THE LITTLE RED SCHOOLHOUSE

TitleTHE LITTLE RED SCHOOLHOUSE
BrandTHE COCA-COLA EXPORT CORPORATION
Product / ServiceCOCA-COLA
CategoryB01. Consumer Products
EntrantMcCANN WORLDGROUP PHILIPPINES Taguig, THE PHILIPPINES
Entrant Company McCANN WORLDGROUP PHILIPPINES Taguig, THE PHILIPPINES
Advertising Agency McCANN WORLDGROUP PHILIPPINES Taguig, THE PHILIPPINES

Credits

Name Company Position
Joana Callanta Mccann Worldgroup Philippines Account Manager
Tesa Alba Mccann Worldgroup Philippines Account Manager
Cha Golpeo Mccann Worldgroup Philippines Business Group Director
Ian Sta. Maria Mccann Worldgroup Philippines Associate Creative Director
Ej Dimaano Mccann Worldgroup Philippines Associate Creative Director
Mervin Ignacio Mccann Worldgroup Philippines Creative Director
Peter Acuna Mccann Worldgroup Philippines Executive Creative Director
Sidney Luzentales Mccann Worldgroup Philippines Art Director
Seph Velasquez Mccann Worldgroup Philippines Head Of Art
Rhea Lamoste Mccann Worldgroup Philippines Account Director
Bernadette Chincuanco Mccann Worldgroup Philippines Managing Partner
Majo Tomas Mccann Worldgroup Philippines Managing Director

The Campaign

The Philippines is composed of 7,107 islands consisting of undeveloped regions. It is in these secluded vicinities where children have no access to education. With everyday survival as priority, the inaccessibility of proper schooling determined the destiny of these children -- young workers who inherited the fate of their parents and the generations before them. This is where education bears more weight. It gave them hope that life can be different this time. Thus, Coca-Cola launched The Little Red Schoolhouse, a sustainability program in partnership with the Department of Education. Its main objective is to end child labor in far-flung areas by making primary education accessible to them. The challenge: building 100 Little Red Schoolhouses by 2012 as Coca-Cola celebrates its 100th year, without creating the perception of turning this act of charity into another brand story. The aspiration was to inspire Filipinos about the program’s positivity by allowing these children to become children -- able to play, learn and dream. We anchored the strategy on a truth about The Little Red Schoolhouse. How this will rouse children’s aspiration, giving them the great opportunity to dream again. The creative imperative was to humanize the issue. We demonstrated the reality of the lives of these children, particularly an indigenous child named Jenny and how the program gave her that renewed optimism. A dramatic transformation from hopelessness to triumph. This initiative was recognized by His Excellency, President Benigno Aquino Jr. and generated a number of press pick-ups, news programs and blogger sites.

The Brief

The goal is to end child labor by making education available in remote areas. It includes training and empowering teachers in giving proper and quality learning; for the children’s family to gain back hope and be encouraged to support this vision. In partnership with the Department of Education, we searched far-flung communities, with no school, no roads or means of transportation and collaborated with the indigenous and local community. Together, the value of education, value of perseverance and solidarity of family and community were infused to guide them in believing they too can have a chance at a brighter future.

Results

o The program has contributed in the consumers continued high level of trust in Coca-Cola across all sustainability attributes. - The company they Trust 88% - Cares about the well-being of consumers 82% - Cares about the planet and environment 83% - Has high-quality products 89% - A responsible member of the community 85% o The program has been picked-up by several local publications, news and TV magazine shows and several websites. Knowledge/ consideration: o Proving children from far-flung areas access to a complete elementary education was mentioned in different news and TV features. o The project reached its goal to build its 100th school in 2012, hence, received an appreciation from the Philippine government involving His Excellency President Benigno 'Noynoy' Aquino, Jr. o On its 100th year, the program achieved: - 100 schools in 52 cities nationwide - Educate over 50,000 children - 16,663 graduates

Execution

Much has been said and done for “education for poor children.” To be able to talk to the heart and create a deep emotional impact, the first creative imperative was to humanize the issue. We told the story of a real child. We needed to diffuse pessimism. We needed to make people believe that education was doable even for the ones with the least access to it, the least chances and resources in life, even for the ones with the least hope— like an indigenous child. It was the story of Jenny, a 12-year old Aeta who has once stopped believing that there was more to her life and future than chores and surviving day-to-day via a documentary. It was launched on air and online and aired for 5 months from August to December 2012. A press launch was conducted to announce the initiative and spread and inspire optimism.

The Situation

Around 11 million children, mostly minorities situated in far-flung areas are engaged in child labor because they have limited access to education. With no school, working early in their lives became norm. Coca-Cola wanted to effect real change among these children hence, more than telling how the brand stands for optimism; Coca-Cola demonstrated how they make optimism happen for real. Thus, the Little Red Schoolhouse was launched in partnership with the Department of Education. Its main objective is end child labor by providing access to education. Giving them hope in breaking the vicious cycle of living impoverished lives.

The Strategy

Stories on charity work for education could easily fall on pessimistic ears; having witnessed how corporations, celebrities, even politicians abuse this to gain popularity and improve their image; losing our belief in genuine acts of kindness. The story of the Little Red Schoolhouse was more than good will for Coca-Cola. We anchored the strategy on a truth of what these schools can do in rekindling optimism among children from remote areas even on minorities, arming them with the belief that they can break free from the mold of their society and live their dreams. It diffused a seemingly doomed destiny into a brighter one. The documentary was aired in local TV networks and uploaded in various online sites. Due to the campaign’s sincerity, it was picked-up by many local news programs, TV news magazines, print publications and blogger sites. It created exponential hype around the brand and the program.