Be the Hymn, Not the Hero - How Razorpay made heroes out of their customers

In partnership with

Hello Creatives,

Every brand wants to be the hero.

They want the spotlight. The goosebumps. The grand ta-da. They want the customer to whisper, “If it weren’t for you…”

But here’s the truth most marketers won’t admit:
If your brand is doing its job right, nobody should even notice you.

This IPL season - India’s Super Bowl, but longer and sweatier - every ad break looked like the Hunger Games of attention as it happens every year. Everyone screaming, flexing and trying to shove one more product demo into your chakras.

Except Razorpay. They decided to step back and pass the mic.

IPL? Quick Context.

The Indian Premier League is cricket, yes. But also religion. It’s a two-month cultural blackout where ad budgets blow up, TV ratings spike, and brands lose all sense of restraint.

If you're a fintech company and you’re spending money during IPL, you’d typically make it rain: celebrity endorsements, slow-mo dashboards, people smiling while swiping through spreadsheets. All that jazz.

Razorpay said nah. They took the biggest stage in India. And put their customers on it.

The Founder-First Campaign

This campaign didn’t feature Razorpay’s product. It featured the people using it.

Founders. Creators. Builders.
Folks who took a napkin idea and turned it into a real, breathing business.

And right next to them?
RazorBae.

Not a sales mascot. A belief mascot.

Campy. Cheerful. A bit unhinged in the best way.
Imagine if Clippy from Microsoft did ayahuasca and became your startup's emotional support friend.

RazorBae wasn’t selling anything. They were vibing. Hyping. Holding space.

Because that’s the whole idea:
Razorpay wasn’t the hero of the story.
You were.

They just made sure the lights stayed on while you did your thing, with the tagline ‘Backing India’s Boldest’.

Why This Campaign Slaps

• It didn’t romanticize the product.
  It romanticized the founder. And in India’s post-covid startup boom, founders are practically mythological. Razorpay tapped into that energy, but didn’t make it thirsty.

• It didn’t take credit.
  No “powered by us” watermark on the soul.
  It was pure enablement. Pure altar-building.

• It was founder-first, not founder-flavored.
  These weren’t actors in hoodies pretending to “disrupt.” These were real builders, real brands, real stories.

• It created a flywheel of brand love.
  Founders got attention. Their brands got sales.
  Razorpay got associated with belief, trust, and good vibes.

No hard sell. No sleaze. Just celebration.

Here’s What Stuck With Me

Most brands want to be seen.

But the best brands? The ones that actually last?

They want to be felt.

They show up when nobody’s clapping.They back you when you’re not yet viral.
They’re not the show. They’re the scaffolding.

Razorpay didn’t just run a campaign.
They made a point.

A simple one.

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So.

If you’re a marketer, a founder, or just someone trying to be unforgettable:

Ask yourself: what are you building?

A shrine to your product?

Or a stage for your people?

Every brand wants to be customer-first, but are you ready to show the world how serious about it you are?

Figment is written by Abbhinav Kastura, a writer/producer who has spent a decade making impactful internet videos and Guru Nicketan, an advertising nerd, B2B Marketer, stand-up comedian, and a film buff.