Marketing CSR

It began as just another marketing idea. With the monsoons upon Mumbai, a new telecom firm put up a hoarding near the Milan subway in Mumbai, with a life-sized dinghy tied on and ‘In case of emergency, cut rope’ emblazoned on it. For days, passers-by paid no particular attention — till it began to rain and the area got flooded. Then, one day, the hoarding looked a little empty, with passersby taking its message seriously and cutting the rope. The dinghy was used to ferry people in the area. What turned out to be a marketing effort ended up being corporate social responsibility.