ABOUT

Concept:

With no budget, m2m needed to reach girls in Africa and beyond and break the cycle of misinformation. There are few opportunities to engage this group in discussion. They are surrounded by family, institutions, boyfriends who are often the perpetrators of the myths that we wanted to bust.

So, we needed to find a place where we could talk to them on their own terms, away from their normal influences, on a peer-to-peer basis. We needed to be their friend but also to carry sufficient authority to allow our message to catch through. We needed girls to recognise us as a trustworthy, single source of truth.

We would need this place to be sufficiently engaging that it would attract our adolescent girls to visit, yet also sufficiently newsworthy to attract the news media to report our story sympathetically to a far wider audience.

Execution:

For one week, we built and ran a stall in Makola Market that sold nothing… but the truth.

The Don’t Buy it stall was stocked with thirteen items branded #DONTBUYIT. There was #DONTBUYIT shower gel that dispelled the myth about showering after sex as a way to prevent HIV infection. There were #DONTBUYIT toilet rolls with the message ‘urinating after sex can’t stop you getting pregnant’.

The stall was run by experienced Mentor Mothers who passed on their wisdom to the young girls who visited. The space also offered a separate and private area to speak or even be discreetly tested for HIV on the spot.

Using the hashtag #DONTBUYIT, we amplified the activity in the region and to a wider, international audience. A dedicated website provided next steps for worried girls and prompts for businesses to get involved with sponsorship.

Results:

This creative strategy has already busted myths and saved lives. It has revolutionised the way mothers2mothers operate, how they show up in the community and how they connect with adolescent girls.

From a single stall in one marketplace, we reached homes nationwide, helping young girls separate myths from facts. In just 7 days we went from talking to hundreds to reaching over 6 million girls across Ghana. We’ve inspired 4,980 to actively seek advice and receive life changing health services. That’s a 155% uplift in brand engagement in just 7 days.

Media coverage continues. A one-hour documentary has recently been aired on Ghana’s biggest TV channel. The stall has been discussed in government at ministerial level.

Next stops for this remarkable campaign are Nairobi, Jo-burg and London for International Day of the Girl. By 2025 we aim to have spoken to 80% of adolescent girls worldwide.