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Banks go all out on ads, but are they effective?
Indian banks have seriously stepped up their ad game, with 11 major lenders increasing their advertising budgets by 160% over the past five years (since FY2020).
The big push is all about grabbing attention and new customers as digital competition heats up.
ICICI, Kotak lead the pack
ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank led the pack this year, dropping ₹1,952 crore and ₹1,009 crore on ads.
HDFC Bank wasn't far behind, while SBI actually trimmed its budget a bit.
Even with all this extra spending—up 14% just from FY2024—banks are finding it tougher to turn ads into real growth.
In fact, revenue per rupee spent on ads has dropped over 50% for many banks since FY2020, showing that getting noticed doesn't always mean more business.