As part of Digital Aid, DIA’s CSR initiative, Digital Innovation Asia assisted Phare Cambodian Circus Siem Reap in putting together a strategy and concept for an Instagram photo competition.  This pro-bono activity is aimed to spread the word about the Circus and its grass-roots activities in helping struggling kids from underprivileged families in Cambodian rural areas and villages.

Digital Innovation Asia is proud to be associated with the Phare Cambodian Circus, which has an extraordinary mission and a touching story.

Twenty years ago, 8 young Cambodian refugees returned home after living in exile. Their community was about 4 kilometres outside Battambang. There were many problems, and much of the local youth had social problems as they were farmers without land. These 8 youngsters had art training abroad, and so they started giving free painting lessons to other youngsters. The following year they widened this to include music, community theatre and circus. In 2001, they had their first Cambodian tour, spreading an educational message on subjects such as land mines, HIV and malaria. This community spirit has spread and Phare still tours the country spreading its social message, even visiting prisons and other similar institutions. Modern Cambodian tales are embodied by a new generation of talented artists trained in Phare Ponleu Selpak Artistic and Social Center- Battambang. The performances mix theatre, music, dance, acrobatics, juggling, aerial acts, or contortion with an explosion of virtuosity and sensitivity and very strong Cambodian story and identiy.

The Social Media campaign, conceptualized by Digital Innovation Asia, leveraged the popular Instagram platform. After upgrading high-speed Internet access in the show venue, visitors are encouraged to upload photos in real-time during the show, for a chance to win prizes at the end of the performance. Due to the uniqueness of the show, captivating images have been captured that are shared on the Phare Facebook page. As visitors are sharing these images on their own social media platforms, from Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Flicker, Google+, and more, the word about the Cambodian Circus is spreading. Leveraging social media and visual content creation by engaging the audience has been popular among brands. However integrating the engagement level with the offline experience still is fairly new.  The Instagram contest was supported by the Shinta Mani Hotel Siem Reap and the Shinta Mani Foundation, which sponsored the main prize.

Phare Cambodian Circus, in collaboration with Digital Innovation Asia, is looking to expand on the success of the Instagram contest trail, and launch social media initiatives on other social media platform, including a bigger contest on Facebook in the future.