Paytm Karo. Source: Warc Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, Campaign details. Executive summary. Market background and cultural context

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1 Paytm Karo Source: Warc Prize for Asian Strategy, Shortlisted, 2016 Downloaded from warc.com This case study shows how Paytm, a mobile wallet service in India, devised an integrated media campaign to bring its product into the lives of everyday shoppers. Mobile and electronic wallets were seeing a large increase in prominence as a new form of payment, but companies like Paytm still were not tapping into the opportunity due to consumers' confusion and lack of knowledge about these platforms. In a bid to make it simpler to understand, Paytm reframed its new product, Paytm karo, as a new currency, making it easier to become a default payment behaviour; turning it into a verb, just like 'Google it'. The campaign used TVCs, business partnerships, print, radio, OOH and event sponsorships to widen its audience. Paytm increased its sales from 23 million wallets to 105 million wallets in 10 months. Campaign details Naresh Krishnaswamy Brand: Paytm Brand owner: One97 Communications Pvt. Ltd. Lead agency: McCann World Group Country: India Industry: Financial services (general), Online retail Media: Magazines - business, trade, Magazines - consumer, Mobile & apps, Newspapers, Outdoor, out-of-home, Point-ofpurchase, in-store, Print - general, unspecified, Radio, Sales promotion, Social media, Sponsorship - event, property, Television Budget: million Executive summary PayTM had been launched in 2010 as a mobile and DTH recharge platform. In 2014 they launched online wallets and in one short year had already reached 23 million wallets. In 2016, they were looking for a quantum jump in this number. Clearly, the growth had to come from Tier I and II town consumers. However for Tier II consumers, the world of online payments was literally becoming a bewildering web. Credit card. Debit card. NetBanking. Visa Pay. Airtel Money. PayUMoney. Mobikwik. So many options and methods that even the savvy urban consumer was hard-pressed to keep up. The answer lay in changing the frame of reference from yet another payment platform, to a new currency. The creative approach showed everyday situations, like bickering over change with auto drivers. The catchphrase "PayTM Karo" (Just Paytm it") turned PayTM into a verb, elevating it to a currency in its own right. An Integrated Media approach, covering every possible consumer touchpoint, gave it mass stature. Tie-ups with leading FMCG companies for cash-back promos on paying with PayTM, encouraged universality of use. Result - PayTM went from 23mn wallets to 105mn wallets within 10 months. India had accepted a new currency. Market background and cultural context

2 The real complications of virtual money In a simpler world, not so long ago, making a payment was easy it was either cash or cheque. Then came credit cards. And debit cards. Net banking. And now, with the introduction of e-wallets and mobile wallets the complexity reached a whole new level. Brands like Airtel Money, Vodafone m-pesa, Mobikwik, PayUMoney. Platforms like VisaPay. Aggregators like Masterpass. So many options and methods that even the savvy urban consumer was hard pressed to keep up. The world of online payments was literally becoming a bewildering web. Mobile payment platforms All hype but not really keeping pace with the smartphone explosion. The newest option on the block, the app-based mobile payment platforms or mobile wallets, were the new buzzwords, but data indicated that they were not really keeping pace with the smartphone explosion that they were supposed to ride. In 2014, there were 140 million smartphones in the market, but all the key players in the mobile wallet segment like Mobikwik, Airtel Money, Vodafoe m-paisa and CitrusPay were struggling to cross a penetration for 10-15%. Even the biggest player, PayTM, was at 20 million- only a fraction of the 140 million As the smartphone explosion headed to smaller towns, the task was only going to get more difficult. The category needed new users. But there were barriers. Smartphones, mobile internet and online shopping for all three, the big growths were going to come from Tier I and II towns. And it was at the confluence of these three that PayTM's opportunity lay. So if a quantum jump were to be achieved, the growth had to come from mass segment consumers. Challenges: The mass expansion of the category was not going to be driven by motivators like convenience, instant speed or discount coupons but by overcoming adoption barriers. The barrier of intimidation: money + technology platform The mass market consumer was increasingly feeling out of step with the rapid developments he was witnessing all around him. He was only just beginning to understand the notion of virtual money. To now have to deal with virtual money on a technology- based, online platform was a double whammy. The barrier of complexity: Ease of Use For the mass segment consumers, the world of online payments was a maze. So many options and methods that even the tech savvy urban consumer was hard pressed to keep up. Now imagine the state of the masses. The barrier of mass acceptance: It was of little use if everyone else didn't use it The Strategic Communication Challenge before Paytm : How could Paytm go from "The Better Way to Pay" to "The Only way to Pay"? Objectives The Objective was simple: increase in the number of Paytm mobile wallets. More specifically, "mass acceptance" meant: More people thought about Paytm when they through payments - KPI: Top of mind /Spont Awareness; More people downloaded the app; More people created a PayTM account KPI: Number of wallets; Increase in usage of PayTM by people KPI: increase in average transaction value. Insight and strategic thinking The Big Idea: From payment platform to currency.

