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Motorola Deep Connect
Agency Dentsu Creative / Gurugram + Dentsu Creative Iberia / Lisbon + Morphedo Technologies / Noida + Useful Garbage Creations / Mumbai
Category
Innovation / New Ideas in IP & Product Design
Annual ID
OS25_IP029M
Background
While India's telecom network connects 1.2 billion individuals, there remains a segment excluded from its reach. Miners, constrained by cellphone restrictions due to explosion risk, are confined to communicating solely within their walkie-talkie network. We addressed this by adding a unique frequency module to enable two-way calls to families' mobile phones.
Motorola Deep Connect needs to be effective enough to be adopted at scale. In addition, we designed it to work within existing infrastructure and regulations, respecting the ban on mobile phones underground, and ensuring no additional equipment needs to be purchased.
Therefore, the entire project was meticulously crafted to be exceptionally economical resulting in a per-module cost of merely $200 - a small investment for a life-changing connection.
Motorola Deep Connect needs to be effective enough to be adopted at scale. In addition, we designed it to work within existing infrastructure and regulations, respecting the ban on mobile phones underground, and ensuring no additional equipment needs to be purchased.
Therefore, the entire project was meticulously crafted to be exceptionally economical resulting in a per-module cost of merely $200 - a small investment for a life-changing connection.
Creative Idea
Hundreds of thousands of coal miners in India work long, hazardous hours in the dark. And their families are in the dark too – filled with anxiety, unable to make a simple check-in call to know if they’re fine.
To bring connectivity to this community deep underground, Motorola developed Deep Connect, a custom module, using off-the-shelf components, assigns miners a unique frequency-based ID on the shared walkie talkie in the mine. This connects seamlessly to the smartphone at home, allowing both incoming and outgoing calls.
Deep Connect is designed to be:
Scalable: With low cost, simplicity, and easy installation and maintenance, Motorola Deep Connect is within reach of the smallest coal mines.
Deliver Industry Impact: By addressing miners' emotional needs, the initiative cultivates a safer, more productive work environment. Its success paves the way for similar technological interventions in other industries, inspiring transformative change on a broader scale.
To bring connectivity to this community deep underground, Motorola developed Deep Connect, a custom module, using off-the-shelf components, assigns miners a unique frequency-based ID on the shared walkie talkie in the mine. This connects seamlessly to the smartphone at home, allowing both incoming and outgoing calls.
Deep Connect is designed to be:
Scalable: With low cost, simplicity, and easy installation and maintenance, Motorola Deep Connect is within reach of the smallest coal mines.
Deliver Industry Impact: By addressing miners' emotional needs, the initiative cultivates a safer, more productive work environment. Its success paves the way for similar technological interventions in other industries, inspiring transformative change on a broader scale.
Insights & Strategy
Target Audience:
The primary target audience for 'Motorola Deep Connect' comprises coal miners and their families in regions like Dhanbad, India. These individuals, often from lower socio-economic backgrounds, face isolation and emotional distress due to communication barriers in hazardous work environments.
The secondary target audience are coal mining companies and policy makers, who are constantly looking for ways to uplift the lives of people working at the coal mines.
Approach:
Create: A pilot is done on a small scale to serve as proof of concept and demonstrate real human impact.
Canvas: This is packaged into content which is then used to convince and get buy-ins from key stakeholders like policy makers, industry bodies and government
Conversations: To create awareness of Motorola’s innovation and reinforce commitment to India, thereby generating brand love
Overall, emphasis on affordability, simplicity, and scalability to ensure accessibility across diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.
The primary target audience for 'Motorola Deep Connect' comprises coal miners and their families in regions like Dhanbad, India. These individuals, often from lower socio-economic backgrounds, face isolation and emotional distress due to communication barriers in hazardous work environments.
The secondary target audience are coal mining companies and policy makers, who are constantly looking for ways to uplift the lives of people working at the coal mines.
Approach:
Create: A pilot is done on a small scale to serve as proof of concept and demonstrate real human impact.
Canvas: This is packaged into content which is then used to convince and get buy-ins from key stakeholders like policy makers, industry bodies and government
Conversations: To create awareness of Motorola’s innovation and reinforce commitment to India, thereby generating brand love
Overall, emphasis on affordability, simplicity, and scalability to ensure accessibility across diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.
Execution
Implementation:
Motorola Deep Connect' deployment involved collaboration with coal mining authorities in Dhanbad, India. Infrastructure, including unique frequency modules, were installed underground, with surface receiving stations. Training sessions ensured miners and families adapted smoothly. This strategic approach facilitated seamless communication, addressing critical needs in hazardous environments while enhancing safety and emotional well-being.
Timeline:
After rigorous testing, 'Motorola Deep Connect' began development in August 2023 and was fully implemented in March 2024, ensuring effectiveness and safety.
Scale:
The initiative, focusing on Dhanbad's coal mines was more focused on scalability rather than scale itself. To do so it prioritised:
Cost-effectiveness for scalability
Streamlined manufacturing without compromising quality
User-friendly implementation
These principles ensured easy replication and adoption across socio-economic contexts, maximizing national impact.
Motorola Deep Connect' deployment involved collaboration with coal mining authorities in Dhanbad, India. Infrastructure, including unique frequency modules, were installed underground, with surface receiving stations. Training sessions ensured miners and families adapted smoothly. This strategic approach facilitated seamless communication, addressing critical needs in hazardous environments while enhancing safety and emotional well-being.
Timeline:
After rigorous testing, 'Motorola Deep Connect' began development in August 2023 and was fully implemented in March 2024, ensuring effectiveness and safety.
