Maxus powers Tata's 'Power of 49 campaign'

Ahead of the 2014 General Elections, Tata Global Beverages and the Tata group today released a 10-point ‘Voice of 49%’ women’s manifesto, aggregating issues raised by more than a million women from across India. The manifesto, an outcome of the ‘Power of 49’ campaign, aims at giving a voice to the women of India to be heard in the political discourse of our country. The key issues that have emerged in the manifesto are broadly around the themes of Violence, Safety, Health and Education. This entire campaign has been powered by Maxus, the country’s leading media investments firm, and most dominant media agency in India.

The Power of 49 campaign was launched by Tata Global Beverages, through their social awakening platform Jaago Re, and the Tata group in August 2013 with the objective of creating a more awakened and informed female electorate who constitute 49% of the world’s largest democracy. The issues that have emerged as a result of this campaign were studied and debated in depth by 14 experts led by the editorial team of CNN-IBN and have put together this 10-point ‘Voice of 49%’ manifesto, to be presented and discussed with political parties, in an attempt for them to integrate it into their political agenda.

Speaking on the campaign, Kartik Sharma, MD, Maxus South Asia said, “The Bahu Nahi Bahumat” campaign is the articulation of “Power of 49” campaign by Tata Tea and Tata Global Beverages. This is a revolution rather than a communications campaign. Along with the brand, we have managed to bring core issues that affect nearly half of the electoral votes in India to the forefront. With innovative content and a robust media outreach, we have made the Women’s Manifesto a topic of conversation that could show real measureable impact in the forthcoming elections.” He added, “It has been a great opportunity for the team at Maxus to work on such an important manifesto, taking the Tata Group’s social awaking vision forward.”

Speaking at this milestone, Vikram Grover, Vice President, Marketing, India and South Asia, Tata Global Beverages said, “The objective of the campaign was to create a large number of educated women voters with a view that an informed female electorate would propel the political leaders to include their issues in the agenda in the forthcoming elections. Our study indicates that women are beginning to understand the role they play in forming a government and are more inclined towards voting now.   We are delighted by the overwhelming 1.4 million responses received through our Power of 49 initiative where women have expressed their specific issues.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Mukund Rajan, Member – Group Executive Council and Brand Custodian, Tata Sons said, “The Tata group is proud to associate with Power of 49, which aims to create awareness among the women voters of India about the power they have to bring about change. The ‘Voice of 49%’ manifesto represents an opportunity for Indian women to cast informed votes for candidates who address their issues and at the same time gets political parties to see women as a determining factor in elections. We believe that women’s empowerment is an important subject for our nation’s progress, and the Power of 49 initiative is a step in that direction, seeking to give women their rightful place in the future of our country.”

Since the launch of the campaign, more than 1.4 million responses have come from all over the country through multiple communication platforms. The highest participation has come from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar, respectively.