India treats its teachers next to Gods and celebrates them on Teachers' Day. As the pandemic took over, schools went online, making everyone struggle - students, parents and schools.

Teachers had to learn and unlearn to fit in the new world. Unable to adjust, thousands of teachers quit.

We created a short film to highlight the plight of teachers. We used an indie approach, to make it realistic. Our protagonist - a household name captured people's attention. The story, performance and score connected with people, making video viral. The film changed people's perspective on online classes and teachers.

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 in the post-pandemic world, everyone struggled to cope up. From students and their parents to teachers and schools. People and media voiced the struggles of parents and 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 wasn't presented as a solution that usually happens. We were just a stage 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. Our film came as a shocker to many Indians. It made them aware of the plight of teachers, and once again reminded the importance of teachers.

The film was launched on Youtube and brand social pages. It was heavily promoted for the first week and mildly for next 3 weeks.

The film achieved a reach of 40 Mn. An influencer campaign further amplified the reach and message of the film. Many Bollywood celebrities shared the film organically. Influential people from education sector too shared the film thereby adding to its reach and credibility.

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.

The film was a big positive for the brand as well as for teachers.