Why is a Korean, Russian, French, and Spanish mariachi band speaking in Hindi in Scapia’s ad film?

Imagine a Korean reacting to a smart munda, a Russian talking in fluent Hindi in Mumbai airport, a French woman calling an Indian customer challu billi, and a Spanish man complimenting an Indian tourist as dildar. Scapia, a travel fintech company, has come out with its first set of brand films, ‘Tap everywhere, travel anywhere’, designed for 25-35-year-old millennial travellers who love new immersive experiences.

Scapia – the brand name, has been inspired by the word ‘escape’, which resonates with a lot of travellers.

The films, directed by Fusion Films, which spans South Korea, Spain, and France, show foreign locals speaking Hindi while narrating the features of the Scapia Federal Credit Card. The foreign actors learned to speak Hindi to give an authentic experience to the viewers.

Anil Goteti, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Scapia, admits that the twist at the end was a bit of a creative stretch. "Bollywood is getting bigger; people are learning Hindi. Probably in five to 10 years, foreigners will be speaking more Hindi," Goteti said.

All of the brand’s benefits have been smartly incorporated into the film. According to Goteti, what differentiates Scapia from other credit cards is features like giving a significant percentage of coins to customers to redeem on flights and hotels when they reach their destination abroad and the zero forex markup. Scapia gives 10 percent back on every spend. We don’t charge joining or annual fees. Customers get unlimited lounge access if they spend Rs 5,000 every month.

The median age of a Scapia customer is 28-29. To date, the card has been shipped to at least 200 towns in India, across 26-27 states and Union Territories (UTs).

"We wanted to make sure the customer is set in a travel setting where they are enjoying the benefits, and at the same time, we are explaining the benefits. It was an important hygiene parameter," says Goteti, adding, "Travel is a big but meaningful expense. Most people see it as an investment. Given that it is a meaningful expense, most people want more affordability, which has led to the genesis of the product."

Indians are global travellers today and are becoming global citizens. They take pride in meeting new people and learning new languages. "We wanted to bring up the aspect of Indians becoming global citizens and travelling better. Our aim was to provide viewers with a different level of delight by making foreigners speak Hindi. The customer has been able to use the card intelligently; it is articulated by a foreigner in our language and brings even more delight," shares Goteti while talking about the genesis of the campaign.

On the decision to not feature a known celebrity in its first ad film and instead opt for a good story and articulating it well with actors, Goteti says, "As long as the proposition is clear and the brand is bringing forth a delightful story, one doesn’t need to use influencers. Sometimes using a celebrity also makes it a bit difficult for the brand, as consumers see them in a way they are already used to. Therefore, having fresh faces avoids some of that baggage."

Goteti said that spending on travel has significantly changed over the years. Earlier, people would save up, put the savings in a kitty for years, and then go travelling. But people these days are fine with borrowing and travelling, thus making a product like Scapia attractive.

"More than 30 percent of customers are coming from Tier 2 cities. Disposable income is rising not only in big cities but across India. Many people are getting a card as a status symbol. Post-COVID-19, there has been an explosion in travel. People are looking to go to unique places, but they want to do it on a budget; they are not compromising on other expenses."