Mahindra bets big on content for its initiative #LadkiHaathSeNikalJayegi

Mahindra Group along with Project Nanhi Kali, an NGO founded by Anand Mahindra supporting education for underprivileged girls in India, has taken the content route in order to dispel the misconceptions around education for the girl child. Taking a fresh view on the phrase #LadkiHaathSeNikalJayegi, the campaign kicked off with a short film aiming to change the attitude towards girls.

With an objective to demonstrate the opportunities that result from educating every girl child, this campaign will be digital-heavy with no television leg at all.

Asked why not television despite its huge reach, Nayer rationalised, saying television meant a lot of wastage.

“We are looking at creating impact through scale. We are targeting 15 to 20 million views over the next eight weeks for this new campaign and these are targeted and smart views,” said Nayer.

To spread the word and create a movement to support the cause, the automotive giant has planned a number of surround activities that includes creating relevant content around the campaign in partnership with Terribly Tiny Tales.

“Mahindrais a socially responsible and trusted brand but with our Rise philosophy, we not only want to do good in the community but also aim to inspire others to do good in order to drive societal change. This is the heart ofMahindra’s ‘Rise for Good’ campaigns. With the #LadkiHaathSeNikalJayegi campaign, we’re turning this phrase on its head into a message of positive empowerment for girl child education and their ensuing success,” said Vivek Nayer, Chief Marketing Officer, Group Corporate Brand, Mahindra Group.

Speaking about the importance of content route for the initiatives, Nayer said, “Content marketing is extremely important to us. Content has to be relevant; it is about context and it is about relevance. You have to put out content that people are happy to consume. As long as the content is engaging and relevant, people don’t just consume it but they also share it among their ecosystem.”

The film has been conceptualised keeping these insights in consideration. A semi-urban setting was chosen for the film to ensure relatability, given that these beliefs exist not just in rural India, but also in cities. It is through a conversation between a girl and her father that the prevalent mindset is challenged by providing a new perspective to ‘Ladki Haath Se Nikal Jaayegi’.

The film was conceived and scripted by FCB Interface. Robby Mathew, Chief Creative Officer, FCB Interface, said, "This film is an ode to the unsung heroes, who reject our society’s patriarchal mindset and encourage their daughters to fly. It is a celebration of a girl child’s dreams and her father’s determination to make it happen. It changes the meaning of this often-used phrase 'Ladki Hath Se Nikal Jaayegi’ and instead uses it to make a case for putting her destiny back into her own hands"

Project Nanhi Kali, since 1996, has empowered over 350,000 girls, including 153,999 girls in this past year alone. This massive undertaking was made possible thanks to the over 4,560 community associates who tutor the Nanhi Kalis for two hours every day, six days a week through the year, working across 5,262 academic support centres in remote, tribal and rural pockets, as well as urban slums in 11 states of India.

The Film: