When your message is all about making things friendlier, it’s important to carry that message to as many people as possible. That is the driving force behind Telus’ multicultural marketing campaign for Diwali this year.
The Festival of Lights is, unofficially, the largest South Asian festival celebrated worldwide, and its themes – of the triumph of light over dark, good over evil, and so forth – lend themselves easily to acts of kindness and charity. Culturally, the festival is a time of giving and the sharing of love and gratitude, which the telco considers aligned with its own goals.
“Diwali’s representation of light triumphing over darkness is a positive message that we can all celebrate,” says Andy Balser, VP of Telus. “This aligns with our social purpose at where both our team members and our customers contribute to driving meaningful social change, from transforming healthcare and making our food supply more sustainable to reducing our environmental footprint and connecting Canadians in need.”
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The creative features a diya oil lamp – a key symbol of the festival – that symbolizes the telco’s desire to give back to the multicultural communities it services, as well as the way its consumers contribute to improving the lives of Canadian youth specifically. Much of the creative focuses on how purchasing Telus products directly supports its programming for youth, including providing mobile devices to those aging out of foster care through its Mobility for Good program, and its digital wellness program Telus Wise.
“We used one of the most recognizable symbols of Diwali to deliver on the giving metaphor,” explains Nachiket Sant, VP at Response Advertising, which developed the campaign for Telus. “Furthermore, we ensured that details such as the wardrobe, accessories and even the rangoli (floor design) were in Telus’ brand colours.”
The effort centres on a spot that aired nationally in two languages – Punjabi and Hinglish (a composite language of Hindi and English). The spot ran nationally on TV, over the top, social and digital platforms, targeting South Asian audiences through October until the day of the festival on Monday.
