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Business News/ Industry / Govt turns to crowdsourcing to give its ads a makeover
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Govt turns to crowdsourcing to give its ads a makeover

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration is tapping the public for suggestions to pep up staid government advertising

For India’s 68th Independence Day next month, for instance, the National Democratic Alliance government is asking people to offer suggestions on the kind of message they want to hear from the government. Photo: Hindustan TimesPremium
For India’s 68th Independence Day next month, for instance, the National Democratic Alliance government is asking people to offer suggestions on the kind of message they want to hear from the government. Photo: Hindustan Times

New Delhi: After seeking ideas from ordinary citizens on how to improve the concept of governance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration is tapping the public for suggestions to pep up staid government advertising.

For India’s 68th Independence Day next month, for instance, the National Democratic Alliance government is asking people to offer suggestions on the kind of message they want to hear from the government.

“The government wants to connect with the masses and that was the thinking of the PM," said Bimal Julka, the top civil servant in the ministry of information and broadcasting. “He was of the view that as far as possible, we should try and go to the people and let creative and innovative ideas emerge from them, based on which the ads should be prepared."

“On mandatory ads which are of public significance, we should connect with people," Julka said.

The idea is to change the way the government communicates with the nation; government advertising on national holidays such as Independence Day or Republic Day typically features stock pictures of political leaders greeting the people with banal messages and some generic bragging.

“It’s a great initiative because for the last 60 years, government ads have been pretty bad. They have been propaganda of their achievements and an opportunity to plaster their own faces on the ads," said K.V.Sridhar, an advertising industry veteran and chief creative officer at SapientNitro India.

“Countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and France use government advertising to change the behaviour of people rather than waste money in announcing the inauguration of a road," Sridhar said.

The Modi administration is also taking the concept of crowdsourcing—outsourcing work to the public at large, especially the online community—one step further.

Earlier this month, Modi launched myGov, an online platform to crowdsource governance ideas from citizens, especially the youth, and enable them to volunteer for specific tasks and projects at the grassroots level.

The emerging architecture of communication leaves no space for a mediator between the people and the government, according to political analyst Manisha Priyam.

“He (Modi) is opening it up directly to the people. Now the government directly becomes a repository of citizen knowledge. Data analytics will play a crucial role in this online communication setup and the way the government responds to suggestions coming in,"said Priyam, an associate professor at the National University of Educational Planning and Administration.

In the future, all mandatory government ads released to commemorate days of national significance are likely to be crowdsourced.

For the 15 August Independence Day advertisements, the government has received around 2,000 entries. An independent committee of experts will judge these entries and declare the winner soon.

“A six-member committee, consisting of members of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, the Delhi School of Art and former advertising industry executives, is expected to shortlist the finalists by 7 August," said a member of the directorate of advertising and visual publicity (DAVP), the nodal government agency for advertising by various ministries and departments.

The DAVP member asked not to be named as he is not authorized to speak to the media.

The winner will receive a prize of 15,000 from the government. If there is a need, the advertisement will be refined by DAVP, Julka said.

Like all government ads, the campaign will be splashed across print media. In 2013, the government spent 500 crore on advertising in the print media. Its total advertising expenditure—including television, digital forums and radio—was 1,200 crore, according to the DAVP official cited above.

Advertising experts see crowdsourcing in a positive light—a move that could change the way government ads are perceived.

Most government campaigns are forgettable, said the national creative director of a leading advertising agency, who did not wish to be identified.

“The very initiative to collaborate with citizens will generate more curiosity around the campaign. We would really hope that the ads improve. On the whole, the government-citizen partnership is a fantastic move," he said.

Meanwhile, a committee set up by the Supreme Court in April to help frame guidelines to curb the misuse of public funds to promote political personalities and agendas, is expected to come up with its recommendations in the next two months, said Julka.

The process, that was supposed to be completed by July, was delayed because the process of public consultation process is still underway.

According to Julka, the committee is still working on the guidelines although it has met twice.

N.R. Madhava Menon, former director of the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal; T.K. Vishwanathan, former secretary general of the Lok Sabha; and senior advocate Ranjit Kumar are members of the committee.

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Published: 29 Jul 2014, 11:34 PM IST
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