Adgully Exclusive | Zicom's Rao, Rickshaw's Mukerjee & Flying Cursor's Gandhi on 'Mumbai Safe' campaign

With increasing crime rate in Mumbai do you really think that one watchman can handle the entire society you are living in? I mean so many flats, may be two or three gates and "n' number of visitors!! In such a situation it is really crucial to say that we are safe! Don't you think crime is being accepted as a part and parcel of daily life?

Taking a step ahead, Zicom Electronic Security Systems Ltd, a company that offers holistic security solutions to buildings on a monthly recurring service basis, is on a mission to "Make Mumbai Safe' with offering amazing security systems to buildings.

Rickshaw Communication and Design, with their digital collaborator, Flying Cursor, have created a holistic Campaign for Zicom SaaS.

Adgully caught up with Pramoud Rao, Managing Director, Zicom Electronic Security Systems Ltd, Shormistha Mukerjee, Partner: Rickshaw Communication & Design and Parag Gandhi, Founder, Flying Cursor; to know more about the initiative.

Commenting on the thought behind the brief shared with the agency, Pramoud Rao said, "Zicom wanted to make a difference; it wanted to create awareness and education on how to improve the safety and security of the citizens of Mumbai. Hence we launched our new initiative called 'Make Mumbai Safe'".

As told by Rao, the agency was briefed to create a campaign which would resonate the feeling of average Mumbaikar and connect with them on all safety and security related issues and offer practical solutions which would make them feel safer. At the end, the motive is to make Mumbai Safe.

Commenting on the brief given to the agency, Shormistha Mukerjee said, "The brief was to shake Mumbaikars out of their "chalta hai' attitude towards security and make them realise that only they could take responsibility for their own security by making their buildings secure. Our client has an amazing service that allows people to do that, without paying through their nose or taking on huge headaches of managing and monitoring surveillance. We just had to ensure that every Mumbaikar took the step to live safe."

Rao said, "The execution being planned is holistic and 360 degree. We shall promote safety awareness through schools, colleges, offices and housing societies. We will conduct safety camps for senior citizens as well."

Speaking about the treatment suggested and the final communication that was developed, Mukherjee said, "We realised we had to highlight how lax we were when it comes to making our homes and buildings secured."

Everyone knows the underpaid watchman is not good enough, yet everyone hopes someone in the building will do something about it. Mukherjee said, "Our campaign talks about one watchman to do a million things, except guard your building. We've held a mirror up for every one of us."

An on-ground campaign at building societies, and with kids and senior citizens has also been initiated as a part of the 360 degree program. Social media and the website have all come together with the offline medium to get Mumbaikars talking about making Mumbai safe.

The print campaign was also a supporting aspect which was pushing the strong point about the need for safety and the digital campaign extended this to generate reactions and conversations around this line of communication.

Rao also told us that the initial launch spend is pegged around 10 million. Going forward, they shall review and increment it based on the need and response they receive to this campaign.

Sharing how difficult or easy was it to crack the brief, Mukherjee said, "It was great fun cracking this brief, because we realised we were just like everyone else. We all knew the security guard sleeps through the night, he has to do two jobs to supplement his income, yet we blame the building secretary for not doing anything. We started with our own experiences, and used them as insights to talk to every Mumbaikar."

And that's not enough!! They have even established an online and social media presence for Make Mumbai Safe as well. Sharing a bit about the treatment given to the campaign on the digital and social space, Parag Gandhi said, "The idea was to use digital as a platform which was to be the voice of the 'Make Mumbai Safe' initiative, one that would spread awareness about the various security threats Mumbaikars face on daily basis and engage them with security programs planned under this initiative."

Gandhi said, "The campaign is more about promoting the initiative so as to spread the awareness about the need for security within housing societies, to highlight the effectiveness of the security service on offer, and to bring to light the threats our loved one's face and basic vigilance we as citizens need to have." | By Aanchal Kohli [aanchal(at)adgully.com]