Iodine deficiency is a problem that plagues most of rural India. Women suffer the most and are often the victims of Breast Cancer, Fibrocystic Breast Disease and complications during pregnancy. And even though supplements in the form of pills are available, women weren’t in the habit of consuming them. A simple yet non-intrusive solution was needed urgently.

Almost every Indian woman wears a bindi - a traditional symbol of beauty.

But we realized that these tiny little dots could do more. They could save lives.

Talwar Bindis, in association with Neelvasant Medical Foundation and Research Centre, introduced The Life Saving Dot, Jeevan Bindi – an idea that transformed bindis into iodine patches.

The idea generated a lot of PR, which included print and TV. This was crucial to the entry because the attention it received helped capture the attention of important policy makers.

One of the people who tweeted about the idea was Sashi Tharoor, one of the most influential politicians in India. And the person he tweeted it to is the Prime Minister of India.

The goal of this campaign is to reach out as many women as possible across rural India, so that each of them is well equipped to battle an iodine deficiency.

The Life Saving Dot was initially rolled out across a few select villages in Maharashtra, India. But because of increasing popularity, the idea is now being implemented across many more villages in India.

The campaign was launched across a few villages and slowly started extending to other parts of rural India. The traction gained by free PR ensured more people heard of it, and consequently, many wanted to help with the circulation.

The Life Saving Dots were distributed to women across rural India via health camps and clinics, as per the original plan.

Millions of women across rural India suffer from Breast Cancer, Fibrocystic Breast Disease and complications during pregnancy.

Most of these cases are linked to an Iodine deficiency.

Supplements in the form of pills are available, but women weren't in the habit of consuming them.

The challenge, therefore, was to conceive a clever and unique way to give these women the required dosage of iodine.

The audience for this campaign were women across rural India who weren't receiving the required dosage of iodine.

Why it was relevant to the audience was because most Indian women wear a bindi – a traditional symbol of beauty. So, without making any behavourial change, the required dosage of iodine was dispensed to these women daily.

For the client, the idea proved to be a novel and non-intrusive way of administering iodine to women. And because the product used an existing symbol of beauty, acceptance and approval from the audience was easy.