Lifebuoy has championing illness-prevention through handwashing for over a century. By providing affordable germ protection, Lifebuoy helped millions stay protected from disease outbreaks.

The importance of handwashing with soap was thrust into the global spotlight when Covid-19 broke out. Yet, studies showed that though handwashing rates picked up initially, they started to decline in the middle of the pandemic.

Globally, 4 out of 5 people worldwide do not wash their hands after using the toilet.

As the world’s No.1 hygiene soap brand, we took it upon ourselves to convert handwashing with soap from a "pandemic habit" into a ‘life-long habit’ that helps keep people protected.

Our objectives for sustained habit change were:

Goal 1: Raise awareness in society be visible at scale

Goal 2: Earn endorsements by subject matter experts.

Goal 3: Influence governments to drive systemic change and champion the cause.

How do you address preschool children - a well-known media dark audience?

We created media where none exists. To embed correct handwashing habits in children - through partnerships that got governments to change the 100-plus-year-old curriculum and embrace a new one to change how the letter H is taught. We also harnessed the power of peer-to-peer learning to reinforce change in handwashing behaviour among children.

Taking it a notch higher – we also reignited the importance of hand hygiene in children through the power of play.

The channel: The classroom, kids, their peers, teachers and their playtime!

The media: Along with children’s books, alphabet posters, jingles and little CEOs, we reimagined the most popular board games that children love to play to lead positive behaviour change.

The idea was kept simple to resonate across the world. Children all over the world learn language and letters as part of their curriculum.

Our bullseye target was preschool children between ages three and five years and younger primary school children. At this age, they start to learn the language, objects around them, and basic concepts and differentiate right from wrong.

UNICEF’s early childhood development research demonstrates that the right interventions in the early years of life significantly bolster development. Early learning and language skills go hand-in-hand in establishing patterns and memory.

Hence, our strategy was to hardcode handwashing through one of the first lessons our audience learned. A simple intervention at the right age would help make handwashing a common habit that is learned early but retained for a lifetime.

Year after year, this strategy helped us take the idea from creating awareness to taking actions to make an impact within the context of early childhood learning. Year 04 ie 2023 it was a time to ingrain hygiene in children’s minds by handwashing.

Goal 01: Raise awareness in society and be visible at scale

Reached over 1.3mn learners, 10,000+ schools.

Ethiopia – Integrated content in popular family sitcoms, garnering over 20mn+ reach

Bangladesh - Integrated the game kits with hand-hygiene education program in schools

Lifebuoy’s ‘World’s Largest Classroom’ created a Guinness World Record for having the 'most live viewers’ of a hand hygiene lesson on YouTube

Goal 2: Over four years, 200+ celebrities & key opinion leaders endorsed the H for Handwashing program, generating a PR reach of 371 million+ & Social Media reach of 105 million+

Goal 3: Influence governments to drive systemic change and champion the cause.

In India, Lifebuoy partnered with Ministry of Education to integrate Lifebuoy’s alphabet book into national curriculum.

In year four, we engaged with ministries of Ethiopia, South Africa, Bangladesh, India & Vietnam to support, activate and promote the game kits.