National Head - Activations & BTL Marketing

Position - National Head – Activations & BTL Marketing

Business - Consumer & Commercial Bank

Role Level - Vice President / Senior Vice President

Experience - 12+ Years

Function - Marketing – Activations & BTL

WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS

Kotak's next phase of growth will be won market by market, community by community and customer by customer. This role will shape how the bank shows up in those moments, translating strategy into experiences that create trust, engagement and growth at scale.

Role Purpose

Kotak is seeking a seasoned marketing leader to build and lead the bank's national activation and engagement ecosystem.

As the National Head – Activations & BTL Marketing, the incumbent will be responsible for bringing Kotak's brands, propositions and customer experiences alive across markets through branch-led marketing, customer engagement platforms, experiential activations, events, community outreach and hyperlocal marketing initiatives.

The role sits at the intersection of marketing and business growth, transforming national strategy into market-level impact. It will lead activation programmes that drive customer acquisition, deepen engagement, strengthen brand affinity and create sustained visibility across Consumer and Commercial Banking.

Beyond programme delivery, the mandate is to build a scalable activation engine that empowers business teams and branches across the country to win in their local markets.

Key Responsibilities

Build Kotak's National Activation Ecosystem

• Define the long-term vision and strategy for BTL marketing, customer engagement and on-ground activations across Consumer and Commercial Banking.
• Create scalable activation frameworks that can be deployed nationally while remaining relevant to local market opportunities.
• Establish activation marketing as a key driver of business growth, customer acquisition and proposition adoption.
• Build a differentiated market presence for Kotak through innovative customer engagement platforms and experiences.

Lead Branch & Regional Marketing Excellence

• Develop and institutionalise a national branch marketing framework across Kotak's network.
• Enable branch and regional business teams with scalable programmes that generate awareness, engagement and qualified leads within local markets.
• Drive hyperlocal marketing interventions tailored to regional opportunities, customer segments and business priorities.
• Partner with business and sales leaders to convert market opportunities into impactful activation plans.

Drive Customer Acquisition & Demand Generation

• Create activation programmes that support acquisition goals across Retail, Affluent, NRI, SME and Commercial Banking segments.
• Build market-facing engagement programmes that generate qualified leads and improve conversion outcomes.
• Develop segment-specific activation strategies to support key propositions and business priorities.
• Create clear and measurable linkages between marketing investment and business outcomes.

Build Signature Customer Engagement Platforms

• Conceptualise and lead Kotak's portfolio of customer events, business forums, thought-leadership platforms, community initiatives and experiential programmes.
• Develop proprietary properties and engagement platforms that strengthen customer relationships and improve brand salience.
• Create memorable experiences that reinforce Kotak's positioning and customer-centric philosophy.
• Drive innovation across physical, digital and phygital engagement formats.

Lead Execution at National Scale

• Oversee end-to-end implementation of activation programmes across multiple geographies and business segments.
• Build best-in-class execution capabilities through agencies, vendors and regional partners.
• Establish governance, operating rhythms and performance standards that ensure consistent delivery across markets.
• Drive operational excellence, process compliance, budget discipline and brand consistency.

Measure Impact & Build Capability

• Establish robust measurement frameworks to track activation effectiveness, lead quality and return on investment.
• Build a data-led activation culture focused on learning, optimisation and continuous improvement.
• Identify emerging trends in experiential marketing, customer engagement and local market activation.
• Develop internal capabilities, playbooks and best practices that strengthen Kotak's activation ecosystem.

Role Boundaries & Collaboration

This role owns the strategy and delivery of BTL marketing, experiential engagement, branch-led marketing and national activation programmes. It will collaborate with the Alliances function where an existing alliance or partner requires activation support, while ownership of alliance strategy, partner identification, commercial negotiation and relationship management remains outside this role's mandate.

Key Leadership Competencies

Strategic Growth Orientation

Translates business priorities into scalable market-facing programmes that drive acquisition, engagement and revenue growth. Focuses on outcomes rather than activity volumes.

Customer & Market Centricity

Brings a deep understanding of customer behaviour, market dynamics and regional nuances to create relevant and differentiated experiences.

Enterprise Leadership & Influence

Builds alignment across business heads, regional leadership, sales, distribution, marketing and support functions. Influences successfully without direct authority.

Commercial Acumen

Understands business economics, channel dynamics and growth drivers. Makes investment choices with a clear view of customer value, ROI and commercial impact.

Execution Excellence at Scale

Leads complex, nationally distributed programmes while balancing speed, quality, consistency and governance.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement

Challenges conventional approaches and creates new ways to engage customers, improve effectiveness and build competitive advantage.

Data-Led Decision Making

Uses insights, analytics and performance measures to optimise programmes, allocate investment and improve outcomes.

Building High-Performance Teams

Creates accountability, ownership and continuous learning. Develops talent and builds strong internal, agency and vendor partnerships.

Stakeholder Management & Executive Presence

Communicates with clarity and confidence, engages senior leadership effectively and represents marketing priorities in strategic business discussions.

Entrepreneurial Mindset

Acts with ownership and agility, identifies opportunities and proactively builds new capabilities to support growth ambitions.

Experience & Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in BTL marketing, experiential marketing, trade marketing, branch marketing, customer engagement or demand generation.
• Proven experience leading nationally distributed activation programmes across multiple regions and customer segments.
• Strong experience partnering with large sales, branch and distribution organisations.
• Experience in banking, financial services, telecom, consumer goods, retail, hospitality or other large-scale services organisations preferred.
• Demonstrated track record of driving customer acquisition, market development and measurable business impact through on-ground marketing.
• Experience managing significant budgets, agencies, vendors and complex cross-functional stakeholder networks.
• Postgraduate qualification in Marketing, Business Management or a related discipline preferred.

What Success Looks Like

• A nationally scaled activation engine that strengthens Kotak's presence and local relevance across priority markets.
• Best-in-class branch and regional marketing capabilities across the network.
• Meaningful contribution to customer acquisition, lead generation and proposition adoption.
• Signature customer engagement platforms that differentiate Kotak in priority segments.
• Consistent, measurable return on activation investments.
• A culture in which activation marketing is recognised as a strategic growth partner to the business.

The Leadership Profile We Are Looking For

• A growth-oriented marketing leader, not simply a campaign or events manager.
• Equally comfortable discussing business strategy, customer acquisition and market development, and reviewing market-level execution.
• Passionate about building Kotak's presence in local markets and creating customer experiences that drive measurable impact.
• Skilled at operating in a matrixed environment and mobilising large stakeholder groups towards a shared objective.
• Capable of building a nationally scaled activation engine that becomes a competitive advantage for the bank.

BUILD THE ENGINE THAT TURNS KOTAK'S STRATEGY INTO MARKET IMPACT.

Location: Mumbai