, State Bank of Saurashtra, one of its Associate Banks, merged with State Bank of India.

SBI has acquired local banks in rescues. For instance, in 1985, it acquired Bank of Cochin in Kerala, which had 120 branches. SBI was the acquirer as its affiliate, State Bank of Travancore, already had an extensive network in Kerala.

There are six associate banks that fall under SBI, and together these six banks constitute the State Bank Group. All use the same logo of a blue keyhole and all the associates use the "State Bank of" name followed by the regional headquarters' name. Originally, the then seven banks that became the associate banks belonged to princely states until the government nationalized them between October, 1959 and May, 1960. In tune with the first Five Year Plan, emphasizing the development of rural India, the government integrated these banks into State Bank of India to expand its rural outreach. There has been a proposal to merge all the associate banks into SBI to create a "mega bank" and streamline operations. The first step along these lines occurred on 13 August 2008 when State Bank of Saurashtra merged with State Bank of India, which reduced the number of state banks from seven to six. Furthermore on 19th June 2009 the SBI board approved the merger of its subsidiary, State Bank of Indore, with itself. SBI holds 98.3% in the bank, and the balance 1.77% is owned by individuals, who held the shares prior to its takeover by the government.

The acquisition of State Bank of Indore will help SBI add 470 branches to its existing network of 11,448. Also, following the acquisition, SBI’s total assets will inch very close to the Rs 10-lakh crore mark. Total assets of SBI and the State Bank of Indore stood at Rs 998,119 crore as on March 2009.

The Subsidiaries of SBI till date

State Bank of Indore State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur

State Bank of Hyderabad

State Bank of Mysore

State Bank of Patiala

State Bank of Travancore

Segmenting and positioning

A marketing strategy is based on expected customer behavior in a certain market. In order to know the customer and it’s expected buying process of segmenting and positioning is needed. These processes are chronological steps which are dependent on each other.

Segmenting is the process of dividing the market into segments based on customer characteristics and needs.

The main activity segmenting consists of four sub activities. These are:

1. Determining, who the actual and potential customers are

2. Identifying segments

3. Analyzing the intensity of competitors in the market

4. Selecting the attractive customer segments.

Positioning

When the list of target markets is made, a company might want to start on deciding on a good marketing mix directly. But an important step before developing the marketing mix is deciding on how to create an identity or image of the product in the mind of the customer. Every segment is different from the others, so different customers with different ideas of what they expect from the product. In the process of positioning the company:

1. Identifies the differential advantages in each segment

2. Decides on a different positioning concept for each of these segments.

When the positioning statement is created, one can start on creating the marketing mix.

Creative Execution Strategy

To develop a composite media plan using all available forms of media so

as to ensure that the key target markets are reached with the core

messages.

To create better awareness of the use of Debit Cards

To build the SBI Debit Card “brand”

To encourage more users to use the Debit Card services provided

The media brief can be referred to as a checklist for the media planners to help

them prepare media plan for a client organization. Media planning is not an

isolated function but an integral part of an overall campaign planning. Hence a

media planner needs to have a thorough knowledge of all the variables.Media

brief gives a background to the whole planning. It will cover details on the

product/service, the overall marketing strategy, and the proposition being

made.Ideal media brief. In other words, what should it contain to help the media

planner in making an ideal plan to help facilitate decision-making at the client’s

end? With the proliferation in the media and media markets becoming more

complex, given the heterogeneity of the target audience, special efforts are

made to prepare the media brief. 

Marketing information checklist:

This should reflect the marketing objectives and proposed strategies, product

characteristics, distribution channels, brand category, expenditure level and ad.

expenditure of close competitors, ad. expenditure for the current, previous years

and proposed appropriation.

 

The objectives:

The media brief must indicate the objective or objectives; the proposed

advertising is trying to accomplish. This must clearly indicate whether the

objective is to introduce a new product, increase awareness about the existing

brand, reinforce the current position, reposition the current brand, relaunch a

declining brand, elicit direct response, improve or enhance the company’s

reputation or change the people’s attitude towards the company, brand or

product category. It would also indicate the source of business, i.e., the target

audience, profile of the current users, proposed users, etc. 

Product category information:

It is pertinent for the media planner to have a thorough knowledge about the

product category and the positioning of the brand being handled. This helps in

assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the brand and also helps in setting

achievable targets. 

