By A Correspondent

In another decisive move aimed at building a powerful Small Finance Bank Brand, Ujjivan announced that following a highly competitive multi-agency pitch, DDB Mudra Group has won the mandate to be its integrated communications agency to work on the transition to becoming a Small Finance Bank.

Taking full cognizance of the brand and marketing challenges in this competitive space, Ujjivan is now continuously building the railroads for developing a powerful 360 degrees communication campaign for its launch which will span multimedia efforts.

Speaking on this development, Vijay Balakrishnan, Chief Marketing Officer, Ujjivan Financial Services said, “After a very intense and hard fought competitive pitch lasting over two months, which saw India’s finest advertising agencies vying for the account, we are absolutely thrilled to have DDB Mudra on board as our Integrated Communications Partner”.

DDB Mudra’s granular understanding of the category during their pitch and strategy presentations, their innovative approach to category creation combined with a highly committed leadership team and deep understanding of financial inclusion and social values is reassuring. We are confident they will ably partner us to launch the small finance bank.”

“DDB Mudra’s past track record of creating powerful Indian brands from scratch and their powerful Integrated Advertising & Marketing Services offerings coupled with DDB’s global brand building repertoire will help Ujjivan create a distinct and stand out brand identity in the competitive SFB space.” he added.

The account will be managed from the agency’s Bengaluru office and will be spearheaded by Sujay Ghosh, Executive Vice President & Business Partner, DDB Mudra South and East.

Madhukar Kamath

Madhukar Kamath, Group CEO & MD, DDB Mudra Group remarked, “The Ujjivan Financial Services pitch process was perfect. Not just exciting, but professionally conducted.  The interaction with Mr. Sumit Ghosh and his leadership team were truly insightful and educational.   My colleagues and I, are truly excited.   The partnership will be one to cherish.”

Ranji Cherian, President, DDB Mudra South and East added, “We are extremely privileged to be chosen by Ujjivan Financial Services as their integrated communications partner. To us this is both exciting & challenging. We will leverage all our strengths as a Group to build a dominant position for the brand in the marketplace. We look forward to working closely as a team.”

Ujjivan started operations in Bengaluru in 2005 and serves over 32.79 lakh active customers through 469 branches and 8,258 employees spread across 209 districts and 24 states in India, making it the largest MFI (Micro Finance Institution) in terms of geographical spread.

It also undertakes robust financial literacy program and community development & disaster relief programs for customers in collaboration with Parinaam Foundation which is a non-profit organization.