Canara Bank’s ‘Be Cyber Smart’ campaign across state Bus Stations empowering Rural India

• Cybersecurity awareness is critically low in Rural India- State Bus Stations present a strategic option for reaching rural and semi-urban commuters
• The ‘Be Cyber Smart’ campaign successfully launched across 489 bus stands in the States of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Goa

Canara Bank, a leading public sector bank in India, has taken an important step towards addressing the rising cybercrime rates in Rural India with its ongoing initiative, ‘Be Cyber Smart.’ The ‘Be Cyber Smart’ campaign has been successfully launched across 489 bus stands across India. Fourteen unique jingles, scripted and recorded, play every 15 minutes on the Digital Passenger Information Systems (PIS) at the bus stations, reinforcing the importance of cybersecurity in a catchy and memorable manner.

“Canara Bank identified a disturbing increase in cybercrime cases. We observed there is a critical need for creating awareness and educating the public, particularly in rural areas where cybersecurity awareness is critically low. To tackle this issue head-on, the ‘Be Cyber Smart’ initiative was launched to equip people with the knowledge and skills needed to protect themselves in the digital age,” said Mr R P Jaiswal, General Manager, Head Office, Canara Bank

State Bus Stations present a strategic option for reaching rural and semi-urban commuters, who frequently utilise bus stations for their regular commutes between villages and cities. The campaign was conceptualised and executed by Vritti iMedia. Vritti utilised its mass media platform, Audiowala Bus Stand, a leading Digital Audio Network that employs the digital Passenger Information System (PIS) in State bus stations to deliver messages to passengers located within the bus stations.

“Vritti Solutions recommended the use of engaging musical jingles and messages on cyber awareness, strategically placed within the regular bus announcements. These jingles are placed amidst bus arrival and departure announcements; thus, guaranteeing 100% engagement rate. The ability to convey messages in regional languages and dialects proved to be a key asset, fostering a direct and relatable connection with the target audience,” said Mr. Rajesh Radhakrishnan, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer- Vritti iMedia.

Feedback from the target audience has been overwhelmingly positive, underscoring the effectiveness of the jingles in conveying the ‘Be Cyber Smart’ message. A video capturing the audience’s reactions can be viewed here in three languages – Kannada, Marathi and Hindi.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh4g0a-b5hg

(In the above Youtube link, from the start to 7.25 minute is Kannada video, 7.32 minute to 30 minutes is Marathi video and from 30 minutes to 36 minutes is the Hindi video.)

Encouraged by the success of the initial phase, Canara Bank plans to extend the campaign to bus stations in other places also, ensuring the ‘Be Cyber Smart’ message continues to reach and educate diverse audiences.

About Canara Bank:

Widely known for customer centricity, Canara Bank was founded by Shri Ammembal Subba Rao Pai, a great visionary and philanthropist, in July 1906, at Mangalore, then a small port town in Karnataka. The Bank has gone through the various phases of its growth trajectory over hundred years of its existence. Growth of Canara Bank was phenomenal, especially after nationalization in the year 1969, attaining the status of a national level player in terms of geographical reach and clientele segments. Eighties was characterized by business diversification for the Bank. In June 2006, the Bank completed a century of operation in the Indian banking industry. The eventful journey of the Bank has been characterized by several memorable milestones. Today, Canara Bank occupies a premier position in the comity of Indian banks.

Over the years, the Bank has been scaling up its market position to emerge as a major Financial Conglomerate with as many as thirteen subsidiaries/sponsored institutions in India and abroad. As on December 2023, Canara Bank services over 11.30cr customers with total global business of over Rs.22.13cr through a network of 9,585 branches and 12,120 ATMs/Recycler spread across all Indian states and Union Territories.

About Vritti iMedia: Vritti iMedia has India’s leading Digital Audio Network – Audiowalla Bus Stand. In Business for more than two decades, Vritti iMedia, a media wing of Vritti Solutions is one of the largest Rural Marketing Solutions Providers in India. Its rural marketing programs are driven by interactive campaigns and innovative strategies that promise to engage a maximum number of people in a minimum timeframe. Vritti iMedia is an executive member of the Rural Marketing Association of India.