MUMBAI: Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) has announced a collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to undertake a mass communication campaign and inform and empower the general public against COVID-19. The campaign brings together the marketing expertise and scale of HUL and the technical knowledge of UNICEF to create engaging communication tools that can help people change behaviours and stay safe during this time of the pandemic.
HUL had also recently committed Rs 100 crore towards helping India fight the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the campaign, it is rolling out many initiatives to ensure citizens across the country have access to essential products such as soaps, sanitizers and toilet cleaners.
The mass media campaign, titled ‘#BreakTheChain’ / #VirusKiKadiTodo’, will have simple yet powerful five- and 15-second informative assets to empower the general public with prevention strategies to protect themselves against COVID-19. Based on three key themes, social distancing, handwashing and generosity, the campaign will generate these short informative assets across India through television, news portals and prominent social media channels.
Hindustan Unilever chairman and MD Sanjiv Mehta said, “The need of the hour is simple and effective communication across both urban and rural India to help fight COVID-19 and our partnership with UNICEF aims to do just that. Furthermore, we need to come together as a nation and be supportive of each other during this crisis. Our campaign will help address these challenges and at scale. Along with UNICEF, we are also committed to working with the government and making essentials like Lifebuoy soaps, hand sanitizers and Domex cleaners available across a wide geography which is the most critical need today.”
The campaign will also seek support from media organizations, macro and micro social media influencers, thought leaders and celebrities in spreading the message. The campaign communication assets will be disseminated through the extensive rural reach of both the organisations to reach the most vulnerable populations.
UNICEF India representative Dr Yasmin Ali Haque said, “COVID-19 disease has thrown up many challenges and among them is getting the right information to everyone, no matter where they live and whatever their situation, in the shortest time possible. Our partnership with Hindustan Unilever Limited is important as it leverages HUL’s communications strength as well as rural marketing outreach with UNICEF’s technical expertise and messaging. We hope that through this effort we are able to bridge the communication gaps by sharing information to contain the spread of the disease.”
During the engagement, HUL and UNICEF will also continue to explore other critical areas of collaboration that will help the country to combat the virus.
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