The Makings of a Trailblazer
Nazmul Karim Chowdhury sits at the corner office of the fourth floor at the City Bank Center, the headquarter of the bank in Gulshan 2. Upon entering the bustling space, I believe it is kind of metaphorical because his many of experience; Nazmul has covered the multifaceted realm of creating distinguished brand experiences for the consumers. He equates his vocational life to timing, “When I graduated in 2003 and came to Dhaka, it was an exciting time. They started investing more in strategic planning and marketing in a way that BAT and Unilever does.
My career started at Bitopi Advertising Ltd., one of the biggest advertising agencies in Bangladesh and an affiliate of Leo Burnett Inc.; they emphasized the need for training.” His initial assignments focused mostly on doing market research for clients such as Citycell, UNICEF, Rahimafrooz, Grameen Phone and assist the creative team in coming up with powerful creative ideas based on authentic consumer insight. It was Nazmul’s first hands-on experience in research, “I would have to conduct ‘market surveys and research” to get to know the insights from the consumer.
Although I found it taxing, I soon realized that it was a great learning experience I would never get from any marketing textbook. Observing the consumers life, their attitude and behavior in decision making in selecting a product or service to solve the pain point, the insight you need to come back to drawing board and support your colleagues in their planning.” That particular skill has helped him immensely in his formative years in understanding the basics of consumer behavior and advertising when he started supporting the marketing communications campaign as a young executive in the creative agency for top corporates and later started his MBA in the UK in Strategic Marketing.
Upon his return to Bangladesh in 2007, he was appointed as the Client Service Director at Unitrend Ltd (an affiliate of Universal McCann Worldgroup). At the age of 26, Nazmul was their ideal candidate because he had developed a solid contextual understanding of both local and foreign markets; “My work entailed advertising, annual marketing communications and media planning for one of Unitrend’s top global client Nestle. I would take my knowledge from Bitopi and apply it to other companies that I had progressed to.” He later joined Mediacom Ltd, the marketing communications agency of Square Group as the Head of Client Service. “My tenures at Mediacom taught me how to balance efficiency, and market a diverse portfolio.” During his time in Mediacom, his team would have to assist the creative team in making 30 TV commercials a year and five TVCs per month and a significant number of 360 degree integrated communications campaign to support the product launches of Square group.
He was headhunted for City Bank nearly a decade ago, “My time here started with training in American Express, APAC headquarter in Singapore, learning the campaign methodology, and brand management tools from one of the world’s most reputed Fortune 500 Financial Brand American Express as City Bank in 2009, became the sole licensee of American Express in Bangladesh. The initial experience with such a strong financial brand was enlightening on many stages. I started my time here with the exposure that most aspiring managers from brand and marketing communications background would dream of.”
When Nazmul first joined the advertising industry, there was a lack of annual brand planning initiatives amongst the local corporates. “There was a prominent sense of mutual trust between clients and agencies. The drawback was that it was more or less very ad-hoc with not much understanding of the long-term objective of brand building. Annual planning for products or services was initiated much later.” He witnessed the transition of local brands and their utilization of a yearly scheme for a more integrated approach.
The Logarithm for Success: Fitting Digital into the Equation
City Bank was recently awarded the Best Consumer Digital Bank in Bangladesh by Global Finance. The financial institute started this focus in 2014 when 3G was sweeping the nation. “Bangladesh witnessed all major telecom companies such as Grameenphone, Citycell, Banglalink, Robi shifted to 3G and this would create a massive market for smartphones. We saw a rising potential for digital delivery. However, it came with a challenge because now there were multiple platforms; companies would have to decide which would generate the most impact.”
Their primary action was the launch of digital products that would be delivered through social channels because traditional channels were more expensive while its scope was narrowing. “We wanted to move into space where people’s conversations were happening and they would find a deeper relevance to their lives. Additionally, we noticed that consumers were looking beyond traditional ways of delivery because they provided an innovative and convenient approach to banking.”
