The Campaign

Our big idea was to: Name the streets in the slums after slum kids who are fighting the odds and doing exceedingly well in school Slums in India are a maze of hundreds of narrow, crisscrossing streets. And none of them have names! We named the streets in the slums were named after the very kids who are toppers in school. As is customary during a major road-naming, we organized huge inauguration ceremonies with special guests and local celebrities. Imagine having a street named after you when you are only 12 years old! Especially when you know that in India only famous, learned people like Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekanand, Doctor Radhakrishnan, Sardar Vallabhai Patel etc. have streets named after them. The kids became instant celebrities and overnight; education and the Doorstep school’s success stories were the main topic of conversation throughout the slums.

Creative Execution

This idea was executed over a week in three prominent slums across Mumbai. But the ground work started much earlier. The teachers of Door Step School sat together and identified the best academic performers in school. Another team identified the streets that would be named. Metal road signs were commissioned. Permissions were sought from community leaders. The date was fixed and the entire slum community was given advance invitations. Then the 9 road naming ceremonies took place. The streets were decorated. Elevated stages were built for the chief guests to address the audience. And influential people like a famous TV star, a member of the legislative assembly and a senior member of the women and children ministry arrived to congratulate the kids and inaugurate the streets. To loud cheers the roads were ‘named’, refreshments were served, speeches were made and the community was engaged.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

• When the doorstep school re-opened for the new term in June 2016, it saw a record 1043 new enrolments. • Overnight, education and the doorstep school became a top-of-mind subject in the slums • Government officials and celebrities have come out in support of the initiative. • 100% of the kids at the Doorstep school told their teachers that they too want a road named after them. • Requests have come in to replicate the initiative in the native villages of the slum-dwellers. • Parents are continually coming forward to ‘nominate’ their children for future road signs! • The idea is catching on in other slums. A slum rehabilitation project nearby has borrowed the idea and is executing it independently of us. • A new batch of young achievers is currently being shortlisted by the teachers at Doorstep for Phase 2 of the initiative.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

The Doorstep school existed in the slums of Mumbai for over 25 years. But through this idea it was able achieve what it had not been able to before: Demonstrate its brand promise in a real, relevant and lasting way. Through a grassroots event and a permanent installation right where the TG live, the idea engages the TG in manner that is remarkably relevant to their mindset and socio-political context. A significant percentage of the TG were always aware of the existence of the NGO, but now they had a clear understanding of its value and benefit to their lives

The strategy was to change slum kids’ preconceptions of what could achieved through education. And see the Doorstep school as a real path to the kind of success they were looking for. And we wanted to do this without being preachy, but instead make living examples and positive role models out of their own friends, peers and neighbours. The chosen kids get what they want: Instant fame and respect. And more kids are motivated to stay in school and build a future for themselves. While the community learns that education, and the Door Step school, are indeed real paths to success. And parents then enroll more of their children at the Doorstep school. And encourage them to finish their education. The road signs remain forever. Reminding generations to come of the power of education and relevance of the Doorstep school.