Three recent campaigns are taking on the many fears, sensationalisms, fake news, and cultural stigma that have gripped people’s notions surrounding the Coronavirus. One of them has reached out globally to raise funds to help combat the deadly virus.
In Singapore, Prudential came out with a ‘Together Let’s #DOGood’ coronavirus campaign designed by VaynerMedia to take on fake news and deepening stigma faced by people of Chinese descent. The campaign, while seeking to debunk uncorroborated rumours and widespread discrimination against healthcare workers and patients, hails the good work done by members of the public while battling the virus.
Prudential plans to work alongside VaynerMedia Singapore to help ‘Community Chest’ by bringing in donations to assist those most affected by the virus.
THE WESTERN UNION TAKE
‘Behind Every Mask There is a Heart’, says a Western Union global campaign built around a $1-million global “matching challenge” to help combat the Coronavirus and raise monies for relief work in China and other affected countries. The combined Western Union and Western Union Foundation match is expected to raise up to $500,000.
To drive the campaign, Western Union Foundation has begun accepting contributions from Western Union employees, customers, agents, and members of the general public across the world between now until 14 April 2020.
The aid will be handed to local and global NGOs, including Give2Asia and International Medical Corps, for current relief efforts in China and affected countries and to buy supplies, equipment, and frontline medical treatment.
“We are grateful to everyone who is taking action in this time of need,” said Birger Stamperdahl, Give2Asia’s President and CEO, adding, “frontline health workers are risking their lives to help control the spread of the virus.”
As of 13 February, as many as 47,000 people were estimated to have been infected with COVID-19, with 1,368 deaths globally (46,550 cases and 1,368 deaths in China), according to the World Health Organization.
“Western Union is a global company and we support our customers, employees and communities in times of need. The time is now for the global community to come together in support of communities affected by COVID-19,” said Western Union CEO Hikmet Ersek.
“Being a responsible global company means not just serving and benefiting from an interconnected world but taking steps to care for vulnerable communities in dire times. We encourage everyone across the world including our employees, Agents and customers and partners, to step up and show their support,” Ersek added.
Donations towards the $1-million challenge can be made through:
- Public donation appeal via the Western Union Foundation Donation Platform
- In the United States, donations made through the Western Union mobile app between 1 March — 14 April 2020.
- Company donations can be routed via wufoundation@wu.com
“We are committed to helping our partner organisations fight this virus in whatever ways are most appropriate in their localities,” said Elizabeth Roscoe, Western Union Foundation Executive Director and Western Union Head of Corporate Brand & Purpose.
Roscoe added: “We understand the importance of doing our small part to bring the global community together to combat this infectious disease which can endanger everyone equally, without regard for boundaries of geography, ethnicity or social class.”
SINGAPORE CREATIVES STAND WITH MYDOC
A third campaign has Singapore’s creatives joining forces with digital healthcare specialist MyDoc with a ‘Cure Your Fear’ campaign. “The epicentre of the coronavirus is no longer Wuhan — it has shifted to a location somewhere between your ears”, says the campaign.
Amidst justifiably unprecedented fears of the Coronavirus spreading within the community, Singapore’s creatives have designed the #cureyourfear initiative to provide Singaporeans “triage assessments” for fears surrounding flu-like symptoms.
Patients who visit MyDoc’s COVID-19 telemedical clinic can seek medical assessment for common signs of infection, such as fever, cough, or breathing difficulties. The protocol is, should a patient meet the Singapore Ministry of Health COVID-19 suspect case criteria, the attending doctor alerts a ministry surveillance officer, who, in turn, get an ambulance team despatched to pick up the patient for tests and quarantine.
“Singapore is strong, and together we can fight against the virus and most importantly against fear. We are giving people a way to take control, to contribute their efforts, and support our national healthcare workers,” said Melisa Teoh, Chief Marketing Officer of MyDoc.
Led by Tay Guan Hin of TGH Collective, the team of creatives, who designed the campaign, include Ai-Lin Tan (Wunderman Thompson), Eugene Cheong (formerly of Ogilvy Asia-Pacific), Patrick Low (Goodfellas), Troy Lim (formerly of Y&R Singapore), Koh Hwee Peng (Blak Labs), and Uma Rudd Chia (Weber Shandwick), among a host of others.
“The local creative community is stepping up to assist MyDoc and Singaporeans in this time of need,” says Tay Guan Hin, Chief Creative Officer of TGH Collective, adding, “by making medical consultations easily accessible, we hope everyone can stay calm and combat this deadly virus together.”
A government note says triage assessments are available to the public from 8 am to 10 pm daily. For an appointment, sign up for a MyDoc account at cureyourfear.sg. Triage assessments are being subsidised by individuals and corporates.
