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Harpic, News18 Network, Sesame Workshop India Trust’s ‘Swoosh Germs Away Kit’ debuts at Davos
Mumbai : The first-of-its-kind innovative Swoosh Germs Away! kit by Harpic India, designed in collaboration with News18 Network and Sesame Workshop India Trust has made its debut at the World Economic Forum 2024 in Davos. The kit, unveiled in September 2023 in India by the honorable president of India Droupadi Murmu, is part of Mission Swachhta aur Paani, a pan-India campaign that champions inclusive sanitation practices and advocates for appropriate toilet behavior throughout the nation.
Hardeep Singh Puri, union minister for housing & urban affairs and minister for petroleum and natural gas, at Davos lauded the unique kit for its innovation and transformative power. He said, “I am very happy to witness projects centered around children, focusing on their well-being, education about the importance of sanitation, and the rational use of water. The display of such initiatives at Davos is truly commendable. Congratulations on showcasing these impactful projects.”
Reckitt director, external affairs & partnerships, South Asia Ravi Bhatnagar said, “At Reckitt, we are consistently striving to build an environment that enables better lives and nurtures the young generation towards a promising future. We are deeply honored to witness the ‘Swoosh Germs Away!’ kit being recognized globally at the World Economic Forum in Davos. This pivotal milestone in our ongoing mission to promote sanitation for better health puts focus back on the importance of education and the role children play as young ambassadors who understand the importance of cleanliness and hygiene. We are grateful for the support that we have received and will continue to stand at the forefront of fostering a healthier future.”
The kit based on the ‘Sanitation Hygiene Education Framework’ gained attention at the World Economic Forum in Davos with Workshop India Trust managing director Sonali Khan Sesame highlighting its unique interactive features that enable sustained behavioral adoption and practice by children to the world leaders. Khan said, “We’re excited about the global response to our innovative kit, confirming its potential as a transformative tool. In a world dealing with hygiene issues, our kit is a promising model for replication. Crafted to inspire children globally, it’s a crucial step in emphasising the importance of sanitation for optimal health. At the World Economic Forum 2024, we highlighted concerns and called for collective global action on sanitation. Our kit aims to provide concrete learning experiences, blending multi-sensorial assets and play-based methods to empower children with practical life skills.”
The kit is a major stride in promoting hygiene education and cultivating positive toilet habits among students. Aligned with the National Education Policy and National Curriculum Framework, it includes 3D pop-up books, jigsaw puzzles, and an activity booklet featuring Sesame’s engaging characters—Elmo, Chamki, Neela Jaadugar, and KK Kitanu. With these fun characters, learning becomes faster and more enjoyable. To date, the program has actively involved more than 200,000 children and aspires to extend its impact to 1.7 million children in the state of Odisha.
Mission Swachhta aur Paani, a collaborative initiative by Harpic and News18, is a nationwide campaign dedicated to fostering sustainable sanitation practices and ensuring access to clean water. Now into its third season, the campaign’s core objective is to galvanize the nation towards the universal provision of clean and safe toilets, transforming it into a widespread movement. Aligned with the Swachh Bharat Mission and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, this initiative is committed to generating awareness and catalyzing actionable measures that leave no individual behind in the pursuit of these goals.
A + E Networks, TV18 , CEO Network18 (broadcast) and managing director Avinash Kaul expressed, “In the esteemed global aggregation at Davos, we are proud that our initiative positioned India as a trailblazer, spearheading micro-initiatives worldwide to address the critical challenges of hygiene and sanitation. The introduction of our ‘Sanitation Hygiene Education Framework’ on this prestigious platform serves as a call to action, urging and inspiring leaders to launch initiatives that educate children about the profound connection between sanitation and overall well-being. Through this framework, our goal is to spark a global movement, nurturing a generation of informed and empowered individuals who grasp the pivotal role of sanitation in shaping a healthier future.”
Kaul further stated, “Our endeavor, ‘Mission Swachhta aur Paani’, in collaboration with Reckitt, underscores our dedication to fostering a value-driven partnership. I am thankful to Reckitt India for owning this cause and look forward to further building this collaboration that embodies the spirit of driving initiatives that prioritize cleanliness and water, contributing to the collective endeavor for a healthier and more sustainable world.”
