Dismantling a Phrase that Pigeonholed a Gender

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Case Study

Summary

LADKI CHALA RAHI HAI! 'Ladki Chala Rahi Hai' stands as a transformative movement for Hero Pleasure and society at large. Beyond market expansion, it confronts norms, empowering women through personal mobility. Our anthem on Women's Day defied critics, garnered global support, and resonated worldwide with the empowering message, 'Achha Hai.. Ladki Chala Rahi Hai Hai.'


Challenge

Business Objective: Achieve higher contribution of sales from women buyers, increase in sales. KPIs: Surpass category's female scooter buyers Arrest the dip in sales Marketing Objective: Get young girls to consider Hero Pleasure KPIs: Showroom enquiries Lead generation Campaign Objective: Challenge and alter society's stereotypes and perceptions about women's driving skills and personal mobility. Digital KPIs – Campaign acceptance through social conversations


Objective

INDIA'S PROGRESS CAN OFTEN BE NON-INCLUSIVE OF ITS WOMEN. In India, a significant challenge is the dropout of young girls between school and college, with only 24% of women in the workforce. Limited personal mobility, with automobiles primarily targeting men, hinders women's liberation. Communication focuses on family men, first jobbers, or adventure-seeking young men. HERO PLEASURE PIONEERED PERSONAL MOBILITY FUELLING WOMEN'S LIBERATION Hero MotoCorp's Hero Pleasure was one of the first scooters that was designed especially for first time women riders. It offered a light weight, zippy, and a convenient ride. Over the years, it championed this liberation with a simple question: "Why should boys have all the fun?" BIGGEST ENEMY OF WOMEN'S PERSONAL MOBILITY Along with liberation came society's judgement on women's driving abilities. From how they drive to how they park; women's driving has been made a target of ridicule. And the so called ‘harmless jokes' were creating serious harm. TROUBLE FOR HERO PLEASURE – AS A BUSINESS. AS A BRAND. Society's resistance to their driving, can be overwhelming for a first-time women rider. It dents their confidence of and might discourage them from buying two-wheelers. This was alarming for a two-wheeler brand that spoke to young women.


Strategy

A PAN-INDIA AD FILM: To provoke the masses and show what all liberated women are driving, we went all out with a high decibel mass media launch. TV Spots: 10.5K GRPs Digital: 2 weeks of teaser videos, followed by the ad film launch REGIONAL AMPLIFICATION: Market growth: Along with Hindi Speaking Markets, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are a part of our high performing markets. we spoke to them through strategic in-show placements, regional radio jingles, prime time news channels, hoardings, and print ads. We reclaimed the roads with hoardings across 196 crossroads and bus stands TV spots: News channel with women anchors In-show integrations (Tamil & Telugu) Print: English and regional dailies Radio jingle: 22 cities, 7 languages ENTERING POP-CULTURE: Nudging brand love: we made our campaign accessible through content and music. ‘LadkiChalaRahiHai' instantly became the voice of young girls on social media. Through micro influencers, we invited our audience to join the movement Launched it as an independent song on streaming platforms and TV channels Campaign provoked debates on opinionated channels ‘The Lallantop' (23mn subscribers) Girls flaunted their limited-edition merchandise with #LadkiChalaRahiHai ENABLING MOBILITY To celebrate the real women on riding seats, Hero Pleasure put them on their scooters. This was done to boost long-term sustainable impact with a broader mission of promoting gender equality and women's liberation. 215 police officers 6670 women of self-help groups 73,994 young students An all-women rally to celebrate the spirit on roads STIRRED AN ALL-FEMINIST CONVERSATION Campaign aimed for inclusivity and respect for women's choices. Our stance on women's liberation faced backlash with memes and trolls on women's driving. TROLLBACK CAMPAIGN ON WOMEN'S DAY Defying trolls, our pan-India anthem showcased real women riders, delivering a powerful response. Print celebrated women's triumphs with the #LadkiChalaRahiHai badge.


Data

Personal mobility enables women's liberation and with more women taking to riding, Hero Pleasure became their partner in liberation. BUT SOCIETY'S GENDER LENS IS PIGEONHOLED. Jobs and capabilities are still rooted in stereotypes, with more women seen in nursing and teaching positions, and men in finance or automobiles. We saw that even in 2023, when society saw a woman drive – an organization or a car – they still questioned her capabilities. More so on roads, with constant judgement about her driving capabilities. So much so that women's driving abilities became fodder for casual humour. From how they drive to how they park – everything is seen as a joke. BUT WHY? A small question with a big answer. INSIGHT: SOCIETY'S JUDGEMENT ON WOMEN'S DRIVING IS ACTUALLY ITS RESISTANCE TO WOMEN'S LIBERATION. This judgement reflected in an innocuous statement, "Lagta hai, ladki chala rahi hai!" Deeply ingrained in Indian culture, a derogatory slang unfairly pinning blame on women for road mishaps. It reflects societal bias and resistance against women's liberation, encapsulating a prevailing judgmental attitude. HERO PLEASURE RECOGNIZED THAT THIS PHRASE WAS BEING USED TO STEREOTYPE AND PIGEONHOLE WOMEN.


Solution


Results

BUSINESS RESULT: WE GOT MORE GIRLS TO BUY HERO PLEASURE! In a category dominated by male buyers, Hero Pleasure's sales came from a satggering 45% women buyers. The campaign arrested the sales decline, and increased it by 41%. MARKETING RESULTS: WE GOT YOUNG GIRLS TO CONSIDER HERO PLEASURE AND SAW A PHENOMENAL LEAD GENERATION AND WEBSITE VISITS. 33% growth in showroom enquiries, 396K social media clicks, 458K website visits, 24K+ lead generation, 15mn+ audio play of the jingle, awareness reach of 20+ mn WE PUSHED BACK THE SOCIETY AND ITS RESISTANCE SO MUCH THAT NAYSAYERS FELT UNCOMFORTABLE AND TROLLED WOMEN'S DRIVING. WE TOOK ON THE SOCIAL TROLLERS WITH OUR WOMEN'S DAY ANTHEM AND SHOWED THEM WHAT ALL LIBERATED WOMEN ARE DRIVING: HOMES, OFFICES, COUNTRIES. GOT SUPPORT FROM GLOBAL LEADERS, AND MADE THE WORLD SAY 'ACHHA HAI.. LADKI CHALA RAHI HAI HAI' (IT'S A GOOD THING, THAT WOMEN ARE DRIVING!)

Tags:

Hero MotoCorp, McCann Worldgroup India/MRM India, CAMPAIGN FOR CSR/SOCIAL GOOD, 2023, ECHO, Bronze