SPECIAL FEATURE:

Developments in fintech in the last few months have really opened consumers’ eyes to the real meaning of trust and credibility. That makes this a great time to throw back to one of the most ahead-of-its-time initiatives Indian banking has seen - YONO by SBI.

Back in 2019 who could have thought that the most downloaded app in Indian banking would be one from State Bank of India? Launched before the Covid pandemic, the banking app has seen more than 60 million downloads and 37 million registered users till end of 2023, and was the first lifestyle and banking app in the country to achieve that milestone.

The team behind it - Raj Kamble of Famous Innovations and Dinesh Menon, former CMO of SBI - spilled the beans on the process and the idea.

What was the challenge you were trying to solve for and why an app?

Raj Kamble (RK): State Bank of India (SBI) has a glorious history of 200 years behind it. The bank synonymous with financial services in India is in competition with big private banks such as HDFC, ICICI, Kotak Mahindra amongst others. However, SBI wasn’t able to connect with a younger audience with their plethora of financial services, which were at par with the other banks. In 2018, only 20% of new account sign ups came from 18-25 year olds. It was largely seen by the young as a ‘bank for my dad’.

We sought a new way to connect with the youth and targeted one big motivation - convenience. We realised that on an average, Indians are using 9 apps everyday and at least 30 apps monthly for their banking, shopping, entertainment and other needs. Our research suggested that at least 7 out of 10 young people were not happy with the way they had to deal with multiple applications on their phone, to get their banking, shopping and other things done. Thus, we saw an opportunity to create the first in the country app that clubs together multiple services from banking, shopping, investing to other lifestyle related purchases. Instead of many apps doing one thing, it was one app to do many things.

Did you foresee the rise in fintech and app-based financial solutions at the time?

RK: At the time the tailwinds weren’t as strong. All the young fintech apps like Jupiter, Fi, etc. have risen after that. Also lifestyle and finance coming together was a risk we took. Coincidentally the whole world pivoted aggressively to digital after that and the bet paid off. The need for decluttering ones phone and reducing friction in multiple transactions was on the rise already, and we tapped into that well.

What was the creative process behind ‘YONO’?

RK: YOLO, or ‘you only live once’, was already common youth parlance at the time. We took a spin on that with ‘You Only Need One’ and thus came YONO. The tagline captured the convenience and ease of using a single app for all banking and lifestyle transactions. The visual identity retained SBI’s brand DNA but evolved it’s visual world into a more vibrant and dynamic zone, with the use of modern gradients and a flowy visual mnemonic. A rap song launched the app to the world, emphasising on the hassle of having multiple apps on one’s phone and reinforcing the brand’s newfound youthful imagery.

Any last thoughts?

Dinesh Menon (DM): In a world where mobile phone storage comes at a premium, YONO, acronym for 'You Only Need One' is truly a comprehensive app, one that combines both financial services and lifestyle eliminating the need for downloading other apps on one’s phone as it enables straight through access to a partner app. Its overall packaging inclusive of its branding, positioning and communication when it was launched in 2017 was designed to appeal to the youth. Its latest download volumes of 60 million is testimony to its evolution, growing popularity and adoption.

RK: Recently, I was attending a panel discussion which discussed path-breaking campaigns and I was pleasantly surprised when the ad for SBI’s YONO app appeared among them. It was great fun to work on the YONO campaign in tandem with the SBI team, and I thank the client for going ahead with this somewhat brave campaign. The business results are a testament to the thought that exceptional vision and creativity can help brands grow.”