PhonePe, a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) based mobile app made use of Amir Khan in their latest campaign. As per the NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) records, in terms of value and volume of transactions, Google Pay is the leader, closely followed by the PhonePe and Paytm. The mobile wallet (digital transaction) industry is witnessing an intense battle between firms and technologies. This is where the brand recall and awareness become very crucial.
Paytm which had a monopoly over digital wallet is suddenly facing stiff competition due to proliferation of UPI among consumers. The Indian Government has widely advertised UPI and BHIM app, which has lost its mojo to the top 3 brands.
PhonePe has cleverly roped in Amir Khan in a never seen before avatar. Amir Khan plays the role of daddu along with kid Gublu in various short ads. These ad focus on one specific feature of the app to drive the message.
There is no need to do a top-up to use the app. This is a clever use of guerrilla marketing and exploiting the weakness of Paytm. In the ad, if one looks closely, one can spot a logo “Wallet Topup” which looks very similar to Paytm.
The second point is about safety and security associated with using mobile apps for financial transactions. The humour-based ad of PhonePe utilizes the cricket where daddu is hit by the ball at a particular body part, which males can guess easily ? But daddu (Amir Khan) always takes proper safety precautions like PhonePe.
Third aspect is convenience of using digital payment apps. The ad clearly communicates the benefits of not sharing account details (no ghuma fira ke).
Finally, one of the ads talks about the multitasking and multi-features, similar to JustDial app ad. For example, one can book flight tickets and do many other things such as taxi-booking, shopping, food order etc. which enhances the convenience for users.
Amir Khan commands a star power which is reflected in the acceptance of these ads. On the official YouTube channel of PhonePe, these ads have millions of views and comments. It looks like the creative and humorous combo of daddu and Gublu has touched the right nerves of the audience. The battle is not yet over but definitely such successful campaign should help PhonePe to become stronger.