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Why Extra Time Off?
Singaporeans faced a dilemma, unique to our part of the world, on July 10 – watch the Football World Cup finals live at 2am Monday morning and report to work half-alive, or give the Match of the Year a miss.
The solution STOMP offered: ask for time off!
And so the Extra Time Off (ETO) petition is born – the first campaign of its kind in a country that prides itself on its work ethics.
Online Petition… And More
The campaign kicked off in STOMP, The Straits Times’ interactive website, June 16 with a call for petitions for time off on July 10.
The site details the three ways to petition – via the online form, SMS, or – the most novel route – via MMS. Users were asked to MMS pictures of themselves enjoying the Cup festivities.
These pictures were featured online, together with user comments on why they deserve time off.
The ETO page also provides daily updates on the number of petitioners and companies which have declared time off for their staff July 10.
Aside from being a rallying point for the petition, the ETO page is also the complete website for the football fanatic, with information on live match screenings, promotions in pubs and a forum where users debate the best and worst of the tournament.
Cross-media Campaign
From the get-go, there was cross-media involvement. News of the online campaign was featured in The Straits Times (ST). The first ST reader to respond was rewarded with a digital camera. Companies interested to join the movement were encouraged to contact STOMP.
Calls to particpate in the Extra Time Off movement were also made during pre-match commentaries on TV.
More ST stories on the petition followed, featuring winners of Arsenal football memorabilia. Our sponsors, Asia Pacific Breweries, even threw in a trip to catch an English Premiere League match to draw more petitioners.
By July 10, 10,464 people had petitioned for or would be getting Extra Time Off and 20 organisations had declared time off for their staff.
Without a doubt, the Extra Time Off campaign was a success. More importantly, it was a step in the right direction towards better work-life balance in Singapore. |