Pioneer by nature, City Bank launched their digital banking app “Citytouch” because they wanted consumers to have every service at their fingertips. Nazmul details that the app was the first in Bangladesh, “It was the first app in the market amongst the digital banking apps, though there were basic level internet banking services there was no internet banking facility with an app. We delivered and encouraged people to download the app and enjoy their banking on the go through a very convenient app. The user-friendly interface made the app extremely easy to navigate and led to its notable degree of success.” This initiative was followed by launching products on a social media platform. City Bank started with a Facebook page and six commercials. “We generated content that was tailored for the social media user. Our content proved to be successful as our follower base reached 57,000 in a matter of two weeks. We were the first bank in the country whose page was approved by Facebook.” Today, the bank sees follower bases in the six figures with a follower base of more than 1 million; any of their campaigns reach 13 million eyeballs immediately. The integration that City Bank had undertaken has allowed them to penetrate such larger consumer base in real time.
They have merged the digital platform to create a holistic consumer experience. Nazmul expounds on the ease of ‘City Q’, “It is just one of the many benefits of transforming our queue management at branches that are primarily digital. With City Q, customers can manage the lines at the bank by scheduling their appointments from home. Our success with technology has led to efficient banking apps, online queue management, e-commerce, card-based payment, QR code payment and becoming a financial friend of the customers who need user-friendly tools to stay top of their finances.
Their partners have heavily shifted to e-commerce, making them the market leaders in 2014. City Bank’s lead in the market is apparent in their numbers with more than 150,000 customers relying on digital banking transactions on a daily basis.
From the Product Up
City Bank works in a distinct process when it comes to their brand strategy. And it starts with a basic product idea or a prototype. “The product idea or prototype has already been created by a business insight team of various business divisions as per the annual business plan. We are a full-service bank who does Commercial and Wholesale banking, Retail and SME banking, Card business, Agent Banking, Priority Banking and a strong suit of many alternative delivery channels of banking service. In this respect, we must create a holistic plan for any products or services that come our way. It is imperative that any products or services with its functional features are nothing but a commodity.”
Nazmul and his team receive a brief where the process begins to develop the product positioning that gives the opportunity to decide the unique role that a new or existing product will play in the marketplace. The team’s planning includes answering the following questions:
l Define where and how the products relate and what pain point it is going to solve
l Connect with the target consumer
l Enhance the product’s position against competitors
l Refine the accurate insights for messaging
“We focus on the emotional engagement and the value it will add to a person’s life. Our main focus is rooted in identifying the compelling consumer insight because that clearly connects the story back to brand and product positioning, through the execution.”
Nazmul is proud that City Bank is a cross-functional team. “Our research entails the consumer and the business teams, especially the respective product managers who refine the product idea that effectively leads to the functionality of the product. When you start asking the right questions you discover the correct information.” This research process is coupled with a comparative opportunity that brand managers monitor in order to understand the overview of the market. “You know when I say asking the right questions that we actually asked if the competitors doing like this or competitors come tomorrow with a similar offer, how ours be different. So you have to identify your competitive opportunities by mapping what your competitors are doing, derive your product truth and give the right consumer insight to the product team to rethink: What is the one thing the product stands for?” Finally, an accurate insight is then handed over to the creative agency for the development of the creative idea.
Our focus is on sustainable financing where certain industries mandate it. We have multiple stakeholders so we have our personality stumpage as a good corporate citizen, promoting green lending and financing.
Innovation under Their Vault
Given that the advent of technology has paved the way for convenience at every step. The mindset of customers has manifested to everything in the now. Nazmul believes that staying ahead of the game means bringing the bank to the people. “We started this trend with the cash recycling ATM; through its service people can access complete financial transactions when the bank is closed without having to worry about going to a branch. It was part of a larger initiative to create alternative delivery channels.” City Bank has also launched the country’s first drive-through ATM; the idea behind it is putting safety first. They have these services in major highways that include Dhaka to Chittagong and Dhaka to Sylhet.
