Measuring Brand Health and Campaign Effectiveness for a Financial Services Firm

Client

A well-known financial services provider operating at scale across India

Objective

The client sought to deepen its understanding of how its brand is perceived in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets. With expanding competition and multiple overlapping campaigns, the client wanted to track brand funnel performance - from awareness through preference - and assess campaign effectiveness across various touchpoints.

The primary goal of this engagement was to help the client:
• Understand the quality of brand awareness, and how well its messaging and values are recognized among consumers, with a clear focus on brand awareness benchmarks
• Benchmark brand health against direct competitors using reliable financial brand tracking, robust financial brand metrics, and aligned regional brand benchmarks
• Measure the effectiveness of ongoing marketing campaigns in generating recall, interest, and preference, and track campaign ROI in finance, alongside actionable financial ad recall metrics and marketing resonance analysis
• Identify key areas for product positioning refinement, communication clarity, and brand affinity enhancement, emphasizing fintech brand positioning and compelling brand storytelling in BFSI

This was particularly important for aligning marketing strategies to consumer needs in underserved and high-potential regions outside metro cities through a strong regional brand strategy, enhancing non-metro brand loyalty, and focusing on tiered market targeting.

Methodology

Research Methodology & Technique:

Face-to-face structured Quantitative Interviews conducted on a rolling monthly basis to enable quantitative brand analysis and consistent longitudinal perception tracking

Target Audience:

• Males and females aged 21–50 years
• Socio-economic classes: SEC A, B, C, D
• Decision-makers for financial services such as loans, savings, and insurance products with an emphasis on uncovering financial decision triggers and purchase behavior signals

Coverage & Locations:

• 25 cities across Tier 2 and Tier 3 India
• Includes key regional centers where digital financial adoption is rapidly growing, contributing to insights on finance adoption patterns and regional consumer insights

Sample Size:

• 1,000 interviews conducted monthly
• 12,000 interviews conducted annually to ensure trend tracking and deep dives, enabling user-centric finance research and in-depth respondent analysis

Key Findings

1. Brand Funnel Insights

• Awareness was relatively high, but consideration and preference lagged, signaling missed conversion opportunities and revealing critical market penetration evaluation needs
• Top-of-mind awareness varied significantly by region, suggesting opportunities for targeted financial messaging
• Competitor brands were often better associated with trust, accessibility, or specific service categories, reinforcing the role of digital trust in finance and supporting trust mapping in BFSI

2. Brand Health & Loyalty

• While users could recall the brand, emotional affinity and loyalty were weak, especially in regions where physical service presence was limited, highlighting gaps in emotional brand drivers and exposing loyalty gaps in BFSI
• Salience scores were moderate, and brand switching intent remained high in more price-sensitive demographics, indicating the influence of decision fatigue insights and the need for behavior-led brand design
• The brand performed better in regions with higher financial literacy and digital adoption, emphasizing the divide revealed by digital vs physical channel research

3. Campaign Performance Metrics

• Campaign recall rates were uneven across markets, with stronger performance in areas supported by localized activations and improved regional ad performance through local campaign effectiveness
• National campaigns lacked regional resonance, particularly in local language or community relevance, which necessitates a stronger vernacular marketing strategy and increased investment in community-based promotion
• Customers responded better to educational content and messaging around financial empowerment than purely promotional ads, driving the success of financial outreach programs and underlining the importance of ongoing message testing in finance

4. Source of Awareness & Service Usage

• Word-of-mouth, field agent influence, and local community events remained key channels for initial awareness, reflecting the strength of peer-driven preferences and effective audience segmentation India
• Digital channels had higher reach among younger SEC A/B users, while rural audiences preferred in-person communication, a key consideration for rural brand perception and understanding rural financial behavior
• Usage of financial products was higher where trust and understanding of services had been established through experience or peer recommendations, highlighting the relevance of low-income consumer trust and effective trust-building mechanisms

Business Implications

1. Brand Repositioning Strategy

• Improve top-of-funnel communication to emphasize trust, ease of use, and digital security through refined financial communication research and a comprehensive brand audit in finance

• Clarify value propositions at regional level, backed by local insights and community presence, leveraging a stronger regional brand strategy and deep insights on cultural identity in buying

2. Campaign Optimization

• Localize campaigns with vernacular content, community-based activations, and real customer stories, blending impactful brand storytelling in BFSI with precisely targeted financial messaging

• Invest in region-specific messaging frameworks for higher retention and recall, emphasizing optimized financial ad recall metrics and rigorous message testing in finance

3. Audience Segmentation & Prioritization

• Segment markets not only by tier but by financial behavior and channel affinity, supporting robust audience segmentation India and strategic lifestyle-based targeting

• Create custom content journeys for each segment: digitally-savvy users vs. first-time financial product adopters, using insights from digital footprint analysis and micro-moment marketing

4. Longitudinal Brand Tracking

• Continue monthly tracking to monitor awareness, salience, and switching behavior with structured longitudinal perception tracking and benchmarking against brand awareness benchmarks

• Use data to A/B test creatives and assess real-time shifts in perception or loyalty, applying an adaptive consumer strategy and identifying conversion-driving factors

Conclusion

This ongoing research program helped the client establish a robust, insight-led brand health monitoring system tailored for Tier 2 and Tier 3 India. With strategic clarity on campaign resonance, brand equity gaps, and conversion levers, the client was equipped to:

• Evolve brand messaging to better resonate across regions and demographics, aligning with customer-centric branding and influenced by visual cue impact

• Identify key emotional drivers of brand preference, rooted in meaningful emotional brand drivers and motivational motivational drivers

• Recalibrate its product and communication strategies for sustainable growth in emerging financial markets, guided by relevant purchase influencers and trend-driven consumption

Looking to unlock deeper brand traction across India's dynamic financial domain?

We help you decode what drives trust, preference, and loyalty through behavioral insights, campaign diagnostics, and regional resonance mapping. From market tracking to emotional engagement levers, let us co-create your next leap in brand strategy - rooted in relevance, reach, and measurable results.