Geography/location:

The media brief helps the planner in knowing his media markets. In other

words, for example, if the product is only available in the metros, then the

planner will restrict his media options to only those vehicles, which reach the

target audience in the metros. In case, however, the product is being launched

on all-country basis, the media planner although keeping in view the holistic

approach will also keep in mind the consumption pattern in various

geographical locations for giving relative weightage to areas, where the product

usage is more. Besides this, he will also keep in view the brand development

index, sales volume and local market problems and opportunities. 

Seasonality/timing:

Information regarding seasonality of the product is an important consideration

for the media planner. In the Indian context, where there are extreme climates in

different parts of the country at the same time, some products are season-

specific.A brief description is required with respect to the product itself, its

uses, the pack, the price, the method of distribution ,etc. what sales movement

are taking place with respect to the product of this category, is the market

expanding or is steady. With respect to competitors, how are their brands

advertised or promoted. Is it an established brand or a new brand fighting for a

bench head.

 

The other information details can be :

 market share of the various brands, sales volume of each brand, life cycle stage

for brand/category (new, mature, stagnating or near extinct), market expansion

opportunity, interest level (high/low), responsiveness to advertising, purchase

cycle of the product-to help determine the scheduling pattern.

The sale of woolens is always there in the hilly areas especially, Srinagar,

Himachal Pradesh and higher reaches of Uttar Pradesh, while in southern India,

except probably in some parts of Karnataka, woolens are generally not

available. The North experience severe cold for some months, hence one sees a

spurt in advertising during this period. Besides, the planner should keep track of

the sales pattern, influence factors such as festivals, holidays and the weather,

spending considerations, specific sales promotion drive, and client mandated

spending constraint, etc.

Even in case of rural advertising generally the consumers have a high buying

power immediately after the harvest hence showing advertisements at this point

of time would be a good strategy then showing it all year round.

 

Target audience:

 

It will be futile to aim the advertisements at every body. In that way the effort is

diffused and no one thinks the advertisement is meant for him. Hence there

should be a precise definition of the people the advertising is to reach. The

definition of the target may be a simple.

A profile of those who buy the existing category as also those who buy

competitive brands is a very important consideration for the media planner.

Buying habits must also include information about buying cycles, purchase

points, frequency of purchase, etc. This helps the planner to know the consumer

characteristics by category, brand and competitor; demographics-age, income,

education, occupation and motivation; special market segments like doctors,

architects, children, etc. as also media usage data for heavy users, light users of

various media vehicles. 

 Budget: 

At the briefing stage the planner also needs to know the media budget-after the

cost of producing the advertisement and the other expenditures have been

deducted. In a nutshell, the media brief should aim at answering-in which

markets are the media  to be concentrated; what is the product category-media

relationship; how do competitors use the media; who is the media talking to (the

specific target audience); and how much weight needs to be placed on various

media in terms of ad appropriation.

All advertising must accomplish a specific definable goal. What will this ad do for your business? What is the short-term benefit to the company for running this ad? The long-term benefit?

Is this ad financed by the percentage of sales method or a sales objective percentage method? What is the dollar amount allocated to this ad? Co-Op funds available? What is the expected revenue this ad will produce?

Are comparable ads being run for competitive products? What size ads do they use? Can you run similar size ads?

What is the specific time period for achieving the advertising goal?

What form of evaluation will be used to assure that the ad is working or not working?

TYPES OF MEDIA VEHICLES

BROADCAST MEDIA

Broadcast media are quite young in comparison to the printed word.

Fundamentally there are two main forms of broadcast: television and radio.

Advertisers use these classes of media in order to reach mass audiences with

their messages at a relatively low cost per target reached.

The media allows the advertisers to add audio and /or visuals to their messages.

The media gives life and energy to the advertising message which is not really

possible through other media.

However people are normally unable and unwilling to become actively involved

in the broadcast advertising message. They cant consume the pace at which the

message  is seen and understood as the time is very short due to the cost aspect.

The advertisers are also unable to provide excessive details and information.

As a result the medium becomes more suitable for low involvement products.

Advertising messages through the broadcast media use a small time period,

normally 15 or 30 or 60 seconds depending on their budget and the availability.

