Purposeful storytelling and the future of financial branding

In today’s competitive financial landscape, banks are rethinking their approach to marketing. DBS Bank, ranked as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) most valuable bank brand for the 18th consecutive year in 2024, has adopted a unique storytelling-led strategy to stand out. In this conversation with Mint, Karen Ngui, Managing Director (MD) and Head of DBS Foundation and DBS Group Strategic Marketing and Communications, discusses how the bank is building a purpose-driven brand by embracing digital transformation, championing sustainability, and engaging younger audiences through innovative content. Ngui delves into DBS’s shift from traditional marketing to a more integrated, purpose-led approach—with real stories, digital tools, and responsible artificial intelligence (AI) at the core. Edited excerpts:How does DBS view its journey and growth potential in India, and how has marketing played a role in this journey?India is a key market for us. We celebrated our 30-year milestone in the country last year. In 2016, DBS launched Digibank in India, our first fully digital and paperless banking experience, which was a significant move.We chose India for this because of the market’s potential and readiness to embrace digital solutions. Marketing has been pivotal in positioning DBS as a digital-first, purpose-driven brand. It’s not just about promoting products but about showing how we can solve real customer problems and enable people to live more, bank less.In a competitive market, what is DBS’s unique value proposition from a marketing standpoint?Our brand promise—Live More, Bank Less—is what sets us apart. It’s about making banking effortless so customers can focus on living their best lives.We’ve been named ASEAN’s most valuable bank brand for the 18th consecutive year in 2024, which reflects our core values of trust and safety. Beyond that, our marketing approach is purpose-driven. We want to be seen as a bank that understands customer needs and delivers solutions that help them grow—both personally and professionally.You’ve taken a unique storytelling approach with campaigns like Sparks. How did that shape your brand narrative?Sparks was born from our belief that people connect with stories, not products. It started with our India campaign Chilli Paneer in 2013-14, which showed us the power of storytelling in marketing.We then launched Sparks in 2016, a web series inspired by real customer stories. It’s been hugely successful, with over a billion views across three seasons.What sets us apart is our focus on ‘story-doing’ rather than just storytelling. These aren’t fictional narratives—they’re real stories of impact. Customers, especially younger audiences, resonate with this approach, seeing banking as a way to create meaningful change.How does DBS adapt its marketing approach to different markets, especially in India?Personalization is key. We use data and analytics to ensure our marketing resonates with the right audience.In India, the appetite for new technologies is very high, especially among younger audiences. That gives us a great opportunity to pilot new initiatives here. For example, when we launched digibank, we showcased a revolutionary banking experience that was signature-less, paperless, and branchless. The Indian market’s willingness to embrace innovation helped us scale that model across other regions.As featured in Mint

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