KOCHI : Breaking away from conventional methods, the Congress has adopted a professional approach in its campaigning by using social media to put core issues before the public through its statewide Samaragni rally.
Samaragni’s narrative is centred around a sequence of questions directly targeting the ‘Urappanu LDF’ (LDF for Sure) slogan introduced by the LDF in the previous election and the current BJP campaign ‘Modi’s Guarantee’, revealing the emptiness of their assurances, said Dominic Savio, a leading brand consultant and strategist whose agency Buzzstop Communications has been tasked with designing Samaragni’s concept and campaign materials. The 16-member team’s areas of focus include short videos, trolls, and reels.
To accomplish the objective, they have launched a multimedia campaign comprising 10 digital films, 200 billboards, two theme songs and a robust presence on social media platforms, the Kochi-based consultant said.
“Whether political parties deliver on anything they say in their manifestos is rarely debated during elections. Most voters are easily swayed by the immediate political, religious, and social issues,” Savio pointed out.
The fact that people forget everything quickly gives political parties the confidence to unashamedly repeat their empty promises, he said. “This human insight motivated us to compile a list of all such false promises from the previous election campaigns and present them using satire in our campaign ‘LDF and BJP enthu urappaaki? (what did LDF and BJP deliver?). The campaign pokes fun at their anti-people policies, reminding the public of a long list of unfulfilled promises by both parties,” Savio said. The Samaragni Janakeeya Yatra, aimed at protesting against the anti-people policies of the Union and state governments, is strategically designed to prepare activists for the upcoming parliamentary elections. From the design of the vehicle in which the leaders travel to the promotion and conduct of the march, professionalism is evident like never before, according to party leaders.
The Samaragni Yatra employs a mobile news desk and a social media desk to provide real-time coverage of events to the masses. Equipped with a team of skilled video editors, content writers, and journalists, the news desk broadcasts significant segments in the form of reels, cards, and news updates while the leaders address the audience.
Additionally, as the march progresses through each district, engaging and light-hearted content tailored to the unique characteristics of the region is used to effectively promote the rally.
“In Mukkom, Kozhikode, the team narrated the love story of Moideen and Kanchanamala. The programme in Malappuram was featured in a video with a background of football stadium and commentary. In Thrissur, the Pooram formed the background. In Kochi, the content was produced along with the picturesque backwaters, Kochi Metro and water metro,” said Sherin Varghese, Congress’ Ernakulam district secretary coordinating the Yatra’s publicity.
Charcha Sadas, a daily discussion forum where people can raise their complaints, is another major attraction. For four hours every day, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan and Congress state president K Sudhakaran interact with people from various walks of life.