Industry rallies to aid tsunami relief

In addition to pledging large sums of money to charitable organisations, agencies and clients have also begun tsunami relief drives to provide critically-needed items to the effort. Employees at several agencies have donated a day's salary to the effort, with many agencies making matching contributions. On the client side, several organisations have contributed in a similar fashion, and some companies have also made their services available to assist recovery efforts. India's Bharti Tele-Ventures, for example, has invested US$4.5 million to establish Airtel mobile and VSAT networks in the Andaman and Nicobar islands to facilitate rehabilitation in areas hardest hit by the tsunami. Many in the industry are also looking at how they can best utilise their abilities on a pro bono basis. OgilvyActivation is working with Unicef in Tamil Nadu to carry out an awareness and information campaign in relief camps to prevent and treat outbreaks of diarrhea. Edelman's regional leadership meeting this month in Bangkok, meanwhile, will now focus exclusively on building communications strategies, plans and infrastructure on behalf of selected relief agencies, governments and tourist agencies. Edelman will donate 10 per cent of Asia's profits for this fiscal year to relief efforts. "The interesting thing is to see what we can do in the longer term," said J. Walter Thompson chairman/CEO for Thailand and Southeast Asia Mark Webster. "We are putting up recommendations from a commmunication point of view that will be proposed to government agencies and tourism authorities...we will be looking to help on a pro bono basis." Additional reporting by Divesh Gupta and Sangeeta Mulchand