BBC has produced a documentary on them; Prince Charles invited them to his wedding with Camilla Parker Bowles in London in 2005; some of them have been invited to give guest lectures at top business schools of India.
The dabbawallas of Mumbai, who work under the aegis of the The Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association, are now part of the Million Dollar Memo campaign organised by Tourism Queensland, which will put its promotional material in the tiffin boxes that the dabbawallas deliver across the length and breadth of Mumbai.
The total number of dabbas delivered each day is estimated at upwards of 4 lakh. Tourism Queensland has identified — with the help of the dabbawallahs — areas to target based on the corporate presence in the area. One lakh office goers will receive a Million Dollar Memo in their dabbas, encouraging them to enter their companies in the contest.
While the financial capital of the country is taken care of by the dabawallahs, how are the other parts of India targeted by Tourism Queensland? “We have tried to target the 6,000-plus Indian corporations through electronic direct mailers in association with Thomas Cook. Also, Austrade (Australian Trade Commission), the Queen and Government and Tourism Australia have helped us in reaching out to the corporates,” says Ryna Sequeira, marketing manager (India), Tourism Queensland.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics shares some interesting statistics about Indian travellers. While leisure travellers to Australia stand at 26 per cent, VFR (visiting friends and relatives) is 48 per cent, business at 23 per cent and others 23 per cent in Australia. Leisure travellers rule in Queensland with 52 per cent, VFR stands at 26 per cent, business travellers 17 per cent and others 13 per cent. Now Tourism Queensland wants to attract more Indian travellers. (There are some overlaps in both the cases.)
With this campaign, Tourism Queensland’s first-ever consumer initiative, it wants to foray into the incentive travel market. Incentive trips, long used by companies to motivate employees, is a $27 billion market globally, according to National Business Events Strategy 2008. Sequeira says, “As far as Tourism Queensland’s target markets are concerned, almost 17 per cent business travellers are from India. While our top three markets are the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, India is a promising market for us.”
More From This Section
For the global campaign Tourism Queensland has got 87 entries, of which only one is from India. Sequeira believes with the involvement of dabbawallahs, the number will look up. The contest started on March 18, and corporations across the world sent their entries till May 1.
While the advertising spend for the campaign is estimated at 6 million Australian dollars, the ad budget for India stands at 50,000 Australian dollars. The Million Dollar Memo has been conceptualised by Australian design and marketing agency, SapientNitro, and roping in the dabbawallahs of Mumbai was the brainchild of Zzebra Public Relations, the company’s communication agency in India.
The current campaign takes its cue from the “Best Job in the World” campaign that Tourism Queensland rolled out in 2009. “The contest is all about team work. Entrants need to create an entertaining 60-second video that shows what makes their company great, and why they think Queensland is the ultimate reward destination. People have to shoot an idea portraying nothing else but team work,” adds Sequeira. The emphasis on teamwork also explains why dabbawallas are now part of the campaign.