Hyderabad: From letters to texts, ways of communication has gone through distinctive revolutionary changes.
Today, social media is the heart of global communication; and since its inception, social media has been connecting cultures, movements and super-fandoms.
Because of its extensive impact on society over the years, World Social Media Day was launched on June 30 by the popular website Mashable in 2010. The day is celebrated to recognise the impact of social media on global communication as it brings the world together.
As it has emerged as a major communicator today, it is tough to imagine our lives without social media.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the Internet widened in scope to encompass the IT capabilities of universities and research centres, and, later on, public entities, institutions, and private enterprises from around the world. The Internet underwent immense growth; it was no longer a state-controlled project, but the largest computer network in the world, comprising over 50,000 sub-networks, 4 million systems, and 70 million users.
This new form of media has made our expressions simpler and has expanded the opportunity to reach a broader audience as compared to earlier.
Social networks offer the opportunity for people to re-connect with their old friends and acquaintances, make new friends, share ideas and content. It has also allowed entrepreneurs for new products and services and even the popular brands to expand their horizons by reaching masses of their customer base.
To mark the celebration, let us go through some of the best social media campaigns and other internet-related fun facts that indicate that social media has evolved from being a mere distraction to something far more important:
Don’t Shut Up by Urban Tree Infrastructures Pvt Ltd: Urban Tree has never failed to voice out for social causes that happens not only in its native city but around the nation. The brand’s timely initiatives has always impacted directly on the brand’s position itself as a socially responsible brand. Having said that, when a child rape case was reported, the brand caught the right nerve of the case to be ‘Parenting’ and shared its thoughts over Social Media Platforms. The post titled, '6 Signs That Your Child Is Sexually Abused’ got about 280 shares at that time.
I Love Thatha Paati by South India Shelters: This campaign highlighted the love grandparents show towards their grandchildren in every minimalistic way. Through a creative approach, the brand created an emotional connect with the older segment as well as the middle-aged audience resulting in high engagement. The campaign ended with a contest asking people to share their best picture with their grandparents, which also received heavy engagement.
PowerlessQueen by NGO Project Nanhi Kali: On the International Women’s day in 2018, Nanhi Kali and WATConsult, part of Dentsu Aegis Network had launched a social media campaign called “PowerlessQueen” with a core objective of raising donations for Project Nanhi Kali that helps to educate underprivileged girls, and spreading awareness about the game of chess. “Queen” is the most powerful piece in the game of Chess, which was originated in India during the 6th Century.
United By Vote by United Colors of Benetton: As India kicked off multi-phase National Elections last year, United Colors of Benetton came up with a strong and massive social media campaign titled #UnitedByVote. This impactful campaign was an initiative towards celebrating democracy and showed the power that every citizen holds by having voting rights. The campaign brought Saif Ali Khan, Bhumi Pednakar, Siddhanth Chaturvedi and Sundeep Kumar Chugh, CEO & MD of Benetton India into a panel discussion.
Good News Is Gender Free by Prega News: Prega News, the most trusted company that provides HCG Pregnancy Detection Kit had come with a brilliant social media campaign titled #GoodNewsIsGenderFree on International Mother’s Day in 2019. The campaign focused on breaking the issue of gender inequality, which is a pertinent issue across the world. The issue is far more complex in India, wherein the choice of having a boy over a girl is hindering the nation’s growth.
Don't Let Dreams Wait by P&G Shiksha: P&G India had launched a social media campaign titled #Don’t Let Dreams Wait that featured a 75-year-old man Bittu, who joins the school to fulfil his dream of getting an education. P&G Shikha through the story of Bittu conveyed that learning has no age limits. Conceptualized by Leo Burnett, the film was launched across YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms.
Cutting Pani by RadioCity: When Chennai was facing the worst water crisis, RadioCity, the renowned radio channel created a catchy social media campaign video titled #CuttingPani to spread awareness on using less water. There is a dire need to stop water wastage across the world and this campaign was a small step towards achieving the goal of saving water.
Join The Dots by ActionAid India: Conceptualized by “The Altar Project”, WATConsult, ActionAid’s #JoinTheDots is a campaign against Child Sexual Abuse dedicated to public-serving campaigns. ActionAid India is working with vulnerable communities since 1972 and this is a step forward to highlight child sexual abuse. The objective of the campaign is to prevent the incidence of child abuse and urges adults to focus on the hints and join the dots to catch such violence with a call to action to see, listen and act.
