| Title | MESSAGE BARTER |
| Brand | THE AKANKSHA FOUNDATION |
| Product / Service | THE AKANKSHA FOUNDATION |
| Category | A06. Use of Social in a Direct Campaign |
| Entrant | OGILVY & MATHER INDIA Mumbai, INDIA |
| Entrant Company | OGILVY & MATHER INDIA Mumbai, INDIA |
| Advertising Agency | OGILVY & MATHER INDIA Mumbai, INDIA |
| Name | Company | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Rajiv Rao | Ogilvy&Mather India | National Creative Director |
| Abhijit Avasthi | Ogilvy&Mather India | National Creative Director |
| Kiran Antony | Ogilvy&Mather India | Group Creative Director |
| Shahrukh Irani | Ogilvy&Mather India | Senior Creative Director |
| Jigar Fernandes | Ogilvy&Mather India | Copywriter |
| Parth Gadhia | Ogilvy&Mather India | Copywriter |
| Rakesh Jha | Ogilvy&Mather India | Art Director |
| Shashank Jha | Ogilvy&Mather India | Art Director |
| Ritwik Pareek | Ogilvy&Mather India | Art Director |
| Hitesh Patel | Ogilvy&Mather India | Account Management |
Brief - Akanksha, an NGO, provides free education to over 5000 underprivileged children. They needed teachers for their schools but didn't have money for advertising. The brief was to increase awareness about their need for teachers. Strategy - No money for advertising? Why not 'force' big celebrities to campaign for you. We tried an experiment called 'Message Barter'. Akanksha's kids spread promotional messages for India's biggest celebrities and asked them to spread a message in return and tell millions of their fans that Akanksha needs teachers.
- The creative idea turned India's biggest celebrities into Akanksha's brand ambassadors, for free. It was simple to execute and made the school's children, the real heroes of the campaign. - Over 18 million fans of these celebrities learnt of Akanksha's need for teachers. (not accounting for retweets) - Since the brand couldn't afford to spend on advertising, this creative helped them achieve a considerable impact at no cost. - Also, an association with the country's top celebrities rubbed off on the brand which gave it much more awareness and positive recall.
Since Akanksha's recruitment drive targets the educated and upwardly mobile, we decided to focus on social media. Insight - Can you say 'NO' to kids when they do something cute for you and ask for a small thing in return? Idea - 'Message Barter' brought together Akanksha's kids, India's biggest celebrities and millions of fans. The kids spread promotional messages for celebrities and asked them to spread one for them in return. And they did - tweeting Akanksha's need for teachers to all their fans. In doing so, they turned into Akanksha's brand ambassadors, for free.
- Almost all the celebrities responded - Over 18 million people were reached - Coverage worth almost 1 Mn USD at no cost - Traffic to Akanksha's website went up 4 times - Teacher applications went up 2.5 times - This is was Brand Akanksha's first ever association with top celebrities and influencers in this manner. This breaking of ice holds a promise for more such associations with them in future