Marketing success is determined by campaign impact on awareness, engagement, and conversions: Rohit Garg

Olyv (formerly SmartCoin Financials) is a financial wellness platforms aiming to address the credit requirements of the vast underserved segment in India. The customer base includes self-employed micro-entrepreneurs, micro-merchants and middle/lower-income, salaried individuals unserved by traditional financial institutions. They are being effectively served by leveraging advanced data science, artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms.
A vast majority belonging to the middle/lower segments of the society have continued to suffer from restricted access to formal credit pathways due to their volatile incomes, lack of traditional income-sources/work proofs or credit history. SmartCoin aspires to bridge this extant gap by optimizing its state-of-the-art tech-platform and enable credit access for emerging India by arranging ‘digital collateral’ on the basis of alternate data points that can effectively reflect user behaviour.
Its proprietary digital platform adeptly harnesses the alternate data sources to provide instant credit possibilities to the underserved segments of the nation. This newly-found access to formal credit will benefit over 300 million people from the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum by providing them with a slew of empowering prospects that can enhance their lives via financial inclusion.
A brainchild of top-ranked IIT and IIM alumni Rohit Garg, Jayant Upadhay, Amit Chandel and Vinay Kumar Singh who hold a collective professional experience spanning over 50 years across finance and tech-innovation, SmartCoin was incepted in 2015 and is currently based out of Bengaluru. The company has been facilitating instant personal loans through its cutting-edge app and has witnessed rapid growth in engagement and active user base. During the current year, SmartCoin reached over a million Monthly Active Users (MAUs), crossing the 10 million registered usersmilestone in May 2022. Given the company’s continued focus on urban and non urban regions, it has effectively served 19,000+ pin codes with half the demand emerging from tier-3 and tier-4 areas. SmartCoin’s app-based credit platform offers instant credit up to Rs. 1 lakh through 100% automation at a pan-India scale.
With a team comprising 300+ professionals, SmartCoin Financials is on a mission to cater to a wide spectrum of ‘Emerging India’. The company has a heightened focus on serving the credit starved ‘Missing Middle’ comprising 300M+ micro-entrepreneurs, micro-merchants and blue and grey collared workers. The company has been supported by fintech investors like LGT Lightstone, Accion, among others. SmartCoin’s impact mission to ensure tech-driven financial inclusion and wellness for India was recognized at the eminent World Economic Forum platform and as the Best AI Application of Tech for Good at the Financial Express Futech Award 2022. SmartCoin has also received substantial recognition for its efforts at national events like Google’s Launchpad Accelerator as well as international ones such as Global Inclusive50 by MetLife, VISA, IFC, and so on.  SmartCoin is also an active member of DLAI and FACE, working to make the fintech landscape better for both the customers and the fintechs players.
By underlining the need to provide urgent credit access to the hugely underserved middle- and lower-income groups and raising user awareness, SmartCoin endeavours to partner the next wave of growth in India. Its unique data-driven approach towards ushering financial inclusion for the unserved segments of the Indian population has been highly scalable and efficient as the company has managed to register steady month-on-month growth.
In the next few years, the company will prepare itself to achieve the next phase of targeted exponential growth and envision reaching over 25x of its present performance levels. Improved products and better underwriting are leading to a higher average ticket size and enhanced breadth of products available on the platform in line with customer demand. The company has diversified, launching new products like digital gold, driving deeper engagement, as reflected in the steep growth in MAUs.
Medianews4u.com caught up with Rohit Garg, CEO and Co-Founder, Olyv (formerly SmartCoin)
Q: What factors prompted Smartcoin to rebrand as Olyv?
SmartCoin rebranded to Olyv early this year, primarily motivated by an aim to broaden its services beyond just providing quick personal loans. The company sought to encompass a wider array of financial products, including digital gold savings, credit health management, and insurance offerings. This strategic move was aimed at catering to a more extensive customer segment across their financial lifecycles, leveraging advanced AI and ML technologies for a more personalised and contextual range of products.
Q: What marketing activities will Olyv be doing to create awareness about the same?
In an effort to raise awareness about its rebranding and the introduction of new services, Olyv has rolled out a comprehensive brand campaign titled #JahanSapneWahanOlyv, featuring Naveen Kasturia as the brand ambassador. This campaign is designed to tap into new customer segments and bolster engagement with an array of financial products that address various aspects of financial needs. The marketing strategy encompasses a mix of social media campaigns, digital marketing campaigns and brand visibility through communication activities.
Q: How important will the IPL be for Olyv?
The IPL season is a pivotal period for Olyv, offering a unique platform to connect with a broad audience that connects over cricket. It combines the appeal of financial solutions with the widespread love for cricket in India, aiming to enhance brand visibility and engagement in a context that is widely embraced. The anticipation around MS Dhoni’s possible last season adds to the tournament’s allure, where Olyv has placed itself at the center of one of India’s most celebrated sporting spectacles.