NARROWCASTING

The word "narrowcasting" is particularly unique to the industry of media

specifically that of broadcast media. It is, according to the dictionary, the ability

to "aim a radio or TV program or programming at a specific, limited audience

or consumer market."

The practice came to the forefront with the advent of cable television. As this

specialty media has matured, narrowcasting has become a fine art.

In the earlier days of Indian television, the two major networks (doordarshans)

dominated programming and sought to obtain the widest audience possible.

They avoided programming content that might appeal only to a small segment

of the mass population and succeeded in their goal by reaching nearly 90%

(combined) of the television viewing audience on a regular basis.

The networks maintained their stronghold until competition emerged through

the addition of many independent stations, the proliferation of cable channels

and the popularity of videocassettes. These competitors provided television

audiences with many more viewing options. Consequently, the large numbers

previously achieved through mass-oriented programming dwindled and

"narrowcasting" took hold.

With narrowcasting the programmer or producer assumes that only a limited

number of people or a specific demographic group will be interested in the

subject matter of a program. In many ways, this is the essence of cable

television's programming strategy.

Following the format or characteristics of specialized magazines, a cable

television program or channel may emphasize one subject or a few closely

related subjects.

For example, music television is presented on MTV (music Television), or

Channel V, CMM.ETC, CNN (Cable News Network) offers 24-hour News

coverage; ESPN (Entertainment Sports Network) boasts an all Sports format;

and Star TV, Zee etc, covers the family entertainment segment. Other cable

channels feature programming such as shopping, comedy, science-fiction, or

programs aimed at specific ethnic or gender groups highly prized by specific

advertisers

NEW MEDIA

Recent technological advances have increased the range of new media available

to the advertisers to communicate with their prospects and the consumers. New

media allows for far greater level of interactions between the advertiser and the

receiver.

The new media would include internet and short message service (SMS).

New media is different from traditional media on a number of fronts, but the

most important being the time that elapses between message receipt and

response.

With new media the advertisers can target tightly clustered audiences with well

defined messages.

INTERNET ADVERTISING

The World Wide Web is a hybrid medium, which shares characteristics with

mass communication as well as interpersonal communication. The medium

combines the ability of the mass media to disperse a message to a wider

audience with some of interpersonal communication’s possibilities of feed-back

and interaction.

From a marketing view point, one of the implications of this is that exposure

and action advertising and transactions can be integrated. Since the medium is

interactive, users of the World Wide Web play a much more active role in the

communication process than users of traditional mass media.

Where traditional mass media are characterized by an information push, the

communication processes on the Web are driven by a basic information pull,

meaning that the control balance of the communication process has shifted in

favor of the user. The immense body of information available to the individual

user further pushes the control of the communication process towards the user,

and has lead to a highly fragmented content structure that allows the individual

user to pursue his specific interests.

Internet advertising has gained significant momentum across the world and has

become a part of the media mix that is being considered by advertisers

worldwide.

MEDIA EVALUATION 

After the objectives are defined there is a need to evaluate each media in order

to reach a conclusion about the type of media that will be most effective for the

accomplishment of the objectives.

The objects of the evaluation are:

To see which media are feasible.

To pick the main medium.

To prepare for the decision on how it should be used.

To see whether there are suitable supporting media if required.

 

Creative suitability:

There may be obvious reasons why a particular medium is especially suitable

for the campaign or another is unsuitable, a coupon is to be included or the

absence of colour is critical. Often the preference of the creative group is not

backed up by concrete evidence but they have strong views nevertheless about

the media to use and those not to use.

The agency is not in the business of reaching consumers with exposures of

advertisements (which tend to be the media department’s natural criterion), but

in the business of selling the product. So if the creative choice looks at all

reasonable in media terms, it is usually sensible for the planning to accept it.

Sometimes the creative choice is unreasonable and may have been reached

without full consideration of the alternatives.

An idea:

Sometimes a media idea, or better an idea which involves media and creative

content, is ‘obviously’ right or simply a novelty, which is expected to attract

attention and so work. A press advertisement in the shape of the product, using

publications that have never before carried this type of advertising, a radio

commercial announcing ‘officially’ there is now no shortage of the product, a

TV commercial that starts with silence and black screen, a poster that looks like

a shop window and so on. Sometimes a change is as good as an increased

budget.

