MUMBAI: While reeling under the lockdown triggered by the outbreak of Covid2019, Indians were shaken by another sight – the exodus of millions of migrant labourers from our cities. After enduring untold hardship, these people reached their villages and hometowns, only to be confronted with the sad reality of no employment for them. A host of industries across sectors which depended on migrant workers came to a standstill. The situation has not only adversely affected the job market but also impacted the economy as a whole. Now, Big Ganga has joined hands with Lowe Lintas for the KaamWapasi initiative that aims to resolve the issue of unemployment amongst migrant workers in India.
ZeeL chief consumer officer Prathyusha Agarwal stated that somewhere around July or August when the unlock was happening, Zee Network along with its creative and strategic partner Lowe Lintas started discussing KaamWapasi. Said she: “During the pandemic, we kept playing the role of not just the storyteller, but a media platform that creates awareness. Whether with our handwash campaign or the Hum Andar Aur Corona Bahar or coming closer to the 13th ki Taiyaari, we gave a positive message of hope and optimism. Then we thought about what could be more logical and more active role to take this forward. Lowe Lintas was also working on similar lines and there emerged the idea of KaamWapasi, which was about bringing the opportunity to the migrant worker through a tech solution.”
Apart from the tech platform, there were some partners who wanted the migrant workers back, and here Big Ganga played the role of storyteller who could reach out to the right set of consumers and help them bring life back on track for them while highlighting the dignity of labour. KaamWapasi has the backing of industry giants like Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, Radiocity and Razorpod. ZeeL is partnering from the consumer side, while Lowe Lintas is roping in other job providers.
Agarwal mentioned that in order to spread awareness of KaamWapasi and make it a success, the channel signed on Dinesh Lal Yadav a.k.a Nirahua – one of the most recognisable faces in Bhojpuri entertainment – as a brand ambassador for the initiative. With a fandom that runs into millions, the superstar, will lead the campaign from the forefront and encourage participation from the migrant workers in states like Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh, urging them to get back to their choice of work.
ZeeL cluster head East Samrat Ghosh highlighted that from the Big Ganga and Zee Biskope perspective, KaamWapasi is a brand to people connected initiative. He stated, “It provides a bridge between the available jobs which is there in the market post Unlock and the intent to work with migrant workers; Big Ganga as a brand has always been driven by a high sense of purpose and responsibility.” In the past, the channel has launched initiatives in the form of a yoga show, which it did around the International Yoga Day or Ek Kadam Swabhimaan Ki Aur which was a consumer connect ground activity. “Migrant workers who are our potential viewers lost their jobs, but once the unlock happened, the industry started getting back on its feet, the production capacity has been ramped up, there is requirement for a workforce. So, this platform is compulsory,” added Ghosh.
KaamWapasi works by collating information on which jobs are available, the skill sets, and the locational preferences and in return, it turns out to be a huge database for employers to access available workers. It also helps potentials migrant workers to connect with a potential employer. Ghosh revealed that the initiative was built on three C’s – connect, confidence and credibility. So far, more than 30,000 workers have benefited and have been able to get a job since the network rolled out this campaign in the market.
What aided in the roll out of this initiative was the fact that mobile penetration in tier-2 and tier-3 cities is very high and people are well-versed in handling smartphones. But there were also challenges – the biggest one being generating awareness about KaamWapasi on short notice. To maximise the reach ZeeL created various tutorials and promos for individual social media pages.
“It is a multimedia campaign,” said Ghosh. “We used the huge reach which Big Ganga and Zee Biskope have to offer in the market, we ran promos, and we created specific actions around the KaamWapasi initiative. There was shoulder content to address maximum queries related to the registration process. The digital campaigns have drawn the impression of 12.6 million with an average reach of 3.1 million.”
In terms of the traffic, within a couple of weeks’ time the base has increased from 800 to 42,000 plus. And in terms of OTP validation, it has improved from 230 to 4,800 of the base.
Agarwal has clarified that this initiative is not part of the company’s CSR project. She explained, “We believe in playing part in people’s lives as the storyteller and the media & entertainment platform. We don't want to give these labels of CSR initiative, we simply want to be on their side. We see this initiative as our responsibility, not just as corporate social responsibility, but fundamentally we exist because people love us, and we see this as a responsibility to do the same.”
The KaamWapasi platform will primarily operate as a mobile-first site, but will also offer an IVR solution to those who may not have access to a smartphone. It can be accessed by visiting www.kaamwapasi.com or by giving a missed call on 1800-202-44-88.
