The CMO’s MO: Rishi Mathur reckons that digital offers better ROI

The CMO’s MO (modus operandi) highlights some of India’s eminent chief marketing officers as they share their marketing mantras, trends for the future, and what keeps them up at night. In a freewheeling chat, the who’s who of the country’s leading marketers shine a light on their personalities, plans, and passion projects for the year ahead.

In this week’s CMO’s MO, we spotlight Rishi Mathur, chief distribution officer—alternate channels and chief marketing officer (CMO) at Canara HSBC Life Insurance. With 27 years of experience—18 in insurance leadership—he is steering the company’s digital, direct sales, and defence channels while amplifying brand visibility.

A veteran of two life insurance launches in India, he previously led product development at Bharti AXA Life and consulted at Arthur Andersen and Stern Stewart. An IIT Delhi and IIM Calcutta alumnus, Mathur brings a strategic edge to marketing. He shares his insights with Campaign, as well as what keeps him up at night.

What are the three biggest opportunities for your brand?
The first opportunity is optimising distribution for a diverse customer base, as striking the right balance between digital and traditional channels is key. Insurers must enhance accessibility by integrating digital convenience with agent-driven, in-person engagement to ensure widespread reach and customer trust.

The second is leveraging data analytics and AI to create hyper-personalised marketing campaigns that make insurance more relatable and accessible, reinforcing customer-centricity through simplified claim processes, robust data security, and enhanced cashless claim efficiency.

Where are you investing your marketing budgets this year? Are there any specific areas where you are increasing or cutting spend?
We have strengthened our investment in digital and performance marketing, leveraging storytelling and real-life case studies to address misconceptions about insurance through initiatives like Conversations Around Life Lessons and Depend on Insurance.

To enhance trust and credibility, we are expanding experiential and influencer marketing by collaborating with financial advisors, influencers, and policyholders who provide authentic insights. These partnerships help bridge the gap between perception and reality, making insurance more relatable.

While traditional ATL advertising remains valuable, we are optimising our spending by prioritising high-engagement digital platforms, ensuring better ROI and effectively reaching untapped customer segments. This data-driven approach allows us to tailor messaging, enhance engagement, and drive meaningful conversations around financial security.

By integrating compelling narratives with targeted outreach, we aim to shift consumer mindsets, foster deeper connections, and reinforce the importance of insurance in securing financial well-being for individuals and families.

Is generative AI just a buzzword or a tech tool that your team leverages actively?
We are leveraging AI to enhance customer engagement and streamline our marketing efforts. Generative AI enables us to create personalised marketing creatives, policy explainer videos, and interactive content tailored to different audience segments. Predictive analytics further strengthens our approach by providing AI-powered insights that help anticipate customer needs, allowing for more relevant and timely marketing interventions.

What is that one topic that you wish more people would debate and discuss in the industry?

As an industry, we need to address the trust deficit. The only way to change this is with more transparency, real-time claim tracking, and simplified communication.

Simultaneously, we must stop prioritising product-centric marketing over consumer needs. The industry must move away from focusing solely on the manufacturer and instead highlight how insurance solves real-life problems and addresses customer needs.

What separates your brand culture from those of others?

At Canara HSBC Life Insurance, our marketing approach goes beyond selling policies and is more focused on creating awareness, building trust, and ensuring long-term financial security for every customer. We prioritise empathy-driven marketing, with Promises ka Partner being the essence of our brand, and use emotional storytelling to highlight real-life scenarios where insurance plays a transformative role.

Our commitment to simplified and transparent communication ensures that our messaging remains customer-centric, avoiding jargon and actively dispelling myths to make insurance more accessible. Additionally, we focus on trust and accessibility by continuously improving cashless claim settlements and maintaining a secure policyholder database to bridge the trust gap and enhance customer confidence.

What needs to change in your industry when it comes to working culture?
The insurance industry must embrace a stronger customer-first mindset across the entire value chain. This involves simplifying complex processes to make insurance more accessible and easier to understand, ensuring that customers can make informed decisions with confidence.

Empathy must be embedded at every touchpoint to bridge the trust gap and enhance relationships with policyholders. Additionally, breaking down silos between functions is essential to creating seamless and consistent customer experiences, thereby reinforcing trust and long-term engagement.

What is the best piece of professional advice you ever got?

‘Don’t sell a product—solve a problem’—this advice shaped my approach to marketing, where the goal isn’t just awareness but making insurance more relevant, relatable, and reassuring for every consumer.

How would you describe yourself as a CMO?

I would like to think of myself as a consumer-centric marketer, where every marketing strategy must start and end with the customer. Data-driven insights fuel better storytelling and decision-making, while empathetic marketing should connect emotionally, not just inform. Ultimately, metrics are key: what gets measured is what gets actioned and improved.

What keeps you up at night as a CMO?

Bridging the trust gap by ensuring customers see insurance as a safety net, not a burden, is a constant challenge. I am also focused on tackling the awareness issue—making people realise the importance of financial protection. It is my endeavour to drive meaningful engagement, ensuring marketing isn’t just about reach but delivers real impact.