Q: What are the activities being done around the IPL?
Olyv is leveraging the IPL through a variety of activities including special product offers and lending solutions that allow fans to enhance their IPL experience, alongside a slew of social media activities and contests throughout the season. This culminates in a grand finale with a Mega Magic Mystery box for a lucky winner, making the entire campaign highly interactive and engaging.
Q: Is the goal of using the IPL reach or engagement?
The objective behind using the IPL as a marketing platform is twofold: to achieve wide-reaching visibility and to foster deep engagement with potential and existing customers. By integrating their financial solutions with the excitement of the cricket season, Olyv aims to create unforgettable experiences and build lasting connections with the audience that can position the brand as a go-to financial platform even after the tournament concludes!.
Q: Cricket has gone free on digital. What opportunity does this offer brands?
With cricket broadcasts now free on digital platforms, there’s a significant opportunity for brands to reach a larger, more diverse audience. Olyv, in particular, can capitalize on this to engage with potential customers across diverse demographics, leveraging targeted advertising and relevant content to resonate with a digital-savvy audience.
Q: Are we gradually seeing startup advertising return to the level that it was in 2022, or is it more measured now?
In terms of advertising spend, there’s an indication that startups, including Olyv, are adopting a more strategic and ROI-focused approach to their marketing efforts. By selecting high-impact opportunities like the IPL, companies aim to ensure that their investments translate into meaningful visibility and customer engagement, suggesting a more measured approach compared to the aggressive spending trends of 2022.

Q: In marketing terms, how does Olyv define ROI?
The company evaluates the success of its marketing campaigns based on their ability to drive awareness, engagement, and, ultimately, conversions. Metrics such as campaign reach, engagement rates, and the cost of acquisition versus the lifetime value of customers are pivotal in their analysis.
Q: To what extent will Olyv’s marketing spends grow for the year compared to 2023?
At Olyv, we are looking at a 30% increase in marketing spends in the impending year, focused on scaling strategic partnerships, which has proven effective for us in streamlining customer acquisition costs. We will also be doubling down on digital advertising channels, and leverage our content featuring our brand face, Naveen Kasturia with new and engaging stories targeted to reach out to new and potential customers.
Q: Apart from the IPL, what are the other properties and marketing vehicles that will be used
Beyond the IPL, Olyv’s marketing strategy is poised to employ a variety of channels to engage customers throughout their financial journey. This will  include digital and content marketing, collaborations with influencers and social platforms, and community initiatives, all aimed at building a robust brand presence and fostering trust across multiple customer touchpoints.
Q: Your views on regulation in the P2P lending space?
As a tech- and data-first company, Olyv supports regulations that promote transparency, protect consumers, and foster trust in digital financial services, aligning with its mission to democratize credit access and partner customers across their evolving financial journeys.
Q: How is the company leveraging AI from product improvement to marketing?
Olyv is putting AI and ML technologies to work not just in refining product offerings for more personalised and context-aware financial solutions, but also in optimising marketing strategies for enhanced engagement and better conversion rates. This tech-forward approach is key to effectively addressing significant gaps in financial inclusion.
QWith AI comes the threat of misinformation, which in finance can be disastrous. How does one counter this?
Addressing the risk of misinformation, especially crucial in the financial sector, demands a steadfast commitment to transparency, precision, and consumer education. By focusing on clear communication, implementing stringent data protection and compliance measures, and providing informative content, Olyv aims to foster trust and deliver accurate information to its customers, navigating the challenges posed by the digital dissemination of financial services.

https://www.medianews4u.com/marketing-success-is-determined-by-campaign-impact-on-awareness-engagement-and-conversions-rohit-garg-olyv/

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