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Big FM kicks off 'Boundaries for Books' on-air campaign

Capitalising on the ongoing World Cup fever, the station will encourage listeners to donate money for the cause of literacy.

Big 92.7 FM, the official radio partner for the ICC Cricket World Cup, has launched the on-air campaign, Boundaries for Books, in association with Reliance Life Insurance, ICC (International cricket Council), and the non-profit organisation Room to Read. The aim of the campaign is to "hit illiteracy for a six".

Big FM kicks off 'Boundaries for Books' on-air campaign
This radio campaign is being launched as an extension to group company, Reliance Life Insurance's property, Boundaries for Books, wherein each time an Indian player strikes a six during the World Cup matches, Reliance Life Insurance will donate Rs 25,000. This money will eventually provide at least 30 disadvantaged children access to trained teachers, and to fully-functional libraries with books both in vernacular and in English.

The on-air campaign has gathered support from the cricketing and Bollywood fraternity. Cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Jacques Kallis will donate money for the cause, and encourage listeners to donate Rs 50 or more to help fight illiteracy.

The radio jockeys will also inspire, motivate and exhort the general public to join the movement against illiteracy. The campaign kicked off on February 19, will run for a 45-day period, coinciding in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

The campaign will bring into play some synchronised innovations, which include references to the 'sixer' as 'shiksher', which in Hindi, connotes one who imparts education. Similarly, promos will say "illiteracy ke chhakke chhudao". The radio station jingle will also have kids crooning to the brand-line, "Suno Sunao Life Banao", which will have a rhyming extension of "Khelo Padhao Life Banao".

Listeners can donate money at drop boxes placed across the 45 radio stations of Big FM. Donations can also be made via SMS, where listeners can text "books (space) donation amount" to 5667711, or through an online option, at www.facebook.com/reliancelifeinsurance.

Commenting on the campaign, Tarun Katial, CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network, says, "We are using our strength as a media platform to amplify the reach and effectiveness of this campaign across India, through our network. We are confident that this initiative will garner the whole-hearted support of our listeners, who will come forward to lend further scale and magnitude to this cause."

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