In a series of quick radio spots for Red Balloon, we told stories using the sounds the words make to explain their meanings. It’s like onomatopoeia for words that are not onomatopoeia. In that way, everyone was able to understand their content, regardless of how much English they spoke.

The stories we selected were the sorts that kids would tell, reinforcing that Red Balloon is an English school for kids and understands how they learn best, with a big dose of fun.

A team of RED BALLOON teachers worked around the clock translating the cover news in real time. With the same content and design as the original, the cover was used to reinforce the importance of knowing English. To clear up the confusion, we added a footer: “Didn’t get it? Ask your kid for help. RED BALLOON. English for kids.”

In that day, 132,000 subscribers were impacted and calls to the Red Balloon Call Center increased 150%. In the following week, a residual of a 65% increase calls occurred.