Balbir Pasha Ko Aids Hoga Kya

Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies

Balbir Pasha Ko Aids Hoga Kya - Campaign Dissection Integrated Marketing Communication Ravishankar Duvvuri – MBA, 2007-09

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Balbir Pasha ko AIDS hoga kya ? A targeted mass media campaign 2002-03 Campaign Dissection Brief Summary: As a part of the HIV/AIDS prevention programme “Operation Lighthouse”, a very thought provoking & aggressive mass media campaign was launched in Mumbai in November 2002. Mumbai has India’s largest brothel based Red Light Area. Prior to the launch of the campaign, consumer research analysis was done which suggested High infection rates of HIV as also flawed risk perception being the biggest detonator, especially amongst the poorest sections of society in Mumbai. This campaign was essentially founded upon the perception that people can learn by observing the behavior of others and to leverage this thought a sort of alter-ego was created with the fictional name of Balbir Pasha. This campaign was in 5 phases as shown below

3 C’s 1) Customer/ Stakeholder : a. Urban men, especially in lower socio- economic groups of Mumbai b. NGO’s working in the same area (aid) c. Women (not targeted) 2) Competitor – The earlier advertisements on AIDS awareness a. The campaign “Let’s keep Mumbai AIDS free” b. The campaign “ Ye bimaari choone se nahi failti” These 2 campaigns in particular were the predecessors of Balbir Pasha Campaign. These were largely informative and didn’t address the final focus point directly. Scare tactics were used and they seem to have banked more on the fear factor to create awareness. Such messages might alienate the actual target segment who would then get pushed into the, “ye mere saath nahi ho sakta” mentality. So, a totally new approach was to be understood and followed and based on research about the disease and human behavior, the campaign was designed. This was more positive in approach and made the people discuss the issue rather than shelve it into the closet. 3) Corporation Strategy: Here this would mean whether or not the campaign was aligned properly to the said objectives of the Operation Lighthouse. It was definitely aligned to the objectives set and infact achieved more than it set out to. And since they withdrew the 4th phase of the campaign in the face of protests, it clearly shows that they were there just to set out their targets and not hurt public sentiments.

6M’s Mission:

1. To increase awareness of the spread of HIV AIDS from unprotected sex 2. To bring out the topic into the open and to subject into to discussions in public forums 3. To motivate people to use the helpline services meant for disseminating information about AIDS and allaying any fears/ clearing misconceptions in the minds of people.

Message:

1. Intrigue 2. People forget things when they are drunk and so are likely to forget wearing a condom which will expose them to the threat of AIDS

3. You might be visiting the same CSW for sex or some person who isn’t your spouse. But that person might be having other visitors which again opens you up to the threat of AIDS 4. Better ‘safe’ than ‘sorry’ 5. Even healthy looking people might be carriers of HIV/ AIDS 6. Positive messages rather than the messages of earlier campaigns like “ ye bimaari choone se nahi failti” which created more of a fear perception 7. “Common man” was the character in every ad which said that everyone needs to be aware 8. AIDS discussion is not a taboo 9. Serious issue Gender: Male Type of Message: Rational message as it gives information about the various issues related to AIDS and wants the people to give a thought and be rational about the threat. This doesn’t bank on the emotional type of message as was used in the Shabana Azmi advertisement or on the moral platform as the moral messages are more prescriptive in nature unlike this campaign which is more of helping the person make a thoughtful decision. For instance, it is not saying in the advertisement that alcohol is bad or don’t drink alcohol. It is simply saying that alcohol may make us forget wearing a condom so be aware about it.

Market/Target:

Though all males in Mumbai were the target, it was more directed towards males from the lower sections of the society who are the least aware and the most likely to contract and transmit the virus. Media: Wide range of media was used including print media, radio & television commercials, billboards, posters in local trains & on buses. Mumbai was flooded with the communication from all angles. Each medium was chosen and used as per research. Be it an upper middle-class or a lower class person, no one in Mumbai is outside the purview of the local trains. People might bash the local trains as much as they want but they can definitely not ignore them as they are the lifeline of Mumbai. So the local trains were selected to display posters. Buses again are used frequently in Mumbai as so they were selected. A TV set was there in almost every house. Thus every medium selected chose to put the message across to the right person at the right time.

Appropriateness/Recommendations : The campaign was in Hindi and the

name Balbir Pasha was a very catchy name. However some points of concern which we felt were 1. The use of the name “Manjula”- Manjula is a fairly common name and any lady with that name might have undergone mental strain due to the use of this name. This name was used in the ad, “ Balbir Pasha sirf manjula ke paas jaata hai, par Manjula ke paas aur bhi to jaate hain”. Research should have been done prior to the campaign to see what names the sex workers normally use and whether or not they fall into the lexicon of general names. For instance “Chameli” is a common

sex worker name. So it should have been researched to see whether it was being used by the general public. If not, then use that. 2. Woman, an equal stakeholder, not used appropriately: All the advertisements were trying to protect the man from getting AIDS. The lady is an equal stakeholder in this. So the message could also have included at some stage an appeal from the sex worker herself to the client to use a condom. Not involving the lady in this might have given the perception of stigmatizing women. “Men make the difference” might be the concept of UNAIDS where the onus is on men to change attitude and behavior, but in a country like India where women are exploited day in and day out, inclusion of women would have been more powerful as they would have got a voice and self empowerment. 3. GLBT not addressed: Gays, Lesbians, Bi-sexuals and transgender not addressed at all. Gays constitute a considerable proportion in Mumbai. And there is no limit for fantasies and no lack of perverts. These people are infact more unsafe than the normal straight relationship people. This was not at all considered. Money: With funding from the USAID, there was no dearth of funds and a bouquet of media was used to communicate. Measurement: The success or failure of a campaign depends on its recall value in the mind of the general public and whether it has achieved what it set out to achieve. Positives: 1) It was one of the most popular campaigns at that point in time and a point of discussion in every drawing room. It certainly had a huge impact on the psyche of the Mumbai male. 2) In order to measure the effectiveness of the campaign, TNS MODE gathered data from interviews with individuals belonging to the target group at two specific points in time: • In November, prior to the launch of the "Balbir Pasha" campaign, and • Mid-February through early March, immediately following the last phase of the campaign Results of noticeability & awareness were as under: “Balbir Pasha” recall in conjunction with AIDS issue Condom message recall Recall of discussing Balbir Pasha with somebody else

25% of respondents 52 % 54 %

PSI’s confidential help line “saadhan” recall People who said they might call in future

28% 60 %

3) 250 % increase in no of calls to the hotline number Negatives: 1) Homework not done properly. The 4th stage of the campaign was withdrawn 4 days prior to schedule because of a protest by the Maharastra women’s Commission. NGO’s protested and so did other stake holders. So probably taking one or two stakeholder’s into confidence before launching a campaign might be prudent. 2) Sentiments of people not taken care of properly Overall we can say that, it achieved what it setout to achieve. So on a scale of 5 we can give a rating of 3.5