SITUATION

BYJU'S is all about teachers. In fact, the EdTech company is named after one.

In the post-pandemic world, online classes was the buzz word. The plight of children and parents made headlines as they struggled to adapt to online teaching. But teachers' struggle went unnoticed. The changes they had to face. The things they had to learn and unlearn.

BRIEF

BYJU'S is an EdTech brand that is fast replacing tuitions and private coaching. This has led to many teachers losing on additional income. Teachers see BYJU'S in negative light and consider it as a brand working against them.

OBJECTIVES

Create a positive brand image in the teacher community

Create Brand Love among primary audience - Students and their parents

In tune with our objectives of creating a positive brand image among teachers, students and their parents, we decided to showcase a story that no one was talking about.

BYJU'S is an online education platform and it understands the challenges of online the most. When the pandemic forced the schools to move online, everyone struggled - teachers, students, parents and schools. While people and media voiced the struggles of parents and students, teachers's struggles went mostly unnoticed.

We decided to show the struggles of our teachers. We adopted an honest, indie approach towards storytelling and created a short film depicting the life of a biology teacher, Tyagi Sir. His continuous struggles with technology, and resulting helplessness forces him to quit just like thousands of teachers out there.

The film opened Indians' eyes and changed their perspective on online teaching. It created a positive buzz for teachers and ultimately for BYJU'S.

To achieve our objectives we adopted a 3-pronged approach.

1. Showcasing the New Normal for Teachers

As the world moved to online due to pandemic, everyone struggled to cope up - students, parents, schools and teachers. People and media voiced the struggles of students but the plight of teachers remained mostly unreported. We decided to change that.

2. Using Topicality for our Advantage

Teachers' Day is a big day when India comes together to celebrate its teachers. People express their gratitude to teachers. We hijacked the conversation to spark a whole new conversation.

3. Brand as Presenter

In the film the brand was not presented as a solution that usually happens. We were just a stage or a presenter that brought a hidden story to light. Teachers saw us as their ally and students and parents were thankful to us for showing what new normal meant for teachers.??

We wanted to create a film as realistic as possible. The plight of the teachers was real and it needed an honest telling.

The film was released 2 days prior to Teachers' Day - the day India celebrates its teachers. While most films are in the happy and grateful zone, our film came as a shocker to many Indians. It made them aware of the plight of teachers, and reminded them of importance of teachers. The film was heavily promoted for the first week and then mildly promoted for next 3 weeks sustaining the conversation for 1 whole month.

The film was launched on Youtube and brand social pages.

The film was heavily promoted achieving a reach of 40 Mn. An influencer campaign further amplified the reach. Many Bollywood celebrities shared the film organically. Influential people from education sector shared the film adding to reach and credibility of the piece.

36.5 Mn Video Views

1.8 Mn Engagement

The sentiment for the brand changed drastically. From 8% Positive before the video to 42% positive after it. The negative sentiment reduced substantially. The brand was seen in a positive light.

Hundreds of PR articles were published talking about the film but more importantly, highlighting the plight of the teachers.