The Brief

It is not easy to bring about change in an adult. To make them want to go to school was a tough task.Our audience was new and probably averse to the idea of going to school. In India illiterate individuals use their thumb impression instead of signing their names. We tapped on this insight and conducted a door-to-door activation campaign. The aim of the activity was to lure the target group into our adult literacy program by providing an unforgettable, firsthand experience of the joy of writing.

Creative Execution

In India, illiterates use thumb imprint instead of signature. We used this most identifiable symbol of illiteracy – the thumb impression and designed an ink pad that allowed illiterate individuals to print their name. A transparent sheet with cut-outs of the alphabets of Hindi (devanagari script) was placed on top of the ink pad. When the thumb was pressed onto it, the ink from the alphabet cut-out portion would get transferred onto the thumb and alphabet by alphabet one could write their name. Thus, the joy of being able to write evoked a spirit to join our program and learn.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

Door Step School is an NGO that sets up camps in and around the residence of the underprivileged section of the society and runs literacy programs. They regularly face the lack of enthusiasm in adults to join their program. The objective of this campaign was to initiate a desire for education amongst this group.

Results

As expected, the ink pad helped our volunteers to grab the attention of the otherwise uninterested target group of illiterate adults and helped us convert their unwillingness to join into a desire to learn. With just 8 extra volunteers, Door Step School saw a huge 600% increase in the recruitment for the 2011 adult literacy program. The success of the campaign has encouraged the NGO to carry on the activity in other cities and set up more camps for their 2012 program.