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afaqs! is starting off a new, occasional series on cause related marketing with Dabur's Sani Fresh which took on the immense task of working on toilets for women.
Dabur India, the fourth largest FMCG company in India, with revenues of over Rs. 7,073 crore and market capitalisation of over Rs. 47,000 crore, operates in key consumer products categories like Hair Care, Oral Care, Health Care, Skin Care, Home Care & Foods.
For its toilet cleaner brand Sani Fresh, the company took up the cause of bringing better access to toilets for women. Called '700se7kadam', the campaign urged people to come forward and take steps towards creating better sanitation facilities for women in India, especially in the rural and tier II and III cities.
A study carried out by CRY found that 11 per cent of schools do not have basic facilities. Only 18 per cent have separate toilets for girls and in 24 per cent schools with facilities, the toilets are either in a bad condition or are unusable. These numbers are a clear indication of the sorry state of women health and security in the country, thereby reinforcing the need for immediate attention and action.
The campaign, designed in association with digital agency Ogilvy One, was launched with an interactive website to disseminate information about the cause. 700se7kadam.com urges people to reduce the number of footsteps that a woman has to take, across many places in the country, to reach their toilets.
The main objective of the campaign was to apprise people of the miserable condition of sanitation for women and girls in rural India. Brand Sani Fresh has decided to go beyond its selling proposition of fighting filth and germs, and associate with the idea of dignity for the girl child, with more than just good intent.
Launched in November 2014, the first leg included the launch of a video on YouTube. In order to amplify the reach, it was promoted on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, asking people to show their support and participate.
The brand also undertook projects to maintain toilets and school surroundings in some schools in Delhi. School children were educated on the tenets of cleanliness and were made to take an oath to maintain cleanliness around them. The brand also partnered with Sulabh for the upkeep of Sulabh-run toilets. It is also planning to adopt and maintain a few Sulabh conveniences in Delhi.
The toilet cleaner brand launched a Twitter activity titled #Dignity4Women on January 22, the Girl Child Day. The campaign saw participation from more than 900 participants, generating more than 11,000 conversations and 55 million impressions.
He further added that the insight in the campaign is extremely visible throughout the length and breadth of the country. The other legs of the campaign include social media amplification, along with digital influencers promoting it.
Dabur aims to construct 500-1000 toilets across villages through this campaign.
It is worth noting that beyond the sheer challenge of walking a distance for toilets, the lack of toilets has been cited as a factor in crime against women, as well as health issues related to women having to wait for evening or other hours for ablutions.
Is this the right way for brand Sani Fresh? What else could the brand have done? Watch this space for the concluding part of the story.