Twitter users thank farmers through #FlyingWithFinolex campaign

As part of the campaign, Twitter users share their thoughts and messages for Indian farmers.

Agriculture is said to be the backbone of any economy and drives growth for many industries in a country like India. But, the people who propel this growth trajectory from behind the scenes, the farmers, are mostly ignored and hardly ever receive any appreciation for their hard work.

Drawing on the same insight, Finolex Industries, a pipe manufacturing company, came up with a digital campaign titled #FlyingWithFinolex, on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. The campaign's aim was to thank the farmers for their efforts and Twitter users were invited to share their thoughts and messages for farmers.

Q. Share a message with us that you would like to share with the farmers of India! #FlyingWithFinolex pic.twitter.com/2Dy6F46oot

— Finolex Pipes (@Finolexwater) January 12, 2016

The digital campaign, which kick-started on January 12, and which will go on until the first week of February, has been conceptualised and executed by Schbang Solutions and Joel Multimedia. The campaign took off on the day of the festival of Makar Sankranti, which is considered a very auspicious day by farmers and is celebrated as a harvest festival in many parts of the Indian sub-continent. The festival also marks a departure from all that is old and derelict and marks a fresh beginning. It is often celebrated with kite flying as the kite symbolises reaching new heights, indicative of the urban society while the thread represents the farmers who are akin to the roots for keeping the kite steady and grounded when needed. The campaign also aims to bridge the gap between the urban and the rural population of the country.

"Makar Sankranti is the Indian festival of Thanksgiving. The festival marks the beginning of spring and the new sowing season. On this occasion, we wanted to thank the farmer community of India who we believe are the backbone of our community. We also wanted to sensitise and pave the way for the youth and urban population to communicate their appreciation for this section of our country," says Prakash Chhabria, chairman, Finolex Industries.

"The farmers of India need all our blessings and support. We thought the occasion was a good way of expressing our gratitude towards them. We are thankful to the public for their participation in this campaign and for their support," adds Chhabria.

Speaking of numbers, the campaign has already garnered a total reach of 2.9 million on Twitter since its inception. According to an official press note sent out by the company, the hashtag #FlyingWithFinolex, trended at the first spot in India and on No.26 worldwide on January 12. The campaign also claims to have received until now as many as 10,133 messages from Twitter users across India as part of the campaign.

In the next stage, the company intends to create a montage of the messages received from the farmers who sent them after receiving the kite with the messages. Thereafter, it will be relayed to farmers via various mediums such as WhatsApp and the social media platforms on which Finolex is present such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The video is scheduled for completion in the first week of February.

While the online campaign is nationwide, the on-ground activation for this campaign includes distribution of 50,000 kites through the company's dealers and sub-dealers in the states of Punjab (in Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Patiala, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Nawanshahr, and Ropar), Maharashtra (Pune, Golap, Purnagad and Gavkhadi), Gujarat (Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Baroda, Surat, Barsana and Surendranagar) and Andhra Pradesh.

The Pune-headquartered Finolex Industries, which claims to be India's largest rigid PVC-U pipes and fittings manufacturer and the second largest PVC resin manufacturer, has its manufacturing plants located in Urse (Pune), Ratnagiri (Maharashtra) and Masar (Gujarat).