Global Handwashing Day: On a mission to create a movement

In this episode of the Sex, Soap and Alcohol podcast, host Professor Myriam Sidibé reflects on the inception and global impact of Global Handwashing Day, a movement that began over 15 years ago at Unilever with a simple bar of soap. The podcast features Marianne Yarrow, a PR expert who helped launch the campaign, and Janet Mbugua, one of the first ambassadors. They discuss the challenges and successes of creating a global awareness day, the importance of advocacy, and how to sustain such movements. The conversation covers their personal experiences, the branding versus authenticity debate, and tips on creating and maintaining meaningful advocacy campaigns.  

00:00 The Birth of Global Handwashing Day  
00:52 Reflecting on the Journey: From PhD to Global Movement  
01:39 Early Challenges and Breakthroughs  
03:25 Building a Coalition: The Role of Brands and Partnerships  
07:20 The First Global Handwashing Day: A Milestone Achievement  
11:56 Embedding the Campaign into Culture and Business Strategy  
13:47 Comparing Global Handwashing Day to Other International Days  
17:14 Personal Reflections: Becoming an Ambassador  
23:48 Maintaining Authenticity in Advocacy  
25:47 The Impact of COVID-19 on Handwashing Awareness  
26:40 Secrets to Sustaining Advocacy and Creating Movements  
36:29 Golden Rules for Creating Effective Advocacy Days  

Transcript

The Birth of Global Handwashing Day

SPEAKER_02 0:11

Wow, I still remember being at Unilever over 15 years ago. And what then began as a simple idea and a simple barrel of soap grew into a worldwide movement, a global hand washing day. I think it's like 17 years ago now. And what began as a public health insight from my work in hygiene became a life boy campaign, then a UN recognized awareness day. And almost two decades later, has reached over 120 million children, 70 countries, 500 million people in over 100 countries celebrate Global Hand Washing Day every single year. And the day continues to shape behaviors amongst policymakers, schools, communities, and brands. And in today's episode, what I want to do is actually reflect on how it all happened and what it taught me in terms of building purpose-driven coalition that lasts and the importance of advocacy at the heart of it. I'm going to sit down with Marianne, who was there at the very beginning, helping me on PR and communication, and Janet, who became one of our very first ambassadors. So let's get into it. Welcome, Marianne, and welcome Janet to the Sex, Soap and Alcohol Podcast. I'm going to hand over to Marianne because I think, you know, with the PR background and being the very first agency at the time that even thought about partnering us on this with actually no budget. Please, Marianne, tell us take fire away, fire your questions away.

SPEAKER_00 1:39

I guess what a lot of people would be thinking is how you got from looking at children washing their hands in schools and doing a PhD in hand washing to this multi-million reach of an international recognition day. So what was the journey? What was that first year like for you?

Building a Coalition: The Role of Brands and Partnerships

SPEAKER_02 1:56

I think what's super exciting about this is that obviously I was finishing a PhD in hand washing, um, and uh I had observed 4,395 kids coming out of the toilet, not washing their hands. Basically, that's the summary of 400 pages in a PhD. And I went to present these findings to the world's largest soap manufacturer, Unilever. And then they gave me a job. They were like, oh wow, we could do with somebody with a PhD who has focused on hand washing with soap. And um I moved in as a partnership manager, and very quickly, uh, within six months, I realized that partnership wasn't really the way forward. It wasn't just about partnership. It was first about creating a mission and embedding it into what the brands could actually be. So we moved me to becoming a social mission manager, which was a title that didn't exist anywhere, um, and for the first time was given to me. And one of the first missions that I had was I want to create a profile, an advocacy profile day that's going to really help raise the profile for hand washing with soap. Washing hands with soap could cut um, you know, mortality by almost half, diarrheal disease by half, pneumonia by 23%, and so many other, you know, debilitating diseases. And we realized that the only way to do, to be able to get hand washing at scale was to make sure that you make it a social norm. And the best way to be able to do that was to first bring the profile of how important hand washing in itself as a behavior was, and known one better than actually a brand, a soap brand, which at the time was a regional brand, to say, look, we want to drive this mission because this would mean that for every bar of lifeboy that we sell, that we will be able to get more families washing hands. So at the time I was part of um, I was one of the committees in the public-private partnership for hand washing with soap. And um, and I said, You'd I'm gonna put in the work plan, create a global hand washing day. And everybody's like, Yeah, okay, all right. When I remember Steve Miles was my boss at the time. Um, and he said, fine, I'll give you$20,000, figure out what you want to do with this. And then I went back to the public-private partnership for hand washing. And they said, but that's impossible. I said, Well, actually, we're going to try to convince them that creating one day would be useful for all of them. And that was the start of this conversation, which then became took a me, you know, a mission on its own to try to get all these uh brands um at the heart of that. So obviously, um the day was created from a PhD in hand washing to sitting in the world's largest soap manufacturing to building this brand and then thinking about how an advocacy day could translate itself as part of a marketing journey.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

