New Delhi: The world is grappling with the rapidly spreading coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. During difficult times like this, essential service providers, as well as OYO’s ground staff, are in a war against the virus at the frontlines. To appreciate such individuals working towards flattening the curve as well as spread awareness around ways to curb COVID-19, OYO, the world’s leading hotel chains rolled out three interesting digital films – Everyday Heroes, Ditch the handshake, do the Namaste and Heroes of OYO.
The first film salutes the spirit of Bravehearts such as first responders and essential services professionals who are dedicating their efforts to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus. In light of this, OYO opened its doors to offer safe and hygienic accommodations to the medical community, law enforcement officials and the media among others. The hotel chain’s first digital film captures such heroes who are not at liberty to work from home or safely self-isolate including representations of doctors, journalists, policemen, cleaners, among others.
The second film, Ditch the handshake, do the Namaste is a quirky and lighthearted take on the importance of social distancing in times of COVID-19. With an aim to simplify the simple things to prevent Coronavirus in a fun way, the film comes alive through a doodle of coronaviruses that aims to spread the message around reducing the risk of infection by opting to limit physical contact during this pandemic and thereby, popularizing India’s cultural greeting – Namaste.
Heroes of OYO is the third film that recognizes the efforts of OYO’s asset partners and ground staff who are committed to providing the best services to symptomatic individuals, as well as first responders that self-isolate at its quarantine facilities.
The digital films are live across OYO’s Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter platforms and have garnered over 7 Million Views within 2 weeks.
Commenting on OYO’s COVID-19 social media initiatives, Mayur Hola – Head of Global Brand, OYO Hotels & Homes said, “Today, brands can do one of two things. The first is to help. The second, if you can’t do the first, is to not say anything. A pandemic need not invite moment marketing. At OYO we have opened our doors to help first responders and medical professionals across various countries get some well-deserved rest. We are also offering our facilities for people to self-quarantine and are working with local governments and hospitals like Apollo. As such both Everyday Heroes and Heroes of OYO are two sides of that coin. One acknowledges the people we are happy to serve and the other lauds our partners and hotel staff who are keeping our doors open and taking care of people in these times.”
Mayur adds, “The Namaste film creates awareness and engages with our global audience in a quirky, yet useful way. The OYO way. It tells people that a simple act of greeting can help break the chain and flatten the curve. We’re running this piece across geographies and it’s also a good way to introduce OYO – A new type of hospitality company from India that uses technology, talent and in this case, wit to enable people across the globe to live the good life, safely.”
As part of Ditch the Handshake, Do the Namaste, OYO has also rolled out a digital guidebook to avoid handshakes and opt for Namaste, India’s traditional contactless greeting through several quirky posts across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