3 Welcome the New Currency Paytm KARO. Paytm's quest was democratization of mobile wallets. The other players were trying to project online transactions as the "cool", new way to pay. The protagonists were generally hip youngsters, who were completely beyond the understanding of their parents or elders. In an attempt to appeal to the youth, humour and cleverness were almost the norm. However, the broader masses could not relate to it. Paytm's insight: People don't understand payment platforms, they understand currency. Any currency is not only measured by its transactional worth, but also by its emotional worth. Paytm decided to change the frame of reference From a better payment platform than everyone to a better currency than cash Creative and/or channel execution The entire strategy was carefully crafted keeping in mind the objective of Driving Mass Acceptance for India's New Currency: Making it the new default behavior - Firstly, and most importantly, they turned Paytm into a verb (like "Google it"), saying "PayTM Karo" ("Just Paytm It")-a verbal shorthand that elevated Paytm from being merely a platform to a currency in its own right. Showcasing width of acceptance - The TVC showed various everyday instances that the mass market consumer could easily relate with, such as A payment to an autorickshaw driver without the inevitable bickering over change, a brother giving his sister "Rakhi ka shagun" (Rakhi is a festival that celebrates the brother-sister relationship, where the ritual has the brother handing over a token amount of cash "shagun" - to the sister), a son recharging his mother's phone. These situations underlined the universality of use of Paytm, and took the brand deep into their everyday lives. Rewarding increased usage - Paytm tied up with various FMCG companies like Lays, Britannia, L'Oreal and even Kingfisher (India's most popular brand of beer). There was a consumer cash-back scheme with these companies if consumers purchased these items using Paytm.

4 Supporting Emotional Acceptance The TVC showed various instances with an added emotional component. The son recharging his mother's phone was so that she could speak with him a bit longer. The "Rakhi shagun" showcased a typical relationship between brother and sister. Paytm also took the "rakhi shagun" idea to print, releasing a half page ad on Rakhi dai, telling brothers to gift their sisters with PayTM cash this year. Giving it mass stature Nothing reaches the masses better in India than cricket. Paytm launched its campaign with the biggest cricket show in India the Indian Premier League. It further leveraged its association with BCCI the Board of Cricket Control in India - with the India South Africa Freedom series. The entire award presentation backdrop was branded by Paytm. Paytm used radio extensively to reach out to the general public in different states. Apart from radio ads, there was seamless content integration e.g. the anchor asking people to narrate embarrassing instances when they had run out of cash (setting up the relevance of PayTM). Print ads were run in 25 leading vernacular dailies cross the country. Ads were placed inside autorickshaws in Rajasthan. Spots were taken on Hindi news channels before the 9 0'clock news Performance against objectives #1. From 23 million wallets to 105 million wallets in 10 months. A four-fold jump in the number of wallets and Paytm had breached the 100 million barrier. India had accepted a new currency Paytm. #2. Proof that advertising was driving this. The massive jump in top-of-mind and spontaneous awareness. #3. A whopping 109% jump in number of app downloads in the campaign period #4. People were using Paytm more than ever before. Dth recharge, a key measure of usage showed a 150% jump from 205 crore to 505 crore.

5 #5. The biggest evidence of mass acceptance the changing profile of the Paytm users: 1. The number of recharges with transaction value less than Rs.100 went up from 9.08 mn to 17.2mn an increase of 90%! 2. Number of wallets with transactions below Rs from 2.9mn to 8.4 mn - an increase of 186%! 3. The number of market place orders from non-metro areas went up from 150,000 to 600,000 an increase of 300%! #6. In the Economic Times most trusted brand study, Paytm was the most trusted compared to all the other compeititors. Paytm had managed to break the barriers and given India the new way to pay Paytm karo. Lessons learned The most valuable lesson : Shifting the frame of reference can be invaluable. The moment Paytm defined its competition not as other online platforms, but as cash, it set itself on the path to exponential growth. Copyright Warc 2016 Warc Ltd. 85 Newman Street, London, United Kingdom, W1T 3EU Tel: +44 (0) , Fax: +(0) All rights reserved including database rights. This electronic file is for the personal use of authorised users based at the subscribing company's office location. It may not be reproduced, posted on intranets, extranets or the internet, ed, archived or shared electronically either within the purchaser's organisation or externally without express written permission from Warc.