Disability, more often than not, is associated with incapacity, inadequacy, negative imagery and stereotypes. With such social attitudes, differently abled people find it difficult to break the vicious circle of lack of education, skills, low confidence, low employability and poor economic status. Panasonic believes strongly in its proposition of changing photography where there is something to suit all types of photographers . With this campaign, the brand chose to leverage photography to successfully reshape perceptions of society surrounding differently abled individuals by partnering with KnowDisability.org. This was done in an attempt to differentiate the brand from the other campaigns in lieu of World Photography Day, while ensuring a paradigm shift regarding creative expression.

A camera does not discriminate between abled and differently abled. Believing that photography is a great form of self expression, we created Beyond Frames - a unique ‘learn and earn’ initiative for the differently abled that was powered by Panasonic. The main aim of this initiative was to help create an inclusive society by breaking stereotypes surrounding the differently abled and also help them build a voice and a source of income.

Differently abled individuals are not provided the same opportunities as their counterparts in society and are often passed over for jobs in most avenues. There is a huge pool of untapped potential talent that can help India to grow through innovation and creativity. By including differently abled people in the workforce, they can contribute to the economy through positive social progress.To facilitate this, we wanted to present a ‘learn and earn’ initiative powered by photography. As part of the learn aspect, Panasonic conducted workshops providing the equipment as well as the expertise in the form of a mentor to teach the differently abled individuals the basics of photography. The 'earn' part of the initiative included showcasing work at exhibitions and then setting up a branded E-commerce platform where the work showcased could be purchased.

Panasonic provided the differently abled individuals with cameras and gears and we presented trained guides to conduct workshops on photography. The successful workshops allowed their skills to be augmented and the best works from these workshops were curated and put to display at Photofair 2018 and CIEF 2019 (Consumer Electronic Imaging Fair). The showcase enabled networking opportunities for the workshop attendees. Noted individuals from the press and industry were invited to the exhibition. A website and an E-commerce platform powered by Panasonic Lumix was put together. Two videos followed by systematic workshops with the members of Knowdisability.org across the country were executed. Social media promotions using hashtag #BeyondFrames helped drive traction to the campaign. Facebook, Instagram and YouTube were the key platforms used to document and promote the 'learn' process and promote the 'earn' aspect of the campaign.The campaign was executed over 9 months.

Panasonic Lumix helped train 25 differently abled people in the art of photography, resulting in sales of over INR 140k of their pictures through the ecommerce site in just one week of its launch.

500,000 people attended the Photofair 2018 out of which 60% visited the Panaonic Lumix stall

The campaign had a total of 148 Million organic Impressions.

Panasonic was able to reach more than 1.2 million unique users throughout the campaign with total views of 10 Million views and 3000 comments on Youtube from the photography fraternity (which is extremely rare). Photography Mentors from Cannon complimented Panasonic on the campaign and appreciated the entire initiative.