Birla Sun Life’s 360 degree campaign ‘Jaanoge tabhi toh maanoge’ uses both mass media and ground level activities to evangelize the cause of mutual funds.
Can a restaurant serve two plates of biryani and veg handi, one dal fry and three roti in 2 minutes? Unless the food was made a day before; it’s not possible. Birla Sun Life (BSL) MF has linked this simple concept with mutual funds by telling investors that mutual fund investment needs time to grow just like food cannot be prepared in two minutes through a TV commercial add campaign known as ‘Jaanoge tabhi toh maanoge’ (JTTM).
BSL MF discovered during their first investor awareness program in Mumbai that while 60% of the audience knew about mutual funds; however, only 3% wanted to invest in them. K.S. Rao, Head of Investor Education and Distribution Development said, “Many people have misconceptions - mutual fund invest only in equities, they need lot of money to invest in MF etc.; however, we aim to dispel these myths through JTTM.”
As a part of JTTM, Birla Sun Life MF has conducted investor awareness seminars and street shows in 82 locations including many B-15 cities. The company claims to have organized 52 such camps in 50 days.
Moreover, BSL MF has started a day- long program in schools called ‘Money labs’ in which experts teach students about the importance of money management through games and quizzes. Rao said that games like risk and gain (snake and ladder) help in educating children about mutual fund investments in an entertaining way. During such programs, parents too show a keen interest in mutual funds for their children’s education and future, he added.
Similarly, BSL MF has initiated ‘First pay cheque’ programs in various colleges. Through this program, the company educates college students about the importance of savings and investment. This program stresses on the need to start investments in mutual funds by setting aside a portion from their first pay cheque. Rao said that they have launched an android application of JTTM for college students to create awareness and resolve queries related to mutual funds.
In addition, recently, BSL MF has tied up with Anna University to carry out a financial literacy program called ‘Knowledge Transfer Program’ (KTP) for students and faculty. Sharing the rationale behind KTP, Rao said, “The idea is to increase sophistication for managing savings and developing capabilities college students.”
A Balasubramanian, CEO, BSL MF, said, "We look forward to not only offer Indian talent advanced learning in the high potential domain of financial services, but also sharpen their financial skills to help mould finance savvy entrepreneurs of tomorrow.”
Besides, BSL MF has started a training program for IFAs called ‘Master the mind and manage the money’ in order to empower distribution community through knowledge upgradation and skill development. It covers business development topics like how to take care of client’s financial matters, understanding client’s behavior towards money etc. This program also aims to motivate IFAs who have left MF distribution to restart. So far, 4,000 IFAs have benefited from this program.
According to Rao, mass media is a passive way to carry out awareness drive whereas ground level activities are more interactive. He says, “A successful awareness drive requires a better co-ordination between mass media and ground level activities. Mass media creates visibility of brand among people while ground level activities directly connect the brand with people.”
The fund house claims to have received overwhelming response from investors - 20% of those who attended their IAPs have started investing in mutual funds through SIPs!