Proven effectiveness:

When there is evidence that a particular medium is the most efficient, the choice

is obvious. The evidence may come from the tests on our own product or from a

study of competitor’s activities.

The advertiser often insists on using the same medium as before, even without

testing its effectiveness. The best predictor of an advertising schedule is the

schedule for the previous year. This is not always laziness. It is partly because

the media scene is not very different from year to year: media change is dictated

by a major shift in the market place, a new medium, a new definition of the

target, or a new advertising idea. Advertisers resist change because it involves

more risk than to continue with a proven, viable strategy.

Availability and timing:

The type of product or copy claim may prevent the use of a medium- this is

most likely to rule out TV, on which, for example cigarettes are not advertised.

The flexibility required by the advertiser, for example being able to cancel or

change advertising at a few days’ notice, may also rule out a medium-for

example it may make colour press impossible.

Competition:

“We can’t come off the box, that’s where our competitors are.”

‘Look, there’s no advertising for this product in women’s magazines: let’s

dominate there.’

Of the two policies- match the competition or avoid it- the first is more common

in media choice. This may be because the main purpose of the advertising is

defensive- to reassure existing buyers and reassure existing buyers and diffuse

competitors’ attacks. It may also be a fear of leaving him to dominate a

medium. Or the medium normally chosen is simply the most suitable for that

product group. Or the consumer and the trade have come to expect the

advertising to be in that medium and look for it there, so it works best there.; on

the same principle, shops often do better together in the High Street than

scattered over the town.

These arguments apply to large advertisers: McDougalls will not leave spillers

to be the only large flour manufacturer on TV, nor Cadburys leave TV to Mars.

But for the small budgets it could be inefficient to hit competition at knee-level.

A small advertiser might do better to dominate a less used medium.

CHOOSING AMONG MAJOR MEDIA TYPES:

The media planner has to know the capacity of the major media types to deliver

reach, frequency, and impact. The major advertising media along with their

costs, advantages, and limitations are to be well understood. Every media plan

requires that specific media types be selected – Doordarshan, Direct mail,

satellite TV, newspapers, magazines, etc. Media planners must consider several

variables before choosing among major types:

Target –audience media habits:

This is the most important factor. Housewives watch more of television,

whereas, working women go for magazines. Again television programmes have

different viewers. For instance, “world this week” is viewed by teenagers and

young adults. Therefore, it would be advisable to advertise during “World this

week” such products which are of interest to teenagers and young adults. Radio

and television are the most effective media for reaching teenagers.

Products:

Products that require demonstration can suit for television. For example, the

demonstration of the use of a vacuum cleaner by Eureka Forbes. Financial

advertising such as new issue of shares is good in newspapers. Women's dresses

are best shown in color magazines, and Polaroid cameras a best demonstrated

on television. Media types have different potentials for demonstration,

visualization, explanation, believability, and color.

Again there are media restrictions on certain products. For instance, alcoholic

drinks and cigarettes cannot be advertised in press as well as on DD and AIR,

hence these two options are totally ruled out.

Message:

The type of message dictates the type of media. For example, an ad that features

technical information is best suited for specific magazines. Again, an ad from

retailer announcing major sale on discount requires more of local newspapers.

Cost Factor:

Television is very expensive, where as, radio is very economical. However, cost

is not the only factor, even if it is calculated on the basis of cost per- person

reached. The impact of the media is to be taken into account. ,

Deciding to include advertising in the communication mix process is a

relatively easy decision compared to deciding which media and media vehicle

(for example which magazine or which cancel on TV, etc.) Most of the

advertising budget gets spent on the media (and not the creative or production

side).This is why a careful planning, negotiating and knowledge skills are very

important. Expert media planners and buyers got the best out of the advertising

by finding the right spaces or places for an ad campaign at the lowest cost.

There are a wide variety of media available today for the advertisers to choose

from. The decision is depended on a lot of factors at the same time it is a very

crucial decision since the success of the campaign is highly depended on the

media selection aspect.

Recommendations

Target & Positioning

o To encash the Brand image o To target every segments of customero Provide state of the art Facilities

Measurable Objectives o To check increment in saving bank holderso Increase in the amount of Loans o Increment in FD holders o Increase in PPF A/C Holder

Evaluation Methodologyo Monitoring sales Fig.o Surveying Customero Running a coupon