Seylan Bank attracts public to its #ResponsibleMe campaign
View(s):Seylan Bank has received tremendous public support for its #ResponsibleMe campaign, conceptualised to highlight the importance of self-awareness and individual responsibility in ensuring the safety of all Sri Lankan citizens in the COVID-19 pandemic, the bank said in a statement this week.
The campaign which began internally nearly two months ago has since been amplified on social media and discussed by subject matter experts in public forums and media.
“Even as we battle a new variant of the coronavirus, non-compliance of the general public in adhering to health guidelines is one of the main reasons attributed to the continued rise in COVID-19 cases in the country. #ResponsibleMe campaign is a way to bring awareness to the need for individual responsibility in responding to the pandemic. The promise to take personal responsibility for one’s actions to ensure the prevention of spread is a vital mindset change that is difficult but necessary in these challenging times,” said Gamika de Silva, Assistant General Manager for Marketing and Sales, Seylan Bank, according to the statement.
Starting the campaign from within, Seylan team members took on the responsibility to bear the #ResponsibleMe message to the public, adding their own voices through their personal social media spaces calling upon fellow citizens to be aware of their own actions in spreading the virus. Key opinion leaders soon joined the call to be responsible in individual actions, and social media came abuzz with – #ResponsibleMe – in a collaborative message urging the importance of being ‘self-aware’ in order to protect oneself, one’s loved ones and the community at large
While physical actions such as washing hands and wearing masks are important to curb the spread, a mentality change accepting individual responsibility to keep doing these things was considered key for protection in the long term. Thus the bank launched a unique virtual media briefing to effectively drive this message as a responsible corporate, with the participation of media personnel active in the digital space. It featured discussions by the University of Peradeniya Prof. Emeritus Kalinga Tudor Silva and Clinical Psychiatrist Dr. Nayanananda Kumaranayake on the public’s apparent lax attitude toward health protocols, from the perspective of pandemic related psychology and mental health challenges leading to such behavioural outcomes.