Nazmul also focuses on millennials, a generation that want an all in one solution. “The younger population want an everything bank; it does e-commerce, it buys you cinema tickets, it pays your bills, it pays your club membership fee, and it pays your school fees so you hardly have to visit a branch.” For the generation that strives for immediate results, the bank prides itself in on constant engagement; this includes conversations on their many digital platforms from Google search, Linkedin to Facebook. “We want our clients to know that their concerns will be addressed and that is why we focus on constant feedback. When you keep your base engaged, you establish a sense of brand love because they understand that your care is genuine.” This attention caught the eye of Facebook and they are doing a research of financial industry and engagement based around City Bank.
For brands, the mobile Internet has strengthened our understanding of middle-aged customer segments with the fastest access to data and analytics, and new channels to reach them. Extensive use of Google AdWords with search optimization techniques has enabled us to reach faster with our offerings, more targeted reach by campaigns at Facebook, customer engagement by Microsites that enabled us to customize marketing opportunities for lead generation and remarketing etc. Moreover, extensive social media listening and community engagement have helped us to enhance the banking experience of our middle-aged and millennial customers who are digitally confident, hyper-connected, socially affluent and making a more informed decision about their investment than before.
Taking More ‘Interest’
Nazmul expounds that a loan is not for people that are trying to buy, “You have to realize that for the individual it is a step towards procuring the kind of lifestyle that they want. We want to create an environment of trust and that is when the quality of our advice comes in. Our relationship managers work around your specifications to find the car or the house of your dreams and how to work on a financial scheme around it.” The banks cover all the touch points and consideration while partnering with the concerned partners for a much easier decision making and financial projecting process: “We are in the business of financing dreams.”
City Bank also provides high net worth clients with the most exclusive experiences. “We understand that the financial services world is yet to be personalized and that is why we have created the first personalized lounges for your business needs. It allowed clients to conduct meetings with the utmost privacy while providing the most exclusive benefits.” City Bank’s services include limousine pick up from the airport, five-star catering, and an opulent ambiance that will impress any high net worth customer. They have major touchpoints in Gulshan, Banani, Uttara, and Dhanmondi as well as in Chittagong. Named as Citygem Priority Banking, it is already recognized as one of most coveted banking services amongst the industry players.
Chequing into a Better Future
The future of City Bank is not only one that starts the latest trends, Nazmul explains that City Bank is the institute that ushers change. “We wanted to become the thought leader in the industry. Back in 2012, City Bank Management came up with the idea of the Bangladesh Investment Summit in collaboration with Standard Chartered Bangladesh. We have organized this five times because we wanted to highlight the success story of Bangladesh to foreign investors. With the support from Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and various Ministries of The Government of Bangladesh, we have successfully executed it in London, Singapore, and Hong Kong.” They plan to continue this tradition, presenting potentially emerging sectors in Bangladesh and present immediate and medium-term investment opportunities in Bangladesh in an integrated manner.
City Bank has focused their own investments into what they term as ‘green lending’. “Our focus is on sustainable financing where certain industries mandate it. We have multiple stakeholders so we have our personality stumpage as a good corporate citizen, promoting green lending and financing.” City Bank has recently won the prestigious ‘Global Climate Partnership Award 2018′ from Global Climate Partnership Fund (GCPF). This is one of the most prestigious awards on Energy Efficient financing which recognizes outstanding performance and impact of partner institutions in the areas of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy related green lending. As constant innovators, City Bank strives to move towards entirely green financing and summits geared toward propelling investment into the nation.
“While planning for future, it’s important to objectively understand that our brand, product or service is not the center of our consumer’s world. The only relation we have with them is the ‘Experience’. Be it a product, or a social media post or in-store purchase, our audiences expect an immediate answer in the moments they want to know, go, do, and buy. These are called Micro Moments. The idea behind micro-moment marketing is that we live in an era where consumers are flooded with social media posts, emails, texts, push notifications and what not. So our campaigns will only be noticed if it is relevant to their moment of needs. We as City Bank are emphasizing on creating our communications to be relevant as a brand with a solution for all those micro-moments.”
