Odisha banks on unique campaign to burnish investor image

Enthused by the success of ‘I am Odisha’, the theme of Make in Odisha 2018 summit, the state government plans to extend the campaign’s run beyond the conclave to showcase Odisha’s success stories in entrepreneurship and innovation.

The ‘I am Odisha’ campaign- a first of its kind, kicked off in August in the run up to the biennial investment summit. Its thrust was on showcasing the state’s strengths- its consistently high economic growth, strides made in infrastructure, skill development and an incipient yet emerging culture of entrepreneurship. The campaign is centred on building positive vibes on sectors that have impacted Odisha's industrial ecosystem. Besides, the campaign also sought to offer a platform to crowd source success stories from Odisha and the Odia diaspora settled abroad.

“This campaign celebrated the achievements and successes of Odisha and helped enhance awareness about the state. Going by the encouraging response to the campaign, we are considering the second phase of the campaign in the coming months”, said Sanjeev Chopra, principal secretary (industries), Odisha government.

The campaign’s run on social media spanned 10 weeks from August 1 to October 15 this year. It was bombarded with about 50 million impressions and garnered 800,000 engagements on the social media space. Before its deadline, the campaign received 155 entries from Odias with success stories to share in the realms of entrepreneurship and innovation. As many as 104 entries were shortlisted, 54 of which were featured on the website designed exclusively for the campaign. The campaign in its first phase, culminated with a contest held under the aegis of ‘Make in Odisha 2018’. Three winners chosen by a jury drawn from The Indus Entrepreneurs, Silicon Valley and a clutch of Odia entrepreneurs, were feted.

The state government admits Odisha has been crippled by lack of ample awareness both inside the country and abroad. Campaigns like ‘I am Odisha’ could help turn the tide and make Odisha’s success resonate with a wider community of investors and entrepreneurs, officials believe.

“Odisha has traditionally been a state about which awareness levels were fairly low within and outside the country. As a result, the state’s strength’s and achievements were not known widely. The objective of this branding campaign was to evoke Odia pride and break the perception barrier by showcasing the strengths and success stories of people belonging to the state. We are hopeful this will encourage more Odias to chase their dreams and make the state proud”, said Chopra.

The second edition of Make in Odisha drew investments of the order of Rs 4.19 trillion, more than double the figure of Rs 2.03 trillion the state pocketed at the maiden edition in 2016. The state government has set targets to implement 75 per cent of the virgin investments within two years.