[VIDEO] The Sweetest Surprise Coca-Cola Sent To Singapore's Construction Workers
With some ingenuity and clever marketing, Coca-Cola has managed to bring a smile to many migrant workers who are Singapore's major workforce.
By Darian Goh — 08 May 2014, 04:33 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
Singapore's workforce is shaped mostly of migrant workers from countries like Bangladesh and Myanmar
Singapore is one of the world’s wealthiest countries per capita, but as its population ages, the nation’s economic growth is increasingly reliant on the work of more than 1 million low-wage foreign laborers.
businessinsider.my
Coming from places including India, China, Bangladesh and Myanmar, guest workers make up about a third of the workforce in Singapore, known for its rapid development and high standard of living.
adage.com
Many of these workers are far from home and isolated from the local community
The influx of foreign low-wage workers has brought societal tensions and divisions. "These guys are a community within a community, they are walled off … and when they work they're usually up there in these high-up places that are difficult to reach."
adage.com
These workers come from countries with lower standards of living like China, India, and Bangladesh to work long hours in manufacturing and construction jobs that pay as little as $1.60 an hour. To make matters worse, these migrant workers are often subject to abuse by their employers because Singapore extends few legal rights to its foreign workforce.
businessinsider.my
The construction work done on these developments are also typically outsourced to foreign countries where labor is cheaper than hiring locals, and while this does get the job done, there is also the humanity side of things which shows how these foreign laborers are away from their homes, their families, and how they’re considered to be “invisible” to Singaporeans.
ubergizmo.com
So to ease the homesickness of these workers, Coca-Cola used drones to deliver messages of appreciation from Singaporeans together with a can of Coke
A few weeks back, drones buzzed up to high-rises under construction in Singapore and dropped off cans of Coke to the migrant workers building the towers. Tucked into the care packages were 2,734 messages from Singaporeans thanking the tradesmen for their hard work.
adage.com
In an effort to make things a little easier for these homesick workers, Coca-Cola decided to partner with the Singapore Kindness Movement, a non-profit backed by the country’s prime minister, to arrange for a pick-me-up. Their method? Drones.
businessinsider.my
Eugene Cheong, Chief Creative Officer of Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific said, "This project is
exciting because it touches on a universal social tension in modern society - the disconnect between guest workers and the local residents of the places that have become their home away from home.
Hundreds of Singaporeans wrote messages of appreciation to be delivered to the workers
Hundreds of volunteers from the Singapore Kindness Movement asked ordinary Singaporeans to write messages of support to the migrant workers, then snapped photos of them holding the notes. The photos were tied to Coke cans and delivered to more than 2,500 workers using several drones.
adage.com
The reactions of the workers were touched as they feel that they are recognised and appreciated
The workers were surprised by the notes -- for some, what meant the most was the sense of being recognized, he said.
adage.com
This is part of Coca-Cola's international campaign, "Where will happiness strike next?"
Messages of appreciation together with a can of coke to deliver 'happiness'
Image via designtaxi.comIt's part of Coke's international campaign called "Where Will Happiness Strike Next?", bringing the brand theme of happiness to places that could use some cheer.
adage.com