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Home » Viewpoints » Vodafone M-Pesa: Evangelising mobile wallets via onground engagements

Vodafone M-Pesa: Evangelising mobile wallets via onground engagements

By M4G Bureau - April 07, 2015

Vodafone has launched a countrywide campaign to build consumer awareness of the ease of using mobile wallets through their service M-Pesa. Suresh Sethi, Business Head, M-Pesa, Vodafone India talks about the campaign in conversation with Outdoor Asia's Nabamita Chatterjee. Edited excerpts:


Do you think on-ground outdoor activations are helping you more in attracting your respective TG more in comparison with the regular outdoor formats?

Above-the-line marketing might not be enough when it is comes to disrupting traditional forms of cash management. A lot of effort must be invested to get people comfortable with the idea of transferring money using their phones. An average 30 minutes are spent in personal interaction with a transactional agent, a field agent, or a friend or family member to familiarise them with M-Pesa Mobile Wallet.

There are myths and mindset barriers due to technology and educating the customers is critical to help them understand how to use a mobile money service. This makes the role of activation or one-on-one-communication extremely important. Activation programmes also help the potential customers to see how the new service is both relevant and beneficial to them, thus laying the foundation for behavioural change.

In any new category development, education plays an important role in generating trial and conversions. While above-the line (mass media) can build awareness at a mass scale, service or product feature can only be explained by'talking to consumers' directly.

What is the basic objective of the M-Pesa initiative?

M-Pesa is an innovative financial service from Vodafone that brings the bank to the mobile and addresses the issue of access to financial services. Serving the needs of the unbanked and under-banked customers, Vodafone M-Pesa is a huge enabler in driving the governments financial inclusion agenda.

In 2007, M-Pesa was started in Kenya as a CSR pilot project, to transfer money over mobile because it was unsafe to carry cash. M-Pesa services are offered under a Prepaid Mobile Wallet License issued by the RBI in November 2012 to Vodafone M-Pesa Limited under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act (PSS Act), 2007.

M-Pesa works on a simple USSD menu allowing access on simple phones; and does not require internet availability. With M-Pesa a customer can:

  • Deposit and withdraw cash at a proximate M-Pesa agent outlet

  • Send money to any bank or any mobile in the country - 24x7

  • Pay merchants for goods and services

  • Make various bill payments

  • Purchase airtime - prepaid/ postpaid.

With a pan-India distribution network of 85,000 agents and with more than 2.5 million customers, M-Pesa is the largest banking business correspondent in the country. M-Pesa today plays a vital role in enabling financial inclusion and m-commerce.

Please share details of the various activations that you are planning to roll out in different markets?

Vodafone India has launched'M-Power', a pan-India customer education campaign that focuses on creating awareness about Vodafone M-Pesa mobile wallet service. Through this campaign, Vodafone aims to educate customers on the benefits of leveraging mobile technology to access the financial services in a Safe, Instant and Convenient way.

Relegating the days of long bank queues, travelling long distances and waiting for money to get transferred to the bank account, to the past, M-Power highlights both the relevance and benefit of using M-Pesa mobile wallet services. It will primarily target the migrant pockets and engage with them through live demonstrations, interactive sessions, facilitating on-spot registration and money transfer.

For instance, a three-day education camp is being organised in urban slums, especially in pockets with women working as domestic help or small business like parlours. In addition, Vodafone has organised Funday Activity to establish emotional connect with customers and educate them about benefits of M-Pesa in an engaging and entertaining manner. An experience zone is also created in different markets to communicate the proposition of Vodafone M-Pesa.

How many circles are involved?

M-Power is a pan-India customer education campaign. The campaign is being rolled out in three phases. The first phase include markets like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Kerala, Kolkata, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, UP East, UP West, Maharashtra & Goa and Mumbai.

Are you planning to merge various regional cultural activities along with the content of M- Pesa activations?

As a part of our extensive advertising campaign, we are doing theme-based branding that depicts the culture and traditions of the large migrant population. Our activation campaign creates an ambience for customers to re-live, the memories of their home state.

Is it a year-long programme? How much of your advertising budget goes for activations?

Yes, it is a year long programme. We are spending a lot on brand and awareness campaigns.

How will you complement the campaign with other regular outdoor formats?

This unique initiative is supported by an extensive marketing campaign that explains the'How' of using M-Pesa. The differentiator of the campaign is the superlative claim i.e.'M-Pesa is the most convenient way of sending and receiving money'.

Apart from television, Vodafone's M-Pesa campaign will be supported by print, radio, traditional outdoor, cinemas and activation as touch-points like skit performances, BCT, live demos, M-Pesa registration and gratification of consumers via lucky draw are also planned in order to connect with our target audience.

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