Why is this work relevant for PR?

In a country where mothers are likened to Goddesses, the intense pressure on being perfect, know it all, role model mums often becomes a barrier to Indian mothers protecting their children. A barrier that needed not a campaign, but a cultural movement to provoke social change. This is the story of #IDidntKnow- a movement launched by All Out aimed at helping mothers put aside the pressure and supporting them in protecting their children better. A movement that necessitated using multiple platforms- online video, engaging Bollywood celebrities and influencer mommy bloggers, activations and even TedX, to help create the change.

Background

In 2018, All Out- a challenger brand in the mosquito repellent category, successfully broke away from the category codes of discussing only ‘product performance’ to supporting mothers in protecting their children better by launching a movement-#StandByToughMoms- committed to supporting mothers in their struggle to raise children with the right values, fighting against the interference of a patriarchal society and Indian joint family system- delivering increased sales for All Out and making it the most Trusted Brand in the Household category. The challenge for All Out was to find a way to continue supporting mothers without reverting to solely ‘product performance’ as a narrative.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

#IDidntKnow or #MujheSabNahiPata (in Hindi) is a movement that helps mothers overcome the expectation to know it all and be the ‘perfect’ mom. The creative idea was to inspire and encourage mothers to share stories of their imperfections- where they didn’t know something that affected their child’s health and wellbeing. Through these stories, other mothers would see that it was okay to not know it all, that they could put aside the pressures that society and they had placed on themselves, learn from each other’s experiences and in turn, be able to protect their children better.

Describe the strategy (30% of vote)

Perhaps nowhere else in the world are mothers so revered and put on a pedestal as they are in India. The cultural belief in a mother’s instincts is so strong that a mother is criticized and shamed if she admits to not knowing something about her child’s health. The pressure of being judged or criticized is so intense that a mother is either intimidated or lulled into thinking she knows everything she needs to protect her child over time. As a brand that is about helping mothers protect their children better, we knew reaffirming and creating acceptance for motherhood as journey of learning was key to helping her put this pressure aside and protect her child better. We had to wake society up to the plight of mothers and get mothers to respond to share their experiences with each other to create acceptance. In short, we needed a social movement

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

Our movement had 3 phases: Creating a moment in culture- We issued the wake-up call with an online video- the story of a mother who is tough enough to admit that she didn’t know how dangerous dengue really was and because of the pressure on her to know it all, her child faced the danger. Amplify the noise & create acceptance- With the help of Sonali Bendre, a Bollywood celebrity and mom, we asked mothers to share their #IDidntKnow stories and help other mothers. On social media she urged mothers to tie the protection knot as a reminder for greater vigilance and share their stories. We amplified this conversation by engaging influencer moms and partnering with TedX. Help mothers protect their child- We created a Messenger chatbot giving mothers a safe, private space to access information on dengue causes, symptoms, prevention and more without fear of judgement or criticism.

List the results (30% of vote) – must include at least two of the following tiers:

The challenge for All Out was to help mothers set aside the pressure of society’s expectation of being perfect, all-knowing Goddesses so they could protect their children better. Despite limited spending, total impressions for the campaign across all mediums were 1BN. Facebook garnered 155M video views, 49.2K comments and 278K shares. Overall campaign sentiment was 98% positive. The total reach across platforms exceeded reach projections by 74%. Compared to the #StandByToughMoms movement in 2018, the View Through Rate increased by 81%. The reach and traction for the campaign show that the movement is helping arm mothers in their fight against dengue as they free themselves from the pressure of the all-knowing Goddess image.