KITES OF HOPE

TitleKITES OF HOPE
BrandROSHNI HELPLINE
Product / ServiceROSHNI HELPLINE
CategoryF02. Low Budget Campaign
EntrantY&R SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE
Idea Creation Y&R SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE
Contributing SPECTRUM Y&R Karachi, PAKISTAN

Credits

Name Company Position
Viraj Chouhan Y&R Singapore Copywriter
Mindy Tulsi Y&R Pte Ltd Agency Producer
Bilal Khan Spectrum Y&R Karachi Senior Strategic Planner
Ghazala Ahmed Spectrum Y&R Karachi Director Social Marketing
Niladri Deb Rediffusion Y&R Kolkata Art Director
Mazhar Raza Spectrum Y&R Karachi Executive Creative Director
Khalid Nayeem Spectrum Y&R Karachi Group Account Director
Kamal Jafri Spectrum Y&R Karachi HR Manager
Nida Jafri Spectrum Y&R Karachi Digital Media Manager
thequietlab thequietlab Post Production
Masood Ansari Spectrum Y&R Karachi Production Manager
Saleem Farooq Spectrum Y&R Karachi Media Head
Cynthia Subrata Y&R Singapore Junior Art Director
Varun Sohal Y&R Singapore Junior Creative Assistant
Jessica Chen Y&R Singapore Junior Planner
Adil Abbas Y&R Singapore Non-linear Editor
Daryl Low Y&R Singapore Graphic Designer
Marcus Rebeschini Y&R Asia Executive Creative Director
Hari Ramanathan Y&R Asia Chief Strategy Officer
Alvaro Bruch Y&R Singapore Digital Lead
Joao Leal Pereira Y&R Singapore Senior Designer
Anne Lee Y&R Singapore Production Manager
Komal Bedi Sohal Y&R Singapore Chief Creative Officer, Singapore

The Campaign

Transform a cultural icon of Pakistani childhood – the Kite – into a communication vehicle to reunite missing children with their families. Over 4,000 kites were printed with details of missing children and the Roshni Helpline number. They were distributed on the festival of Basant – a traditional day when kites are flown by young and old to mark the start of spring. The sky was filled with our message which was able to travel with the wind. These unique kites became a coveted item throughout the lower SEC neighbourhood and the city thereby redefining ‘missing children’ posters that are usually ignored.

The Brief

Overall Budget: Rs. 175,000 Media Spend: $50 (spent on Digital) Cost per piece: Rs. 50

Creative Execution

Our message, along with the details of the missing children, was printed on the traditional shapes of Pakistani kites. Kites have long been a cultural symbol in Pakistan but this was the first time they were being used as a media vehicle to share a message with the public. Each kite was designed using typically Pakistani elements and cost-effective local materials. The kites themselves were constructed with the special paper that is used by local Pakistani kite makers. While most kites in the market contain basic colours and barely any patterns, the designs we created were made to stand out on a day filled with kites at every corner. Over 4000 of these Kites of Hope were printed and flown on the festival of Basant, spreading the message as far as the wind could take it.

Results

Three children – Shahmir, Muzammil and Iftikar – were reunited with their families. Though each kite cost only Rs.50 (US$ 0.50), the media picked up the topic and made it prime-time news. National news channels, radio shows and various press outlets shared the message and called attention to the plight of these families resulting in a combined earned media totalling over 1 million Rupees More importantly, a conversation began in Pakistan to change the laws and legislation to help the process of finding missing children. The issue is being deliberated in the state assembly. The Supreme Court ordered and inquiry committee to be set up. A task force was formed by the Chief Minister of Punjab. The Prime Minister called for intelligence agencies to share information of such cases. Kites of Hope became the first step in bringing attention to a long-ignored problem.

Our challenge was to create mass awareness using a one to one medium. So we chose a traditional yet popular Pakistani icon, the kite, that was personal and yet had the ability to reach more than one person. The Pakistani custom of flying kites involves cutting the thread mid-air. This way, our Kites of Hope floated away with the wind and became a direct piece for someone far away, in another part of Karachi. The kites became flying posters for missing children that allowed it to be a direct medium for those who flew it and those who found it.

The strategy was to reinvent missing posters using a cultural icon, so they would never again go ignored. Roshni Helpline is a dedicated NGO working on this issue and wanted to take the lead in changing conventions for better results. The Kite is not merely an element of fun, but holds a deep traditional meaning in Pakistan where they celebrate the bounty of nature at spring and a deeply ingrained memory of childhood. This was the perfect medium for us to remind people of the other children who should have been with their families during this festival. For the launch we selected Mehmoodabad family Park, the most effected area with the highest number of cases of missing children in Karachi. Yet the residents of this ares were mostly unaware of this issue.

Links

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