The leading social bank ESAF Small Finance Bank has rolled out an OOH campaign with the longest single outdoor hoarding unit ever installed in India. With its sprawling 250 feet long and 10 feet height dimension, the LED illuminated installation is strategically placed on a toll gate along the National Highway in Thrissur, the banking capital of Kerala. ESAF’s brand-building efforts over the past three decades were primarily through social initiatives and were not much relied on OOH. Though this has helped the brand create huge value and trust among the target audience, the brand is not shying away from this mode of ad campaign given the brand plans to position itself strongly in the highly competitive banking segment.
The OOH conveys the stories of the transformation of rural lives made possible by ESAF and recognizes the rural talents. The largest hoarding is strategically positioned across the length of both sides of the toll gate and receives an average of 1.80 lakh eye hits per day with around 45,000 vehicles crossing the toll gate each day.
“We always believed in building a strong brand even before the launch of the bank. Our first branding campaign as an NBFC-MFI, ‘We build the nation from its roots’ turned out to be a big hit as it was meant to bring a facelift to the segment as a whole. Though we are focused on building the brand through social activities, equal attention is also given to exploring strategic ad locations to get a competitive edge and hence we went for toll plaza branding,” says K. Paul Thomas, MD and CEO, ESAF Small Finance Bank
Commenting on the recent OOH release Sony V. Mathew, VP – Head, Branding, Communications & PR, ESAF Small Finance Bank, said “We believe in innovative branding solutions and are clear that strategic placements of our ads can build the recall factor. Strategic OOH would help us to further strengthen the brand among all segments of the target audience. When toll plaza branding was proposed by the agency, we didn’t need to think too deep as the location spoke volumes about its strategic importance. We also made sure that our efforts do cater to the values we uphold. We decided to give a chance to a rural artist named Latheesh from Aluva to draw for the hoarding.”
