Colgate wanted to ensure it was reaching schools that required educational resources, teaching children the importance of oral care’s role in improving overall health and wellbeing. These schools were mostly off the beaten track, ‘media dark’ areas and home to the country’s poorest communities.

The breakthrough came when we realized we could actually print posters on the inside of the large cardboard boxes housing the familiar red toothpaste cartons and delivery could be via Colgate’s distribution network. This ensured we would reach the village store owners who wouldn’t simply throw away their boxes, but deliver them to their kids’ school.

Recent political and economic reforms in Myanmar have opened up the country’s trade borders to the rest of the world. As one of the first brands to enter the market, Colgate decided they wanted to give something back to the country that had so warmly welcomed them.

Colgate saw an opportunity to use their fast growing distribution network to provide schools with educational resources they currently desperately lacked. Colgate tasked us with coming up with a solution to solve their creative and logistical design challenge that could make a tangible difference to the school children of Myanmar.

Instead of using westernized educational texts and diagrams, we designed a series of posters in traditional Burmese illustration styles: a combination of native folk art, local insight and oral care truths. The vibrant colours, texture and characters of each illustration tell a story which results in a set of inspirational educational materials which present a well rounded story perfect for this youthful audience.

They also enabled the classroom teacher to plan interactive lessons with poster prompts to call a free telephone number to hear recorded educational information, thereby offering further depth to the graphics.

Turning Packing into Education was successfully rolled out in rural schools in Myanmar. The head teacher at the Basic Education Primary school #16 (Thankangyunn) declared it ‘an inspiring solution to answer our most pressing educational needs. Accessing the lesson plans via the toll free number felt like having an extra pair of hands in the classroom’. Following the success of this trial, Colgate now intend to roll out the initiative across the rest of Myanmar.

[Limited data is available at this time due to this being a new market and there being no established market share data available yet]