ASIF
CHOWDHURY
Communications
Strategist
Marketing And Communications Strategies And Campaigns
Taking The Right Footsteps In Silicon Valley
In 2019, a Silicon Valley based startup was aiming to launch in the $2B industry of personality tests. They were looking for a practical roadmap towards launching their personality test software in the form of a quiz app for smartphone users.
Along with a team of 4 from the Schulich School of Business, I have developed a holistic marketing strategy for the startup in a span of 3 months. The strategy was centered around building a community of personality quiz participants by leveraging the power of digital media and micro-influencers.
The strategy has enabled the startup in developing a full-proof plan for launching and addressing challenges in the short and medium-term.
Changing Behaviour Through Promoting Orderly Migration Practices
In 2017, the European Union took drastic measures to stop the flow of irregular migration to its countries. It was identified that Bangladeshis were among the highest number of migrants overstaying in Europe. We figured out that there was a need for mass awareness at different stages within the migration cycle.
This resulted in an awareness raising project where I was responsible for strategizing and implementing a 360-degree campaign with more than 1500 community theaters, 422 billboards, 1 docu-drama, 4 public service announcements on TV with 700 spots and 1 radio show within 60 days.
Building Resilience For Refugees
In 2017, nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees fled violence in Myanmar. With most of the families having at least one deceased member, they were traumatized, exhausted, and were in dire need of humanitarian assistance. However, the flow of funds was not adequate to meet shelter and healthcare needs.
As the communications focal for IOM Dhaka, I initiated a fundraising campaign on social media to support the humanitarian programming that saw a massive increase in donations within a few months’ time.
COVID – 19 Pandemic and Beyond
Kenya a multi ethnic, multi cultural middle income country was heavily affected by the COVID – 19 pandemic. By October 2020 there were 47K positive cases and continued to rise. One of the largest communities affected by COVID were the migrants. The demand for migrant protection services during the pandemic was high and revealed a gap in referral and assistance. There was a need to review the existing structures to cater for future emergencies to ensure that at-risk groups receive adequate assistance. As a result, IOM mission in Kenya needed to come up with a new strategy addressing short and long term migration related challenges.
To support the strategic engagement for IOM Kenya, working closely with cross functional teams, I developed a multi year communication strategy that helped the organization position itself as a catalyst for transformation during the pandemic as well as in a post COVID world.
The multiyear strategy took into account advocating for the IOM Kenya strategy with relevant key messages, channels for engagement and restructuring and strengthening the communications unit to provide strategic communications support.