What makes this curriculum unique is its focus on inculcating toilet etiquette in kids at an early age. Through interaction with the innovative Germ Locator kit, children are exposed to the seeds of knowledge and responsibility.
With about 2.2 million lives lost annually in India due to diarrhoea, a significant 1.87 million of whom are children under the age of five, the imperative to tackle this pressing public health crisis is undeniable. The kit curriculum offers a ray of hope, aimed at instilling essential sanitation and hygiene practices among children. This initiative holds the potential to make a decisive contribution towards mitigating such devastating occurrences.
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Madison World to launch AI platform M BrAIn for media planning
Agency group invests about $1 million as it shifts to AI driven growth planning.
MUMBAI: If media planning once ran on spreadsheets and gut instinct, the next chapter may run on algorithms and curiosity. Madison World is preparing to roll out the first version of its proprietary artificial intelligence platform Madison M BrAIn in early April, as the independent agency group accelerates its transition toward AI driven planning and product led media services.
The platform, expected to involve an investment of around $1 million, is designed to reshape how the agency approaches strategy by combining internal knowledge, external data sources and advanced AI models into a single intelligence ecosystem.
According to Madison Media, OOH and Hiveminds partner and group CEO Ajit Varghese the initiative forms part of a larger structural rethink within the organisation. “Traditionally agencies built frameworks around media planning and allocation. We are redesigning that structure into what we call a Growth Planning System (GPS),” Varghese said.
The shift reflects a growing belief that effective media strategy must begin earlier in the decision making process. Instead of jumping directly to channel allocation, planners must first decode the market itself identifying consumer barriers, purchase triggers and the core challenges facing a brand.
Once those insights are mapped, agencies can build clearer growth agendas for clients and design media strategies that connect more closely with business outcomes.
To support that approach, Madison has built Madison M BrAIn as what it describes as a human AI cognitive ecosystem. Acting as a central intelligence hub, the platform aggregates proprietary insights alongside external data sources and large language models, enabling planners to access deeper market intelligence before building campaign strategies.
Varghese said one of the core objectives is to democratise knowledge across the organisation. “In the past, this level of understanding was largely available to senior leaders or experienced strategists. With Madison M BrAIn, even a junior planner should be able to access the same intelligence and approach clients with a far more informed perspective,” he said.
The agency has already implemented the new planning philosophy internally and completed three months of testing for the AI platform, with early trials showing encouraging results in terms of learning capability and system performance.
While the first version relied on global large language models, Madison is now developing its own proprietary Small Language Model (SLM) to serve as the core of the M BrAIn ecosystem.
“The SLM will be able to read global LLMs, but the LLMs cannot read the SLM,” Varghese explained. “That ensures all the intelligence we build remains within the Madison ecosystem and strengthens our proprietary knowledge base.”
The first version of Madison M BrAIn is expected to go live in early April, with a more refined version targeted by the end of June. Over time, the platform will integrate additional external data streams and APIs including consumer insight platforms, social listening tools and client datasets.
These integrations are expected to enhance the system’s learning capability and enable it to generate increasingly sophisticated strategic recommendations.
Although the platform is currently being deployed for internal use, Madison sees potential for it to evolve into a licensable product in the future.
“At the moment, our focus is to stabilise and strengthen M BrAIn internally. But over time there is potential for this to become a product that could be licensed externally,” Varghese said.
The AI platform is also part of a wider technology transformation underway at the agency group. Alongside M BrAIn, Madison is building a broader digital infrastructure called the Catalyst operating system, which aims to integrate operational processes, data and product platforms into a unified ecosystem.
This broader technology stack could require an additional $1 million to $1.5 million investment over time, though spending will be phased and reviewed regularly.
“We are evaluating progress every three months and prioritising the most critical capabilities first,” Varghese said.
Madison expects the full AI and operating ecosystem to be fully functional within 12 to 18 months, positioning the agency to combine human strategy with machine intelligence as the advertising industry enters its next data driven phase.