Scale:
The initiative, focusing on Dhanbad's coal mines was more focused on scalability rather than scale itself. To do so it prioritised:
Cost-effectiveness for scalability
Streamlined manufacturing without compromising quality
User-friendly implementation
These principles ensured easy replication and adoption across socio-economic contexts, maximizing national impact.
Results
Motorola Deep Connect delivers a surge of hope, relief, and genuine connection in every call. As documented by:
Engagement: Day one saw 100% adoption, with 1,200 miners making their first ever calls to their families.
Deployment: Launched in 3 mines as a pilot, Adoption by 15 Coal Mines underway, potentially 227 underground coal mines nationwide, impacting 1.65 million lives.
Transformation: Deep Connect spurred discussions with governments, mining companies, and unions, promising to revolutionize communication protocols and empower workers.
Accessibility: Each module costs just $200, and potentially even less when manufacturing scales up. Which means that a small investment can be life-changing for miners who can now connect with their families.
Endorsed by leaders from Indian Workers Union, India Cellular and Electronics Association, Ministry of Communications (Govt. of India), Coal India Ltd., Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. Georgia Institute of Technology.
Engagement: Day one saw 100% adoption, with 1,200 miners making their first ever calls to their families.
Deployment: Launched in 3 mines as a pilot, Adoption by 15 Coal Mines underway, potentially 227 underground coal mines nationwide, impacting 1.65 million lives.
Transformation: Deep Connect spurred discussions with governments, mining companies, and unions, promising to revolutionize communication protocols and empower workers.
Accessibility: Each module costs just $200, and potentially even less when manufacturing scales up. Which means that a small investment can be life-changing for miners who can now connect with their families.
Endorsed by leaders from Indian Workers Union, India Cellular and Electronics Association, Ministry of Communications (Govt. of India), Coal India Ltd., Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. Georgia Institute of Technology.
2025 Awards
Total Points: 3
Merit
Credits
Agency
Dentsu Creative / Gurugram
Dentsu Creative Iberia / Lisbon
Production Company
Morphedo Technologies / Noida
Useful Garbage Creations / Mumbai
Art Director
Pedro Martoli
Associate Creative Director
Shivani Shintre
Shubhankar Ghosh
Chief Creative Officer
Gurbaksh Singh
Lourenco Thomas
Surjo Dutt
Chief Marketing Officer
Shivam Ranjan
Chief Strategy Officer
Sumeer Mathur
Copywriter
Nuno Leal
Creative Director
Prateek Verma
Designer
José Barreiro
Director
Chitiz Shandilya
Executive Creative Director
Ivo Purvis
Sudhir Das
Group Creative Director
Ashton Rodricks
Shray Chawla
Motion Designer
Renato Porfirio
Strategist
Punit Singh
Senior Art Director
Pratik Purohit
Soheil K G
Senior Creative Director
Akshit Vs
Associate Director
Ananyaa Banerjee
Associate Group Head - Art
Khadeer Ahmed
Associate Group Head - Motion Graphics
Gaurav Pawar
Associate Vice President - Production
Rakesh Bairwa
Chief Executive Officer
Amit Wadhwa
Client Manager
Inês Pinhão
Creative - Copy Team
Arundhati Srinath
Mohammed Zishan
Director of Creative Excellence and Practice Development, Creative Practice
Paola Motka
Global Practice Creative Excellence Lead
Jayme Blasko
Group Account Director
Anurag Pandey
Group Head - Art
Gautam Jangra
Parag Aswal
Managing Partner
Ujjwal Anand
Media Outreach Team
Ayush S Sengupta
Prachi Khabtiyal
Motion Graphics Head
Miguel Reis
Music Production Team
Aanand Bajpai
Tommy Moterio
National Head - Post Production
Sahil Chauhan
Post Production Team
Abhishek Kumar
Agnik Bhagat
Anshu Chaurasia
Arvin Maden
Biswanath Halder
Ganesh Yadav
Hiru Mondal
Hussain Khan
Manish Yadav
Pankaj Sahu
Prasenjit Paul
Shivnarayan Kumar Pandit
Somnath Ghosh
Sudarshan Nayak
Suneeth Vijayan
Suyash Ragji
Uttam Maykar
Veeru Kr Singh
Ziyaul Ansari
President
Indrajeet Mookherjee
President - Public Relations
Sanjeev Anand
Production Team
Akshat Aman
Amit Mishra
Chandra Mani
Govinda Ram
Manish Rawat
Rohin Raveedran
Satbir Mandal
Shahin Ezaz Ansari
Sritoma Karmakar
Sunil Kumar
Project Coordinator
Varsha Dixit
Project Manager
Milan Bhatnagar
Senior Account Executive
Prerna Bareja
Senior Account Manager
Kathakali Chatterjee
Senior Ad Ops Manager
Rahul Kumar
Senior Director
Sulakshana Mehrotra
Senior Executive - Public Relations
Kanika Parashar
Senior Manager - Corporate Communications
Alifiya Hirani
Senior Vice President - Production
Taj Ali Naqvi
Technology Partner
Mohit Rawat
Technology Team
Aman Singh
Arun Kumar
C Kirubakaren
Farman Ahmad
Harshit Arora
Hitesh Hitesh
Jeetu Kumar
Prashant Kumar Rai
Pushpendra Kumar Rawat
Soumya Ranjan Nayak
Sushil Baranwal
Vice President - Account Management
Chetan Walia
Vice President - Strategy
Ashit Chakravarty
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