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Hindustan Times’ StudyMate

Campaign: ‘Hum se Poocho’

3/1/2012

MixORG

© MixORG Page 2

Contents The Brand ................................................................................................................................................. 3

Company .................................................................................................................................................. 3

Industry .................................................................................................................................................... 3

Duration ................................................................................................................................................... 3

Target Audience ........................................................................................................................................ 3

Aim/Objective ........................................................................................................................................... 3

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................... 4

Strategy .................................................................................................................................................... 5

Platforms Used ......................................................................................................................................... 6

Outcome and Impact ................................................................................................................................ 7

Learning .................................................................................................................................................... 8

Links ......................................................................................................................................................... 8

Screenshots .............................................................................................................................................. 9

1. Online Branding of Partner Schools ........................................................................................... 9

2. Campaign poster as uploaded on Website and Facebook page .......................................... 10

3. Facebook Ads ............................................................................................................................... 11

4. Mock Board Paper Application ................................................................................................. 12

5. Board Paper Solutions Application .......................................................................................... 13

6. Testimonials from Parents ........................................................................................................ 14

7. Pictures of Teachers answering queries on the Helpline ..................................................... 15

8. Recognition to Students ............................................................................................................. 16

9. Cross-Channel Integration between Website and Facebook page ..................................... 17

10. Number of Active Users saw a sharp spike during the campaign ................................... 18

11. Testimonials from Students ................................................................................................... 19

12. Need-driven participation by the Community .................................................................... 20

© MixORG Page 3

The Brand

Studymate was started in 2010 by Hindustan Times to provide classroom tutoring for CBSE

students from class IX to XII. This was an extension of their wide experience in the education

industry garnered through HT’s educational supplement, HT Horizons. Studymate Tuition centers

were started with the mission of equipping and empowering young minds to pursue their

dreams. Studymate is known to provide high quality supplementary education through expert

faculty, Technology Aided Teaching (TAT) and state-of-the-art infrastructure to a large number

of students every year. The pedagogy is in harmony with CBSE’s Board system and thus, provides

students with relevant support in their academics.

Company

Hindustan Times, founded in 1924, is one of India’s leading English dailies. It is the flagship

publication of HT Media Ltd. With a readership of close to 3.7 million, Hindustan Times is one of

the largest newspapers, by circulation, in India.

Industry

Education

Duration February to March 2012

Target Audience CBSE students of Class X and XII Board, residing in the area of Delhi NCR

Aim/Objective

Studymate had run the ‘Hum se Poocho’ helpline the previous year from their website alone.

This year, they wished for greater awareness and usage of the Helpline by tapping into the

power of Social Media. Further, this year better content like Mock Board Papers and Board

Paper Solutions were to be made available. Thus, three objectives were listed:

Higher uptake of ‘Hum se Poocho’ helpline as compared to last year

Ensure large number of downloads of Mock Board Papers

Ensure large number of downloads of Board Paper Solutions

© MixORG Page 4

Executive Summary

Studymate, an initiative led by Hindustan Times to provide CBSE-based tuition to students of

Class IX to XII ran the ‘Hum se Poocho’ campaign last year for board students. They operated

from their website alone. This year, they hired MixORG to extend the campaign through Social

Media, hoping to reach out to larger audiences and increase the uptake of their helplines.

While Studymate took up the offline strategy of tie-ups with Schools, engaging expert teachers

for the helplines as well as print media publicity, MixORG took charge of the online strategy and

execution. The website and Facebook page were populated with a lot of relevant content that

ranged from sample papers and board exam solutions to examination tips and tricks. Through a

host of posts and apps, the Facebook page engaged all the stakeholders in the campaign: the

students, their parents, the teachers, Studymate officials and partner schools.

Started towards the end of February and run during the Board Exam season of March 2012, the

campaign was an immense success. The Apps, posts and other content posted during the period

saw a whopping 1.3 million views in just that one month of its run. Students and parents were

quite grateful for the constant support they had received.

The campaign, to summarize, was an immense success. It met the key objectives of increasing

the reach of the Hum se Poocho helpline usage as well as high consumption of the sample and

Board paper solutions. Furthermore, the campaign engaged students in an effective way

wherein, the target group did not just receive information, but began stepping forward and

sharing information or demanding it.

© MixORG Page 5

Strategy

Offline

The most significant offline strategy was tie-ups with schools as Studymate required a large

number of qualified teachers to man the helplines. Schools readily partnered with Studymate to

ensure support to the students, as they in turn received recognition on Studymate’s online and

offline advertisements. (Figure 1) Hindustan Times carried several features on the Hum se

Poocho initiative, which in turn ensured branding for the Partner Schools.

Online

Since Hum se Poocho as a campaign had already taken place offline last year, the purpose of

taking it online this year was to increase the uptake of the helpline and other features. In order

to this, the following focus areas were considered:

Visibilty: The brand’s visual language was aligned to the ongoing campaign through

sliders, cover pictures, thumbnails and profile pictures. (Figure 2) In addition, Facebook

advertisements were run for existing fans and new users to talk about the offerings.

(Figure 3,4)

Innovation: To add flavor to a campaign that had already taken place last year, there was

a desire for innovation. Hence, the new idea of uploading sample and solved Boards

Papers was formulated and implemented with great success. (Figure 5,6)

Social Participation: There was a clear effort towards encouraging two-way dialogue

with the target group so that they engage in dialogue among themselves and with

Studymate.

