Background
Korea has gained a reputation for having a competitive and high pressure educational system, but many remain unaware that the country has an opposite problem: children not having basic means to receive primary school education. It is estimated that over one hundred million children living in third world countries suffer from the same predicament.
Aim
Cheil’s mission was to use the social awareness campaign to open Korea’s eyes to the issue in a creative sense, and more importantly, raise much needed funds for donation to UNICEF.
Execution
The campaign featured an ‘unopenable notebook’ wherein all four sides were sealed with a metal spiral, symbolising that children in third world countries do not receive basic primary education. The notebooks were sold in major bookstores, featured particularly in the children’s book section.
A purchase of a notebook would immediately contribute to being able to buy a textbook for a child living in a third world country. The notebook was also sent through direct mail to educational institutions and PR departments in corporations to encourage more donations to the cause.
The campaign ran from 14 to 27 February 2011.
Result
More than 300 notebooks were sold on its launch date and more than 1,200 notebooks were sold throughout the two week campaign. It was able to raise around US$10,000, but the main focus was providing a textbook to a child in a third world country for every notebook that was sold. As a result, an estimated 1,000 children have received a textbook to complete one semester of study in a particular subject.
The ‘Unopenable notebook’ also generated attention in Korean social networking sites such as Twitter where it recorded 1,300 tweets by those who saw the campaign or purchased the notebook. A local version of Facebook known as Cyworld, online media and blogs saw an additional estimated 7,000 views, according to Cheil.
In addition, the number of private sponsorships to schools in third world countries also increased as a result of the campaign.
