Aman ki Asha: A Concept Marketing Initiative to Promote Peace between India and Pakistan

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"The Times of India Group and the Jang Group have come together to energize the process of peace between our two countries. We believe that this is an intervention whose time has come. We recognize that setbacks will occur but these should not derail the process. We will need to reach out and pluck the low hanging fruit in the beginning before we aim higher."

-A joint statement by the editors of the Jang Group and The Times of India, in 2010.

"Newspapers in South Asia are known worldwide for their corporate social responsibility campaigns, which fuse editorial stances with marketing and community relations campaigns that aim to mold public opinion in profound ways. Publishers are particularly good at merging these campaigns with the newspaper's brand and making them rallying points central to their marketing strategy. The Times of India and Jang Group campaign stands out among the world's best news industry marketing campaigns this year."

-Earl Wilkinson, executive director of INMA, in 2011.

"Aman ki asha' ¹is a plain marketing tantrum with a cunning motive to 'look' good by playing the strings of a good ideology. But this has become a cliché. So much has been said and written about this. Even most of the readers of TOI itself are avoiding this campaign, it is a failure."

-Prashant M., Project Manager at Toluna India Pvt. Ltd ,² in 2010.

In 2011, 'Aman ki Asha: Destination Peace' (AKA), a joint Indo-Pak peace campaign, bagged the 'Best of Show' award across all the categories at the 81st annual INMA3 World Congress. Launched by the two leading media groups of India and Pakistan, the Times of India (TOI) and the Jang Group (Jang) respectively, the campaign's objective was to promote peace and develop stronger diplomatic and cultural relations between the two countries. "This is the greatest initiative and most powerful campaign I have ever seen in my years of being with INMA. I found it very moving, beyond politics," said Eivind Thomsen, former president of INMA. The social initiative which aimed at bonding the people of India and Pakistan was launched on January 1, 2010.

The AKA campaign looked beyond the sixty-year-old political rivalry between the two countries "to find common ground via a cultural exchange, conflict resolution, and commerce opportunities." It focused on issues related to trade and commerce, investments, visa regimes, sporting ties, etc. The campaign was promoted through a large-scale multimedia platform that included print, television, radio, online, and other on-ground activities. As part of the campaign, a series of cross-border cultural gatherings, business seminars, music and literary festivals, and citizen meets were organized across the two countries.

Introduction Contd... - Next Page >>

1] 'Aman ki Asha' means 'hope for peace'.
2] Toluna India Pvt. Ltd. provides Internet survey solutions to the marketing research industry.
3] Formed in 1930, the International Newsmedia Marketing Association (INMA) is the world's largest news media organization that provides information about marketing ideas and practices for the leading news media companies in the world. The INMA Awards which reward excellence in marketing generated 550 entries from 143 market-leading newspapers in 30 countries in 2011.

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