The PRactice was approached by a non-profit organisation to promote and activate social entrepreneurship in the country. The organisation presented an annual award in this area and was looking to increase the number of candidates vying for this award. In the process, it wanted to energise current and potential social entrepreneurs in the national community.

While there was an inherent interest in the topic, there were also some gaps in people’s understanding of it. The PRactice adopted a multi-phased strategy in this campaign. In phase I, we concentrated on the immediate goal, i.e. increasing the number of entries for the award. We did this by leveraging our media relations as well as through alliances with Indian NGOs. In phase II, we worked to build awareness about social entrepreneurship through third party influencers. Thought papers were created to reach out to the target audience and to begin conversations on the subject. The PRactice initiated an agreement with the Hindustan Times and CNBC that resulted in a branded byline column in the former and a panel discussion in the latter. In addition, select members of the media were targeted to receive information on the issue. In the final phase, substantial media visibility was generated for the award ceremony.

Today, social entrepreneurship is a much covered phenomenon with journalists tracking the sector vigilantly. The non-profit organisation’s awards are viewed as the “Oscars” of the industry and both the quantity and quality of applications for these have increased tremendously.