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HNB Finance pioneered commercial-based microfinance in Sri Lanka, charting a new course for small scale enterprises in the country. The company maintains an extensive island-wide presence and offers Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Loans and Small Scale Enterprise (SSE) Loans, in addition to Savings, Gold Loans, Fixed Deposit facilities and Leasing products. HNB Finance has received international acclaim for contributions made to the microfinance industry in Sri Lanka.

The Challenge

The Aluth Avurudu (New Year) celebration takes place every April in Sri Lanka, and it is one of the most anticipated festivals in the Sri Lankan calendar. The streets are abuzz, there’s lots of special food being made, new clothes being bought, and fun games being played! It’s a time of community, celebration and sharing good will. 

However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, none of the usual celebrations and traditions could take place in 2020 and the weight of the pandemic seemed a bit heavier. HNB Finance sought a way to engage with the public and revive the Avurudu spirit virtually, while adhering to stay-at-home regulations.

The Solution

Partnering with Antyra Solutions, HNB Finance launched a campaign to digitize Avurudu celebrations by creating an online platform that would allow people to celebrate the festive season a little differently. The digital portal created for this campaign provided updates on the auspicious times for traditional events and offered users the opportunity to participate in customary Avurudu games and activities virtually.

The main strategy was to bring some of the most beloved aspects of Aluth Avurudu onto a digital platform, so that all Sri Lankans could participate, no matter where they were.

To help execute the campaign, the activities, games and campaign visuals were designed with an emphasis on the traditional theme of Avurudu, combining them with a digital perspective. The visuals also included various call to actions that motivated people to participate in the games and activities, and invite others to do so as well.

The traditional games recreated virtually included Lissana Gaha, Kotta Pora, Kana Mutti and Aliyata Eha Thabeema. Apart from these games, we also introduced fun and engaging activities such as Avurudu Wasana (raffle draw) and Avurudu Rasa Pana (quiz).

Results

• The campaign reached over 2.8 million people during a XXXX month period.
• We recorded over 40,000 unique game plays.
• There were over 100,000 page views with an average of four minutes being spent on the platform, and the average user browsing 5 pages on the site.
• We generated over 1,200 leads through the campaign.