Gitam University:

An Exercise In Brand Building &

Public Engagement

22 Feet Tribal • 20.05.2020

 Identifying Our Big Challenges
In Marketing & Business

Driving Brand Message

● Pillars Of Brand Values & Beliefs
● Recognizing Current Opportunities
Overview ● Creating A Unique Show & Tell
Experience

Arriving At The Solution

How It Works, What It Does For Us, Unique
Features
Identifying Our Big Challenges

Marketing Challenges Business Challenges

● Improve brand perception, ● Drive awareness, drive
create positive chatter top-of-mind recall

● Improve engagement and ● Build inclusion in

make space for meaningful consideration set
conversations
Driving Brand Message
(Pillars Of Brand Values & Beliefs)

Doing Well By Deep Knowledge &

Doing Good Research Commitment
● Need to occupy a unique ● Build academic credibility
slice in the goodness pie and trustworthiness

● Real, meaningful, ● Establish research

substantive action that credentials
makes a difference
Driving Brand Message
(Pillars Of Brand Values & Beliefs)

Innovation & Constant Societal Impact &

Evolution
● Demonstrate ability to
adapt and problem solve
● Create depth and RTB for
claiming the innovation
space
Cultural Relevance
● Not just be spectators to
what’s going on but
respond in an impactful
way
Driving Brand Message
(Recognizing Current Opportunities)

The COVID-19 Crisis The Fake News Crisis

● Need to have a POV on ● Trending topic
2020’s biggest issue
● Close to knowledge,
● Global pandemic with research and learning
many far reaching category -- can allow us to
implications -- let’s draw a big contrast against
determine which aspect we inauthenticity and bring
want to tackle our authenticity to the fore
Driving Brand Message
(Recognizing Current Opportunities)

COVID-19 X Fake News Fake News X COVID-19

X Gitam University
● Negative impact amplified
in pandemic -- rumours & ● Use university’s faculty,
misinformation creating students, other resources,
chaos knowledge base, passion
● Preventing progress on for research, interest in
ground, leading to harmful societal progress to fight
individual action, swaying for the truth against
public in wrong direction falsehoods
Driving Brand Message
(Recognizing Current Opportunities)

Fake News X COVID-19 Strategic News Channel

X Gitam University + Fact Checker Tie-up
● Let’s showcase the ● Credibility ruboff from
relevance of our belief tying up with news channel,
‘Doing well Comes From newspaper or news
Doing Good’, put the personality, along with a
principle into work and fact checker service. For
gain more credibility reach and amplification.
Driving Brand Message
(Creating A Unique Show & Tell Experience)
WhatsApp University
● A term coined to describe
one of the biggest platform
for spread of fake news
through clickbaity content
forwards by relatively
unevolved media
consumers who never
question source
WhatsApp Groups
● Fake news forwards need
to be fought in the same
WhatsApp groups they’re
being forwarded in
(neighbours, family, friends,
colleagues / peers, hobby
or interest groups)
Driving Brand Message
(Creating A Unique Show & Tell Experience)
Fight Fire With Fire
● Combat virality of fake news
through equally entertaining,
clickbaity but researched real
news counter forwards
● Use people, not tech -- get
greater reach than fact-check
bots & sites which assume
audience sophistication
Create Volunteer Army
● Reach out to mature digital
consumers and recruit them
● Equip those who question
WhatsApp forwards to present
a case against misinformation
to those who blindly believe
and forward unreliable
information
Arriving At The
Solution:
A rapid response, people powered hotline on WhatsApp
enabled by GITAM UNIVERSITY (in close association with
a trusted news source and a fact check service
partnership) to counter unresearched, unverified
rumours being passed around as real news in
WHATSAPP UNIVERSITY.
 Gitam University Vs
Whatsapp University*
(Lead The Fight Against Fake News)
How This Works:
(Consumer Journey)
STEP 1:
Recruit X receives a dubious forwarded text on a WhatsApp group. Recruit x
sends that to us.

STEP 2:
We respond with a researched, fact-checked text in a clickbaity format for
Recruit X to populate on that WhatsApp group.

STEP 3:
Recruit X sends back this entertaining response on the WhatsApp group (and
on other groups if they like it) thereby stopping the spread of fake news.
Step No.1
(Recruit X
Receives
Forward)
Step No.1
(Recruit X
Sends
Forward To
Hotline)
Step No.2
(Hotline
Researches
and Sends A
Response In
Clickbaity
Format)
Step No.3
(Recruit X
Sends
Clickbaity
Response
Back In
WhatsApp
Group)
Step No.3
(Recruit X
Sends
Clickbaity
Response
Back In
WhatsApp
Group)
How This Works:
(In The Backend)
Use existing network Introduce more moderators
Hotline moderator sifts through
(students, teachers, to handle additional demand
forwards to identify
employees, admin) to as more forwards pour in.
non-controversial, non-political
jumpstart activation. Take initiative beyond the
that can be countered with
(Use As PR Piece) COVID space.
quick research.

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5

[Initializing] [Recruiting] [Operationalizing] [Amplifying] [Scaling]

Get more recruits in the
fight by highlighting the
hotline where forwards can
be sent. Use news media
tie-up to spotlight initiative.
Hotline moderator sends
those forwards to 22Feet
content team that
researches then develops a
clickbaity response to be
forwarded back.
Use news media, owned
channels and PR to highlight
the initiative and recruit
more people and benefit
from network effects.
Additional Promotion Ideas
Anchor Reads Fake News
If we tie-up with a local news channel, we could have the fake news read out as
the headlines of the day. Then the anchor could break character talk about how
these are all rumours disguised as news that they’ve received on WhatsApp --
then segue into the hotline number, asking everyone to join the fight against
fake news with Gitam University.

Fake Newspapers
We could give out fake newspapers along with real newspapers with newspaper
names such as -- The Misinformation Age, The Unverified Chronicle, etc. Here
we can seed in the fake news doing the rounds and talk about how Gitam
University is stepping in to fight this phenomenon, urging people to join as well.
Additional Promotion Ideas

Finish With A Lesson

Gitam University could create a small learning module on how to be a
responsible digital media consumer. This could be translated into the vernacular
languages and forwarded in the same WhatsApp groups to promote more
responsible social media behaviour.
 ● Adds RTB and depth to our
brand message of pushing for
positive societal impact
What Does This ● Building on authenticity and
Whole Initiative credibility

Do For Us? ● Widen reach, increase name

recognition and get more
earned media
 ● Low cost, high impact activation

● Modular and scalable -- works

What Are The short-term, mid-term or

Unique Features long-term

Of This Initiative? ● Cultural resonance + high

situational awareness --->
conversation creator
Thank You!