BharatMatrimony is a brand that is helping Indians match and get married since 1997. A strong believer in equal and happy marriages, BharatMatrimony believes that a happy marriage can't be based on stopping a woman from being self-reliant and achieving their goals.

Jaisalmer is a town in Rajasthan, India, where more than 40% of girls leave education before age 18 - the highest in the country. Shocking as it might seem, for generations, parents have been choosing marriage over education for their daughters. It was not the same for sons, leading to a much lower dropout rate for them.

Our key objective was to bring a behavioural change in the parents of Jaisalmer, and let them, for the first time, give this life-changing choice to their daughters. With this, we hoped to reduce the inequality and give these girls a chance to study further.

We wanted the girls of Jaisalmer to have the choice they never had, to decide what they would want to choose - Education or Marriage.

Education First, Marriage Later was our step in that direction.

It started with M.S. Dhoni, India's most popular celebrity, whom they literally worship, appealing to the parents of Jaisalmer to be a part of this initiative by giving their daughters this life-changing choice. The entire city was a part of it.

The girls choosing education were celebrated in the same customary way of the city, with a special art on the same walls of their homes – the Education Art.

Inspired from the Wedding Art, the new-age Education Art had:

- Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of education

- Name of the daughter with the course she chose

- Wishes for a great future

- A message of pride from the family supporting this choice

Our campaign's PR strategy was simple - to put the choice given to the daughters at the forefront – celebrate it and show it to everyone. With the most popular cricketer in the country, M.S. Dhoni, our campaign sparked the conversation among parents in Jaisalmer.

Along with that, the girls who made the choice were covered in local and national publications, making them the face of a new Jaisalmer. Our appeal was heard not only by the people of Jaisalmer but of the whole country.

Youth publications further organically amplified the voices of these brave girls, helping them inspire more girls across the country.

The new Education Art painted outside houses of those who chose education over marriage, stood tall against the deep-rooted Wedding Art and further amplified our message of Education First, Marriage Later.

During the peak wedding season in Jaisalmer, the campaign was kickstarted with M.S. Dhoni's featured series of films, appealing to parents to give the critical choice to their daughters. With this, each citizen of Jaisalmer was sent SMSs asking them to reply with their choice.

Many families made the courageous decision to study further and chose education over marriage. The same walls of their homes that used to be decorated with the Wedding art were now replaced with the newly created Education Art, celebrating their decision. The Education Art featured:

- Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of education

- Name of the daughter with the course she chose to study

- Wishes for a great future

- A message of pride from the family supporting this choice

These paintings stood to be symbols of inspiration for the future generation of girls to put education before marriage.

It’s always difficult to change age generational customs but not impossible. And that’s what we did for hundreds of girls that became a role model for the entire city. They will be studying further, pursuing their dreams. Encouraging the discussion between these girls. Their parents have changed their lives for the better while inspiring the rest. As they say, teaching a girl is like teaching an entire village.

During the campaign, we managed to connect with lots of girls their parents, and their families. The whole campaign garnered a total reach of 34.13M and an earned media of INR 9.26M. Our video featuring Indian Cricket Superstar MS Dhoni garnered 12.71M views making sure the conversation around it is not limited to a few.

Today, these walls not just stand tall, but also represent the future of Jaisalmer, being brought by this new generation of girls who choose education over marriage.