A bigger problem than illiteracy? Getting a non-altruistic society to lend a hand. ‘Akanksha’, an education NGO based in India needed quality teachers and substantial applicants but at Zero Media Budgets. Our challenge was to stir dormant teachers out of their apathy, year after year to come teach at ‘Akanksha’ – with zero budgets for mass media

In 2012 we reached out to teachers through our experiential ‘Classroom Mumbai’ initiative – We took the classrooms to potential teachers instead of asking teachers to come to the school.

In 2013 through our digital ‘Message Barter’ initiative we helped celebrities by promoting their upcoming movies and book launches and in return asked them to create awareness about Akanksha’s need for teachers.

9 out of 10 Indians didn’t know the meaning of the Indian National Anthem; in 2014 Akanksha’s kids took on the onus to teach Indians the meaning of their national anthem with the ‘A for Anthem’ initiative and in return, asked them to come and teach them things they didn’t know.

Through this 3 phase campaign executed over 3 consecutive years, we tapped into ‘The Principle of Reciprocity’1 - the human tendency to pay back what we receive from others. Every year, kids from Akanksha Foundation used innovative messaging to engage with society and proactively give something before asking for teachers.

And in 3 short years teacher applications topped targets by over 864%29