With over 18 years of experience, Abhilasha Mathur leads teams to strategize, design, and implement 360-degree integrated brand marketing campaigns that achieve business objectives and maximize profitability. She is responsible for brand management, analytical campaign management, Go to Market Strategies using integrated media approaches, research, and account planning.

Many components contribute to a brand's identity, such as typography, graphics, tone of voice, and color palettes. Developing a strong brand image requires careful consideration and effort to ensure consistent representation across all platforms. Building brand awareness is crucial for introducing your brand and offerings to both new and existing customers. Products and services that establish and sustain strong brand recognition are more likely to experience boosted sales. In simple terms, consumers prefer making purchase decisions without much effort and are more inclined to buy a familiar branded product. Establishing brand awareness significantly involves maintaining a strong presence on social media. Managing brand awareness also entails effectively addressing negative online reviews, which are bound to occur occasionally. Through an exclusive interview with CEO Insights, Abhilasha Mathur, Senior Vice President, HDFC Bank sheds light on the keys to creating an effective brand management team.

How do you drive brand awareness, consideration, and sales by creating and Implementing strategies that fuel consumer purchases for assets?
Today's consumers are spoilt for choice—flirtatious, fickle, and discerning. They know what they want and expect brands to anticipate those needs, offering personalized experiences at every touchpoint. In an age of social commerce, where referrals increasingly drive buying decisions, and transactions can happen anytime, anywhere, brands must be present meaningfully throughout the customer journey.

The key to standing out is making the customer the "hero of the story". To do this, brands must create propositions that resonate deeply with their target audience and amplify those messages through the right media channels when consumers are most receptive. But the journey doesn't end with generating leads; it's about nurturing those relationships post-purchase to drive repeated conversions.

To build brand awareness, we employ a comprehensive strategy that integrates content marketing with traditional and new-age media. Our content marketing initiatives are designed to educate and engage, offering valuable insights into our products and services through blogs, videos, and thought leadership pieces. This content is strategically amplified on platforms where customers seek information, as well as on our owned channels, fostering meaningful community conversations.

We complement this with brand campaigns on high-impact channels such as TV, digital, Social Media and print, which are crucial in creating awareness and reinforcing trust. For our digital-native audience, we leverage new-age platforms like OTT, where targeted ads reach engaged viewers who consume content in this space. This multi-channel approach ensures we are present where our customers are most active, maximizing brand visibility.

For consideration, we adopt a mid-funnel strategy focused on intent-based channels like search marketing, capturing those actively seeking financial solutions. We emphasize our brand strengths and product benefits to guide customers down the decision-making funnel.

To drive conversions, we utilize a data-driven approach with precision-targeted performance campaigns across digital platforms and our owned channels, including our website, app, and email.

We actively nurture customers at every stage, re-engaging those who drop off to convert them in the future, thereby building long-term relationships and continuous engagement.

How can businesses and leaders promote a culture of brand advocacy?
Promoting a culture of brand advocacy begins internally. Our employees are our primary advocates, so fostering a strong connection between them and the brand is essential. We ensure that every team member understands and embodies our brand values, instilling a profound sense of purpose within the organization.
We invest in comprehensive internal brand and product immersions and regular communication from senior management. This approach empowers our employees to become effective brand ambassadors, representing our values and guiding our customers with suitable product offerings.

Additionally, we recognize that a satisfied customer is our future brand advocate. Our focus starts with delivering high-quality service and exceptional experiences that turn customers into passionate advocates for our brand. We utilize tools like the Net Promoter Score (NPS), feedback from our sales and branch teams, and social listening platforms to monitor customer sentiment continuously.

These insights are invaluable in identifying pain points

and understanding customer needs, enabling us to enhance our products and services proactively. We also emphasize a First Time Right culture, ensuring us accurately and efficiently address customer needs from the first interaction. This commitment reduces friction in the customer experience and builds lasting trust in our brand.

What measures the businesses should take to make sure that internal and external marketing are aligned with each other?
Aligning internal and external marketing is akin to a relay match, where both parties are equally essential to winning the race. To ensure success, employees must be onboarded and made aware of our marketing initiatives and campaigns before they are announced to the world. This proactive approach fosters a sense of ownership and empowerment among our team members.

Effective collaboration across all departments—marketing, sales, customer service, and product development—plays a vital role in achieving this alignment. Working together can create a unified voice that resonates with our audience across all media touchpoints.

In addition to collaboration, cultivating a culture of transparency is key. Openly sharing our objectives, strategies, and performance metrics ensures everyone understands their roles in driving the brand forward and gives them a sense of ownership. This makes them feel informed and part of the decision-making process, building trust and encouraging brand advocacy.

Agility is equally important in today's fast-paced environment. Our ability to adapt quickly to new insights and market trends empowers us to refine our marketing strategies in real-time, ensuring our messaging remains relevant. This adaptability makes our team feel capable and ready to face any challenge in the dynamic market.

Finally, a cohesive approach across internal and external channels is essential. Consistency across owned, paid, and earned media creates a seamless customer experience that enhances brand recognition and trust. By embedding transparency, agility, collaboration, and a unified media strategy, we position our bank for sustained success in a competitive landscape.

What types of training and onboarding initiatives should leaders implement to enhance employee engagement and facilitate learning about the brand and brand strategy?
Our approach to training goes beyond simply creating employees—we aim to build brand advocates. We strive to empower our teams with a holistic understanding of our organization and its brand purpose. We ensure that every employee is fully immersed in what we stand for, why we exist, and how we aim to make a difference for our customers. This creates alignment and instills a sense of ownership and pride in representing the brand.

In the service-driven banking industry, trust is essential. That's why we emphasize training our employees to provide the right solutions while demonstrating empathy towards our customers. Understanding their unique needs and challenges is crucial. We prioritize solutions over sales because trust naturally follows when we effectively address our customers' concerns and deliver real value. Our employees have the skills to guide customers through their financial journeys, always keeping their best interests at the forefront.

Fostering a workplace where employees find joy in their roles not only boosts morale but also enhances productivity and innovation

By fostering a culture of empathy and solutions-focused service, we not only strengthen our brand but also create authentic connections with our customers. Our employees play a crucial role in this process. When they truly believe in the brand’s mission and are trained to serve with purpose, they become powerful advocates, forging long-lasting relationships built on trust and reliability.

What would be your advice to budding leaders in the industry?
My advice to budding leaders will center around the three E's—empowerment, Empathy, and Enjoyment—that shape successful leadership today.

Empowerment is about building trust within your team. ‘Leadership is not about being in charge. It's about taking care of those in your charge,’ as Simon Sinek wisely said in Leaders Eat Last. When you empower your employees by giving them the freedom to take initiative, innovate, and make decisions, you inspire confidence and nurture leaders at every level. Providing the right resources, guidance, and trust helps your team feel deeply connected to the brand's success.

Equally crucial is empathy. In an industry like banking, where trust is the foundation of customer relationships, empathy is not just a soft skill, but a strategic tool. It allows you to deeply understand and anticipate the needs of both your customers and employees, fostering a culture of support, collaboration, and loyalty.

Finally, engagement is not just about keeping employees busy, but about making them feel valued and motivated. Fostering a workplace where employees find joy in their roles not only boosts morale but also enhances productivity and innovation.

By leading with Empowerment, Empathy, and Engagement, you create stronger connections—internally and externally—and lay the foundation for sustained success. "When you empower your people, you empower your organization."