UTIMF grabs hold of shopping cart to target big spenders
UTIMF has built a whole advertisement campaign on retail mall trolleys to sell their latest mutual fund offering, the Lifestyle Fund.
By Partha Sinha, TNN |
MUMBAI: Is the shopping mall trolley a symbol of consumerism? Or of lifestyle? Is it unique to the buying power of the wallet-heavy consumer in the 25-40 age group? For UTI Mutual Fund (UTIMF), the oldest fund house in the country, the answers to these questions were strong positivesenough reason to launch their new offering.
UTIMF, which manages over Rs 40,000 crore ($10 billion) of other people’s money, has built a whole advertisement campaign on retail mall trolleys to sell their latest mutual fund offering, the Lifestyle Fund.
“In today’s India, in metros and big cities, a trolley is a symbol of consumerism,” said Jaideep Bhattacharya, chief marketing officer, UTIMF, pointing to a poster of the campaign for the Lifestyle Fund in his office. And the fund house has used mall-activation (tie-ups with various shopping malls around the country) as one of the main strategies to sell a scheme to a segment that is already conscious about their new found lifestyle status.
UTIMF has tied up with retail chains like Big Bazaar, Pantaloon , Infinity, City Centre and a host of other localised malls to distribute the form to all those who shop above Rs 500.
As the consumer pushes his way across the aisle, he can’t help but get the message, in a subtle way. Barely a month since the scheme was launched, the firm expects to mobilise about Rs 1,000 crore. The main target are consumers with a have-money-will-spend attitude.
“We have tried to play on the psychology of the spender,” Bhattacharya said. “India is a country of savers and spending money still instills a feeling of guilt among spenders. So by offering them a chance to invest, which is just the opposite of spending, we offer them an option to balance their guilt,” he added.
Why malls? The marketing and sales team too was perplexed . Enlarging on the bigger picture, they were told how a large portion of the working population is into high-paying jobs, and for these consumers how lifestyle has been emerging as a category.
While talking about lifestyle as a category, the firm used modern communication technology extensively, mainly because its target investors were expected to be tech-savvy . From search-engine optimisation strategies to creating a micro-site for the fund, from mobile-based marketing initiatives to toll-free call centres, from print to television, the firm used them all. In a short while, the returns will speak for itself.
UTIMF, which manages over Rs 40,000 crore ($10 billion) of other people’s money, has built a whole advertisement campaign on retail mall trolleys to sell their latest mutual fund offering, the Lifestyle Fund.
“In today’s India, in metros and big cities, a trolley is a symbol of consumerism,” said Jaideep Bhattacharya, chief marketing officer, UTIMF, pointing to a poster of the campaign for the Lifestyle Fund in his office. And the fund house has used mall-activation (tie-ups with various shopping malls around the country) as one of the main strategies to sell a scheme to a segment that is already conscious about their new found lifestyle status.
UTIMF has tied up with retail chains like Big Bazaar, Pantaloon , Infinity, City Centre and a host of other localised malls to distribute the form to all those who shop above Rs 500.
As the consumer pushes his way across the aisle, he can’t help but get the message, in a subtle way. Barely a month since the scheme was launched, the firm expects to mobilise about Rs 1,000 crore. The main target are consumers with a have-money-will-spend attitude.
“We have tried to play on the psychology of the spender,” Bhattacharya said. “India is a country of savers and spending money still instills a feeling of guilt among spenders. So by offering them a chance to invest, which is just the opposite of spending, we offer them an option to balance their guilt,” he added.
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Why malls? The marketing and sales team too was perplexed . Enlarging on the bigger picture, they were told how a large portion of the working population is into high-paying jobs, and for these consumers how lifestyle has been emerging as a category.
While talking about lifestyle as a category, the firm used modern communication technology extensively, mainly because its target investors were expected to be tech-savvy . From search-engine optimisation strategies to creating a micro-site for the fund, from mobile-based marketing initiatives to toll-free call centres, from print to television, the firm used them all. In a short while, the returns will speak for itself.
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