CRED, the Bengaluru based Indian Fintech Company ( Dreamplug Technologies) for credit card payment, promises its 9M+ members points that can be redeemed against rewards. In a way, the customer earns rewards while buying things on a Credit card and making Credit Card payments through CRED.
I have commented on CRED’s strategically quirky ads and clutter breaker creative devices. I was never a huge fan of CRED advertising and found it crazy, and it did not make sense, with hardly a real call for action and flogging the same message for too long.
With time, the advertising started making some sense. CRED advertising is impressive enough on focussed consistency. The message format has changed, yet it has retained its basic flow and quirkiness. I can now better appreciate the structure and the advertising, but I am stumped with the scale and need.
CRED advertising is still about the rewards on credit card payments. Other features like Expose Hidden Charges. Track Spends. Clear Bills, Free credit reports and scores, referral programmes, Get Rewarded, Peer-to-peer lending or pay Rent are not promoted.
CRED – BOWLS OVER WITH RAVI SHASTRI
CRED seemed to have bridged a gap with the Ravi Shastri CRED ad. The ad is all about the performer’s perception and image. Coming in towards the last leg of IPL, the timing is right. Being a country that focuses a lot on cricket, viewers relate to the act as Ravi Shastri, and his passion for drinks is a joke shared too often.
The ad is humorous, and it exploits the media image of Ravi Shastri. It has dialogues that one may find slimy, crazy and cheesy, but they are on the dot. And then CRED promises more Fun than what Shastri is having. That is the week link.
‘sattar minute for happy hours’, ‘I used to be a batsman, but for you, I can be a keeper’, and ‘Waste mat karo yaar’ are spot-on. The timing is perfect. Add to them my favourite, the poker-faced answer at the press conference, ‘Hate Talking to sports journalists’.
CRED Ravi Shastri ad, like any other CRED quirky ad, is gaining views on YouTube. The small write-up under the ad on the CRED YouTube channel is equally interesting. Here it is.
As Ravi Shastri, I want to make it very clear that all my parties are invite-only. But I admire our youth and their potential, so if you’re able to do all of the following, you’re automatically on the guest list: (1) Open beer bottles with a bat. If you ask how, you’re already out. (2) Analyse footage from the party to see where drinks were wasted (3) Bartend 24×7 4. (4) Carry an extra case of cough syrup at all times (5) Parallel park the bar-counter
If you make the cut, congratulations. You’re never going to remember another night in your life again. But if you don’t, cheer up: you can find an equally rewarding experience on CRED—all for paying your credit card bills. Believe me, I know what’s fun. To join me as a member, download the app.
What Next With Cred Ads
If CRED remains true to its advertising SOP, we can expect a series of ads in the format where the Celebrity may project their unwarranted images. Maybe Shashi Tharoor, Kangana, Chetan Bhagat, and Salman Khan could be good extensions to the series. Perhaps the next series can pick trends with social media influencers. I hope it remains away from the region, religion, sex and politics – the four pointers that tilt the SMEAR INDEX for any communication.
CRED Clutter Breaking Communication Recipe.
Something must be right. CRED claims ( as of Oct 2021) a 700% increase in app downloads after the 2020 audition campaign featuring Madhuri Dixit, Govinda, Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan Bappi Lahiri, and Anil Kapoor. And I was questioning – what the hell CRED was doing?
The next lot of communication has Celebrities portraying images that you don’t associate with them. The series featured Rahul Dravid, Jackie Shroff, Kumar Sanu, Venkatesh Prasad, Neeraj Chopra, and Kapil Dev. These were fun, and everyone had their favourite, with the Dravid ad being the most loved.
Then came the old era imagery with Karishma Kapoor in Nirma ad, Zee Antakshari with Renuka Shahane and Annu Kapoor, Sharma Ji-Gupta Ji, Shaan-Sonu Nigam song. I thought CRED was becoming too constrained with its format and boundaries. And then it surprised us with the Ravi Shastri ad that pushed me to rethink. The Ravi Shastri ad is fresh and one of the most enjoyable, but if it does anything to the business is a question mark. I will, any day, have the Fun Ravi is having than go for the Fun of earning rewards by making credit card payments on CRED.
Too Much Of Advertising!
In the last 2-3 years, there have been too many films with not much to show in revenue other than valuation: many celebrities and four format mutations. I am bowled over with the CRED Ravi Shastri ad for its timing and content. Still, I am stumped at the need and purpose of this considerable advertising.
Thanks to the advertising and some positive word of mouth, the brand enjoys a high recall and decent usage among credit card users. However, the ad never made me want to check out or download the app. Maybe and hopefully, I am a minority. And perhaps the advertising is more cantered for VC, Investments and valuation.
CRED Not So CREDIBLE Performance!
It is different when it comes to financials. CRED marketing spends outscore its revenue by huge multiples. It became a Unicorn within two years of launch, and the current expected valuation is around $6 Billion! And it behaved like one burning at a high rate.
Reports tell that CRED had a 95 Cr Total Income and 88.6 Revenue from operations in FY 21 ( against 18.1 Cr and 0.5 Cr in FY 20 ), with Total expenses at 619.4 Cr and a loss of 523 Cr in FY 21 (( against the expense of 3979 Cr and a loss of 361 Cr in FY20)! Additionally, the marketing expenses themselves are pegged at 418 Cr in FY21.
The brand seems to have launched or substantially grown products, including CRED Max, CRED Cash and CRED Travel which were not pushed aggressively with advertising.
One would here like to believe the founder Kunal Shah’s statement, “At Cred, we are constantly working to enhance members’ experience to make it more engaging, frictionless and rewarding. With new design philosophy, gamified rewards constructs, best offers and high-value jackpots, we are consolidating our message of rewarding the right financial decisions and the privileges of being a member of the Cred community.”
Will CRED Credibility get more robust in the future and finally turn the corner? Wait and watch? Being Bowled by advertising is bad enough but getting stumped with financials is worse.
BLOG/030/2022. To connect, send an email, join on Twitter S_kotnala or subscribe to the weekly update.
