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    How Lifebuoy & Shell reaped success, far away from the city

    Synopsis

    Here are four case studies of successful marketing campaigns in rural India.

    Here are four case studies of successful marketing campaigns in rural India.

    Lifebuoy 'Swasthya Chetna'

    The work: Washing hands before meals or in general should be secondary nature, but you'll be surprised. In fact, a study by the London School of Tropical Hygiene revealed that washing hands with soap and water can bring down cases of diarrhoea by 47%, a drastic number for a disease that reportedly claims the lives of millions of people, of which 600000 are Indian children.

    Lifebuoy introduced the Swasthya Chetna program, with their officers visiting 43,000 villages and schools in rural India over the course of five years. They spread awareness of washing hands, conducted product and glowgerm UV demos, competitions, aired interactive AVs and overall hammered in the importance of a simple hand-washing regime.

    The result: Since its inception in 2002, the campaign has made its way to over 110 million rural Indians. Over 30% of Indians are more aware about harmful germs, and soap consumption has increased by 15%. The biggest recognition for the campaign came in from the government of India, with its special edition postal stamp for Swasthya Chetna.

    Image article boday


    Hero MotoCorp 'Service Har Jagah'

    The work: In 2010, Hero MotoCorp (erstwhile Hero Honda) was already the No 1 bike manufacturer in the country. But the company wanted to delve deeper into the rural market and thus, 'Service Har Jagah', a door-to-door servicing facility was born in India's small towns. It is a network of customised bikes fitted with servicing equipment that go around the country servicing customers' bikes in rural towns. The result: 7500 villages were covered each month, and about 70000 customers were attended to. The initiative is still ongoing.

    Path (Sure Start) 'Pehla Ek Ghanta'

    The work: Living in a city with access to the best medical services 24x7 can really spoil us. But this basic amenity is still a dream for countless Indians, especially those from small towns. In fact, the struggle for many begins right at birth, what with rural mothers having little or no education in matters of childbirth.

    Path (Sure Start) with Impact Communications partnered to spread awareness about infant mortality. They launched 'Pehla Ek Ghanta' in UP small towns, to disseminate information for a new mother and her infant's welfare. The campaign comprised games, street plays, flip books, film screenings, OOH and jingles to educate the TG about birth, recognizing danger signs, cord care and breast feeding within the first hour of birth. The result: 89% women from villages with a population of 5,000 had a very strong recall with 'Pehla Ek Ghanta', with 70% of the TG further educating their families. The government of UP even integrated some aspects of the campaign in their own initiatives. Impact Communications even picked up two Golds in the RMAI Awards.

    Image article boday


    Shell 'Khidki Amma'

    The work: As we sit in our homes eating food cooked by gas in pipelines or cylinders, it could a stretch to imagine a large chunk of the rural population using wood and cow dung as biomass for fuel. The resultant Indoor Air Pollution (IAP) is rather harmful with women and children particularly risking asthma disorders and eye diseases. Some simple ways to combat these are to open a window to let the smoke out, leave the children outside while cooking and using smokeless stoves.

    Shell and DDB Mudra Max introduced the village gossip, 'Khidki Amma' to spread awareness. The old woman would stand outside windows and engage women in gossip about the neighbours as they cooked, convincing them to attend an event in the village square. Next came demos, street plays and games educating women and children on the hazards of IAP and solutions.

    The result: IAP awareness doubled after the activity, with 94% of the TG easily recalling the solutions to tackle it when quizzed. Women religiously began throwing open their windows as they cooked, reducing the risk of contracting diseases significantly. DDB Mudra Max also won a Gold for Rural Marketing Program of the Year at the WOW Awards.

    Image article boday


    (With inputs from Mandeep Malhotra, Executive Director, DDB Mudra Group and President & Head DDB MudraMax – OOH, Retail & Experiential).
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