The Campaign

Congenital Heart Disease is an abnormal heartbeat. The idea came into being utilising the most primal beat known to human existence, the heartbeats of people and children diagnosed with CHD. These beats were recorded and used as the percussive element to compose a rap song which was recorded with popular Rap Artist Brodha V and composer-musician Sanjeev Thomas. The lyrics of the song were about those winning against CHD passing on hope to those fighting the condition. The song prompted people to donate heartbeats using a website. The song and the idea #GiveABeat where heartbeats were collected, were also used as a donation device. Every time a person donated a heartbeat, Max India Foundation would give Rs. 10 towards the cause. The heartbeat as a device for donation and the rap song were both first of it's kind and social media was leveraged to gather momentum.

Creative Execution

#GiveABeat aimed to raise awareness for CHD by asking people to share their heartbeats. We executed this in multiple phases. Phase one included awareness building on social media. Through a social campaign, we directed people towards www.giveabeat.in where they could donate a heartbeat and learn more about the issue. Phase two included the making of the song. By coordinating with an engineer, we put together a prototype stethoscope with an in-built microphone, which was used to collect heartbeats from people of different ages, gender and backgrounds including the heartbeats of children diagnosed with CHD. These heartbeats were then used as the percussive element for a song that would create awareness about CHD and encourage the audiences to donate. Phase three was the launch of the music video on Children’s Day which led people to our landing site where viewers could learn more about the problem and donate their heartbeat.

A song has the power to break all barriers, enabling us to reach out to more people of different backgrounds, education levels, etc. By creating a song and music video using the heartbeat, our purpose to educate and sensitise the audiences about CHD could easily be met. By collaborating with two prominent icons, Brodha V and Sanjeev Thomas, we were able to capitalize on their fan following and influence on the digital platform. Our music video garnered a total reach of 2,899,268 and a total view count of 5.2 million. We had a total engagement of 33,054 on the music video and were featured on multiple media platforms. Our microsite raised a total of 21920 heartbeats which amounted to a total of Rs. 219,200/- raised for CHD treatment and care. Most importantly, we spread love and support to the thousands of children battling CHD everyday.

When it comes to campaigns in healthcare, if content finds a format that is relatable to everyone, education and association with a cause become easier. We got the right mix when we got a popular Indian rapper Brodha V on board to help create a song for #GiveABeat- an initiative to raise awareness & give hope to children with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) through their music. Utilising the most primal beat known to human existence, heartbeats, as the percussive element, the artist composed a song on CHD - that asked people to donate a heartbeat.

With an objective to spread awareness on CHD that breaks barriers, we devised a strategy that could transcend across a wide audience and resonate with all ears - music. The idea? Create the first song ever composed using real heartbeats. We began building awareness and driving traffic to the landing site through social media. Each creative aimed to explain the danger of CHD and urged people to donate their beat. By involving real people and children with CHD in the music video, we were able to build hype and drive emotion. Our artists were carefully selected to help drive our campaign and produce the music video. With rap a rising genre in the country, Brodha V, a Hip-Hop elite made the perfect fit to pen down the lyrics to this experiential song. Sanjeev Thomas, AR Rahman’s former lead guitarist & music producer was the perfect artist to compose our track.