India has one of the poorest anaemia records in the world: 1 out of 2 women in India are anaemic
Project Streedhan is a pioneering communication campaign that brings attention to large scale incidence of anaemia among urban women in India using Gold as a metaphor
A novel campaign that emanates out of the fact that India ranks the highest in world for prevalence of anaemia among its women, has been launched today to capture a more startling fact – that more than 50% of women in urban India are also anaemic.
Contrary to expectations, and shocking even medical practitioners globally, this is unusual considering that women in cities and towns have far more access and exposure to information and healthcare facilities than their rural counterparts. This anomaly is indicative of the gap between the information, the messaging and the intended recipients of that message.
Conceptualized to bridge that chasm, Project Streedhan has been crafted creatively in a form that will appeal and resonate with urban women; one that motivates and inspires rather than lectures.
The campaign attempts to equate the importance of purity of gold – a precious metal – with that of the iron count in a woman’s body – another precious metal, as it were.
The launch of Project Streedhan has been strategically timed to coincide with the Dhanteras festival of 2019 and exhorts women to invest in Iron and not only gold.
Given that the key cause of anaemia in women is iron deficiency, brought about by lack of balanced diet and nutrition, Project Streedhan exhorts women to give the same importance to iron as to gold, and to invest in it by improving their nutritional habits, eating healthy iron-rich foods, thus reducing iron deficiency in their bodies.
The campaign has started receiving positive commendations already. Dr. Rajan Sankar, Director Nutrition, Tata Trusts, commented, “In my long years in the field of nutrition the one thing that is easily noticeable is that governmental efforts tend toward the rural side of most nutritional issues, where it is indeed expedient. In the urban context, nutritional crises are mostly due to information bias, or poor communication among target communities, who may otherwise be financially secure. This is especially true for anaemia among urban women. This is something communication can solve very easily, but somebody has to take charge of it. I congratulate the Streedhan campaign for attempting to do so. In a strange way, to think that half of the educated, urban women are simply unaware of their anaemic conditions is a caustic reminder also of the gender bias at play – where women have always put themselves last in line for the family’s health. This campaign will correct that perception”.
Shedding light on the idea and premise of the campaign, Swati Bhattacharya, CCO, FCB Ulka said, “Iron deficiency has seen many awareness campaigns. Still 1 out of every 2 women suffer from iron deficiency. Sometimes it not what you say but how and where you say it, that creates the bigger impact. This Dhanteras, when women are thinking of investing in gold, the Streedhan campaign gets them to think of investing in another metal. Something that turns to gold inside them – iron. The real Streedhan is iron. Also, what’s so heartening is that so many jewellers across the country have come forward to support this message!”
Discussing the digital footprint of this campaign, Chandni Shah, COO, Kinnect said, “Iron deficiency is more common than anyone might think, but a woman’s inclination to do something about it is not half as common. The power of using digital icons to drive awareness cannot be underestimated, and we are so proud to associate with socially-conscious celebrities like Radhika Apte and Soha Ali Khan to reach millions of women across India. Through digital, we have inspired women with an extremely relevant message and urged them to take a crucial step towards their health this festive season”.
In an interesting development since the campaign was planned, over 50 leading jewellers across the country have also signed up to support the Project Streedhan initiative and have pledged to spread the message among their key customers, who happen to be almost exclusively, women. Some of these include well-known names such as Hazoorilal Legend and MBJ (North) NAC Jewellers (South), Kundanlal Jewellers (West) and DK Bengal Jewellers (East).
The elements of the campaign have been chosen carefully to reach the intended audience of urban women – reaching them through a powerful film and messages on social media (#investiniron), through influencers and unique initiatives like creation of edible iron rich jewellery and installations in strategic spots like the Gold Souk Mall in Gurgaon etc. NGOs working in area of nutrition have also been reached out to, to further the message.
Project Streedhan is a CSR initiative of DSM, a global major specializing in solutions for Nutrition, Health & Sustainable Living.
FCB Ulka, among India’s most awarded creative agency in recent years, has conceptualized and created the Streedhan campaign.