Brands go on-ground and fly high, too, for Children's Day

Brands and companies have gone all out to make Children's Day a special one this year. While Jet Airways attempted to build a long term relationship with the future travellers and also remembered its social commitment, Bajaj Allianz took kids on air through Big FM and OOH Media joined hands with CRY for child rights.

Jet Airways launched a unique initiative for its young guests on the occasion. An educational excursion was organised on November 14 for children at the Jet Airways Simulator to kick-start this campaign.

The visit to the simulator enabled the children to get a flying experience on the state of the art Boeing 777 and Airbus 330 aircrafts, in the presence of actors Amrita Rao and Boman Irani, who interacted with the excited children. A quiz competition was also organised and the winners were given prizes.

The new members stand to gain benefits such as special offers on their boarding cards, a dedicated web page and a special section for activities in the in-flight magazines – JetWings and FlyLite.

In addition, Jet Airways also plans to create a community for its young members, which will help connect with other members and share their experiences.

The children from the age group of 12-14 years were selected from a large database of the Jet Privilege members.

Sudheer Raghavan, chief commercial officer, Jet Airways, says, "This one of its kind property is focused to create a strong bond with our future flyers by being an integral part of their formative years. It also gives a chance to children to emulate the status of their parents."

Jet Airways also celebrated Children's Day with an hour long 'Flight of Fantasy' for underprivileged and special children as part of its annual tradition. Nearly 100 children had the unique opportunity to experience the joy of flying onboard a Jet Airways Boeing aircraft on an hour long flight, operated in support of NGOs (non government organisations) Magic Bus, Aseema, Development Education Empowerment of the Disadvantaged in Society (DEEDs) and Muktangan.

The flight took off from the domestic terminal of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and returned after an hour long flight, flying over the west coast.

From being airborne to going on-air, kids did it all. Big 92.7 FM joined hands with Bajaj Allianz to organise a contest for kids, called Challenge The RJ, across 45 Big FM stations in India. This campaign gave an opportunity to children to challenge the current Big FM RJs (radio jockeys) with their wit and spontaneity and co-host the shows with them.

In line with Bajaj Allianz's proposition of nurturing a child's dream, the contest promised to bring the dreams alive on radio. Through this contest, the children also got an opportunity to air their dreams and aspirations. The shows on Children's Day were skewed towards fun and entertainment, with each of them being renamed with suitable changes. Thus, Big Chai was renamed Big Milkshake, followed by Big Tiffin Box and Big Snacks.

Commenting on the activity, Praveen Malhotra, senior vice-president (sales), Big 92.7 FM, says, "The contest, Challenge the RJ, has been seamlessly aligned with the brand proposition of Bajaj Allianz – that is to bring the dreams alive. The contest is a perfect example of integrated solutions and caters to the need of both the brands."

From contests on the radio to special messages on TV screens, out of home television company OOH Media fulfilled its CSR (corporate social responsibility) by joining hands with Child Rights and You (CRY), a non-profit organisation that works towards restoring basic rights of marginalised children in India. OOH screens have been running a 30 second vignette in all networks of all cities that will continue till November 18 under 'The OOH Cares' umbrella.

OOH Media and CRY together aim to encourage more people to participate in this movement for child rights. OOH Media will help take this message across the country through screens at multiplexes, malls, office buildings, BPOs, cafeterias, bookstores, clubs, gymnasiums, restaurants, residential buildings, IT parks and others, which reaches a significant target audience, urging them to do their bit.

Ashutosh Parekh, content head, OOH Media, says, "OOH Media offers a medium that reaches influencers and decision makers who can create a big difference in the lives of children by contributing anything they can."

Regina Thomas, director, South, CRY, adds, "This initiative taken up by OOH Media to help create awareness about issues affecting child rights amongst individuals is very encouraging."

Going out of their way to make the day special for kids, a very important target group for many, brands were definitely not 'kidding' around!