The #VforVigilAunty campaign led by comedian Anu Menon combines humor and education to protect the youth from fraud
Bengaluru, February 17, 2023: Bank fraud is a significant problem in India, with RBI reporting frauds worth ₹19,485 crore in the first half of FY23 alone. In order to raise awareness on prevention of fraud, HDFC Bank collaborated with Josh to launch #VforVigilAunty campaign, adding an interesting twist to traditional public service announcements by leveraging the popular shot-video format.
With the youth remaining a particularly vulnerable section of the population to fall prey to this crime, the #VforVigilAunty campaign was targeted at raising fraud awareness among the youth in Bharat. The #VforVigilAunty campaign was a creator-led campaign featuring Josh’s top creators such as Mr. Faisu, Mayuri Salian and Zohan Farooqui, amongst others along with famous comedian Anu Menon, who portrays Vigil Aunty, HDFC Bank’s official fraud awareness mascot. The campaign was conceptualized as a series of short-videos wherein the creators interacted with Vigil Aunty as she educated them on various types of frauds such as SIM Card Frauds, Credit Card Frauds and Loan Frauds, amongst others. The short-videos were informative, as well as quirky and witty, with Anu Menon giving the campaign her signature comedic twist. The participation of Josh’s leading creator community played a crucial goal in garnering massive user engagement and enabled HDFC Bank to expand its reach to the larger audience on Josh. Furthermore, to create additional engagement, a branded profile was created for Vigil Aunty on Josh which was successful in garnering over 1 million followers within six weeks.
“At Josh, we’re committed to using the power of short-form video to educate and inform our community. Our collaboration with HDFC Bank is a perfect example of this, as we join forces to raise awareness about the importance of protecting oneself from bank fraud among the youth. Through this collaboration, we were able to connect with the youth in a manner that resonates with them the most; through relatable and witty short-video content that engages, entertains and most importantly, informs. Working with HDFC Bank on this important initiative has been exciting as we sought to use our platform create real, positive impact,” said Sunil Kumar Mohapatra, Chief Revenue Officer, VerSe Innovation
“Conversations surrounding bank fraud have been particularly unengaging to the public, hence leading to widespread ignorance around the topic. Collaborating with Josh, we were able to leverage the engaging power of short-video content and work with regional influencers to reach a wider audience in Bharat, especially the youth, and raise awareness on the importance of being vigilant against bank fraud. Together, we’re taking a proactive step in educating and protecting our community,” said Ravi Santhanam, CMO, Head – Corporate Communications, Head – Liability Products and Managed Programs, HDFC Bank
“In our partnership with Josh, we are leveraging the power of technology to educate the youth about the dangers of bank fraud. By creating engaging and relatable content, we aim to empower the next generation to make smart financial decisions and protect themselves from fraud,” said Jahid Ahmed, Senior Vice President and Head of Digital Acquisition, Website, Content and Social Media Marketing, HDFC Bank
The campaign was a huge success. In addition to the 1 million followers for Vigil Aunty’s page on Josh, the campaign recorded 10.3 million video views and 806,000 hearts.
