Brands
Turning boring into fun, while spreading a message
MUMBAI: The brand which follows its corporate social responsibility (CSR) to the T has launched another campaign to promote healthy lifestyle.
After ‘Help a child reach 5’ campaign from Lifebuoy, germ protection soap from the house of Hindustan Unilever (HUL), comes ‘Jump Pumps’. An on-ground activation to raise awareness about hand washing was based on the insight that more than 2 million children losing their lives to diarrhea every year.
Time and again, Lifebuoy has implemented several innovative programs to create a habit change for hand washing amongst children as well as to raise awareness about the five critical hand washing occasions in a day.
HUL general manager (skin cleansing) George Koshy says, “Lifebuoy has a proud history of being a brand that stands for saving lives. It is indeed our mission to ensure that hand washing with soap becomes a habit for children, as a step to reducing diarrheal mortality. The ‘Jump Pump’ activation is an innovative approach that is appealing to children by making it fun and enjoyable.”
In April 2014, Lifebuoy chose the occasion of the mid-day meal to convey this message. India’s mid-day meal scheme feeds over 120 million children a day, making it the perfect opportunity to address the maximum number of children across schools, at the actual moment of truth.
Across many rural schools, the FMCG giant in the country found that children were not washing hands before having lunch, despite the availability of soap. The old & heavy hand-operated pumps are the only way to access water in these schools, and hence young children find it difficult and tiresome to operate them. The challenge before the company was to create an intervention on this key barrier.
So, it came up with a simple idea – turn the boring and cumbersome hand pump into a fun game!
HUL installed specially-crafted rocking horse, made from a combination of wood and metal with a simple screw-on mechanism, on to the handles of these hand pumps in schools – transforming them into ‘Jump-Pumps’.
At lunchtime, when children headed out of class for their meal, they were taken by surprise by this colourful addition to their school premises. The concept and the proper technique of washing hands with soap along with putting up posters at prominent spots in the school to explain the “Jump Pump” game was then explained to the kids. Apart from this, Lifebuoy soap was also provided to ensure soap availability throughout the activation period.
Brands
Hiili names Sanjay Hemady as country manager India
Media veteran to drive digital decarbonisation push
MUMBAI: Climate tech firm Hiili has announced its entry into India, appointing industry veteran Sanjay Hemady as India country manager to steer its growth in one of the world’s fastest-expanding digital markets.
Hemady, a familiar name across India’s media and consulting circles, will lead Hiili’s India operations from Mumbai. His mandate is clear: help Indian companies measure, manage and reduce the carbon emissions generated by their digital services.
Hiili offers a scientifically validated platform, certified by the UC3M-Santander Big Data Institute, that enables businesses to improve the efficiency of their digital infrastructure while cutting emissions. As organisations race to meet ESG targets, the company positions itself as a practical bridge between climate pledges and measurable action.
“I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as country manager, India at Hiili,” Hemady said in a LinkedIn post, adding that the company aims to move beyond broad sustainability promises towards precise, science-based decarbonisation.
Hemady brings more than three decades of experience spanning print, television, radio and digital media. He has previously served as chief executive officer at HIT 95 FM, assistant general manager at CNBC TV18, and held leadership roles at MTV India and The Indian Express, among others. Most recently, he worked as an independent business consultant advising firms across media and technology.
With India’s digital economy expanding at pace, the environmental cost of data, streaming and online services is climbing quietly in the background. Hiili’s bet is that carbon efficiency will soon sit alongside cost efficiency in boardroom conversations.
For Hemady, the move marks a shift from selling airtime and ad inventory to championing climate accountability. If successful, Hiili’s India play could make digital growth not just faster, but cleaner too.
