The Brief

Helpage India is an organization dedicated to helping the elderly.And though they received abundant funds and donations last year they felt that the problem which they were facing could not be solved only with monetary means. Because what was missing in the lives of these eldelry parents was the love and care from their children and families. So we decided to target the children of the elderly living in oldage homes funded by Helpage India and communicate to them the importance of giving the same affection and care to their parents that they got in their childhood.

Creative Execution

The DM was based on a simple rotating mechanism. When turned, it showed a normal family tree inverting and the child assuming the role of the parent, bringing out the message of reversing roles effectively. But the real emotional impact of the mailer lay in the fact that we asked the parents to provide us with real photos of their children. This helped us personalize each DM and made a much deeper impression on the families who were able to see themselves and their parents. Moreover, it this helped us stay true to the sentimental appeal that Helpage India has.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

Since we had a very select, targeted audience and all the information was readily available we decided to send out a direct mailer. The DM aimed at conveying one simple thought to the families - When your parents become old the roles reverse and they become your children. With this mailer what we hoped to make was a sentimental connect. And as far as where the outcome was concerned, our focus was on two major points. To increase the number of phone calls and visits. And to encourage families to take their parents back to their own homes.

Results

The direct mailer was sent to the families of 60 elderly staying in Helpage India homes and shelters. While almost all families called to enquire after receiving the DM, Helpage also saw a marked increase in the frequency of phone calls received by the elderly. Apart from this there was a substantial increase in visits by the families, which made a great difference to their lives. But that wasn’t all. 17 families even decided to take their parents home so that they could get the love and care they deserved.