Community Building: An attempt was made throughout to not just engage the student

community, but other stakeholders as well, like schools, teachers and students’ parents.

The Facebook page captured sentiments of all these stakeholders and encouraged them

to interact among themselves on this portal.

© MixORG Page 6

Platforms Used

For the ‘Hum se Poocho’ campaign, primarily two platforms were utilized: Facebook and the

Studymate website. There was, however, a constant effort to ensure cross channel integration

and posting.

Facebook

The Facebook page was used for widespread promotion of the campaign as well as to engage

the target communities.

Content: Study-related content was frequently updated in the form of potential examination

questions, sample papers as well as Board exam solutions. Non-study posts were also there to

help students relax and yet, gear up for the big examinations. Good luck posts as well as

examination tips found great favour among the students.

Engagement: Students were engaged through discussions. They were encouraged to express

their thoughts about the oncoming exams or specific subjects. Customized Social apps were

created, which students visited as well as shared among their friends. Parents too engaged with

Studymate by providing their testimonials and sentiments about the campaign. (Figure 7)

Live Event Coverage: The evening before every exam, the helpline schedule was flashed

repeatedly. Adequate notice was given to students so that they could accumulate their queries

and be prepared. Constant updates before, during and after every event ensured that students

did not miss out on any of the events scheduled for them.

Recognition: The participating teachers’ photographs while manning the helplines were

frequently uploaded. (Figure 8) Students often recognized teachers from their own schools

which gave the helpline a familiar face for them. It also brought in appreciative comments from

students which ensured gratification for the teachers. Students who performed well in the final

exams were given recognition on the page too. (Figure 9)

Website

The website home page was first updated by a slider that reflected in the Facebook cover

picture as well. The idea was to have integrated online branding of the Hum se Poocho campaign

across various channels. Furthermore, the applications that were created and run on the

Facebook page had links embedded in the website as well. For instance, all mock sample papers

and Board solutions were also made available on the website. (Figure 10)

© MixORG Page 7

Outcome and Impact

Within a period of one month alone, the campaign showed immense impact on its target

audience. The Studymate Facebook page saw a sharp spike in new ‘Likes’ during the Hum se

Poocho campaign. The new content of Board exam solutions as well as Board exam mock papers

was quite popular among the students, who freely downloaded and shared it among

themselves. (Figure 11) All this was achieved on a modest budget leaving Studymate fairly happy

with the return on investment.

Some facts and figures that reflect the outcome of the campaign:

Number by which student community on FB grew during

‘Hum Se Poocho’ campaign:

5028

Number of Impressions/ people viewing: 3,725,337

Number of views of Board exam solutions: 6002

Number of views of Board exam mock papers: 1030

Total amount spent during the event: $122.20

Apart from the quantity of response, the campaign also saw good quality participation from

students. They responded enthusiastically to all updates, poll questions, sample questions,

answers and other endeavours during the campaign. Furthermore, they frequently shared posts

and material uploaded on the Facebook page, thus ensuring that the material reach a wide but

relevant audience. As evidence, Studymate received a number of appreciative notes from

grateful students applauding the efforts. (Figure 12)

© MixORG Page 8

Learning

A significant learning for MixORG during the course of this campaign came from the challenge of

close coordination with other stakeholders. Once students began expecting sample papers and

solutions, they would proactively demand these aids if they did not receive it soon enough.

(Figure 13) The Community Manager had to work closely with Studymate, the Partner Schools

and the teachers to reduce response time.

Something that came as a very positive learning for the team was their ability to create a sense

of entitlement among the Studymate community. They had striven from the beginning to make

the portal a two-way communication platform and soon enough, they were not just ‘pushing’

information, but they had managed to create a ‘pull’. The community began to expect, ask for

and express their needs. They felt an ownership towards the community and often answered

each others’ queries. A true achievement for MixORG, thus, was to have successfully established

norms for the community to be expressive.

Links Website: http://studymateonline.com/index.html

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/studymate

© MixORG Page 9

Screenshots

1. Online Branding of Partner Schools

Figure 1: Partner Schools

© MixORG Page 10

2. Campaign poster as uploaded on Website and Facebook page

Figure 2: Campaign Poster

© MixORG Page 11

3. Facebook Ads

Figure 3: FB Ads for Existing Fans

Figure 4: FB Ads for New Users

© MixORG Page 12

4. Mock Board Paper Application

Figure 5: Mock Boards Exam Paper Solutions App

© MixORG Page 13

5. Board Paper Solutions Application

Figure 6: Board Paper Solutions

© MixORG Page 14

6. Testimonials from Parents

Figure 7: Parents Speak

© MixORG Page 15

7. Pictures of Teachers answering queries on the Helpline

Figure 8: Uploaded pictures of Teachers on Helpline- received 6o Likes

© MixORG Page 16

8. Recognition to Students

Figure 9: Board Results App

© MixORG Page 17

9. Cross-Channel Integration between Website and Facebook page

Figure 10: Screenshot of Website

© MixORG Page 18

10. Number of Active Users saw a sharp spike during the campaign

Figure 3: Number of Active Users

© MixORG Page 19

11. Testimonials from Students

Figure 4: Students Speak

© MixORG Page 20

12. Need-driven participation by the Community

Figure 13: Students expressing their needs proactively