What were those early conversations like with leadership? Because it's always very hard to persuade a private sector organization to bring in a competitor brand. Um, can you reflect on how that felt? So making the case for a behavior that would bring those brands together rather than their usual kind of competitive space.

The First Global Handwashing Day: A Milestone Achievement

SPEAKER_02 5:00

My goodness, I I mean, my entire career in Unilever has been one occasion to another of how many times will I get fired? That has been constantly the worries about somebody not aligning to where we were. But um I think you know, people hadn't, you know, at that time hadn't really thought of it as a systemic issues, right? It was kind of like, okay, so why is she pushing so much? Um, and to to try to get this. But I I was at the heart, it was like, well, we want to do good. The more people wash hands, the better it is for everyone in the world. It's better for each of these brands, it's better for the communities, it's better for the policymakers. So it's a really win-win-win partnership. Um, so those conversations, you I have to say, you had to spend a lot of time doing it in the background and get it ready, almost like successfully, um, you know, successfully landed before you could actually take it to the leadership. And that was always the reason why creating even Global Handwashing Day was like, how can we do something quick that they could show that partnerships and partnering with even competing brands could actually come up with something tangible that each one of them could then use individually for their marketing journey, but individually. But in this instance, we could use all the resources together that we all already had to bring this day to the table. So it it felt very pioneering at the time, it felt very daring. Um, I was lucky that I had uh Steve at the time, Steve Miles is my boss, who was like, okay, let's go for it, let's figure out what to do, and I'm gonna support you. Um, but you know, it always takes that one boss that actually pushes and says, let's, let's, let's give, you know, my clout is going to kind of protect you a little bit. And I think that's really, really important. If if I hadn't had that, it just wouldn't have happened. And also the belief in agencies that were daring at the time, and they were like, okay, all right, we're gonna put some of our brightest, um, brightest talent, like Marianne at the time, to come and work on this, not knowing what to do and and what was the the real um question. So, I mean, I take that back to you, um, Marianne, from a PR perspective. Like, what sort of impression fears about making this happen? I remember the two of us sitting down and coming up with the very first concept note of what a global hand washing day would look like. Just talk to me about that process a bit.

SPEAKER_00 7:29

Uh well, I think my constant fear in that first year was whether it was even going to get off the ground or whether someone was going to pull out or just things were going to collapse around us. It felt very fragile. And I think we had to kind of protect this belief that we had, this concept paper, the very clear objectives that we shaped in that first year, and to be really determined to make it happen, which you absolutely led to the whole of the PPPHW, the partnership for hand washing with soap. We had to believe that it was going to happen. But I remember still not knowing on the 14th of October whether it would, and then getting a text message from you very early in the morning from India saying, There are loads of children here, everyone's washing their hands with soap, we've got a cricketer, it's this really big occasion. And I'll never forget that. Um, it was a really, it was probably one of the moments of my entire career that I'm most excited and proud of getting that off the ground and and what it felt like. Um, and I think just being able to balance the needs of everyone in that group in that first year was just so important. Just making sure that everyone stayed aligned in in their passion for getting it off the ground because it had to move forward as a coalition. If any one sort of went ahead without the others, it wouldn't have been as strong.

SPEAKER_02 8:48

Yeah, I I still remember those. We had a group. I mean, at the time, I don't think we even had WhatsApp, but you know, there was an opportunity. I mean, can you imagine a life without WhatsApp? But um, you know, like, and I and I and I remember getting a message and uh from Safeguard and Detol at the time. Safeguard was mainly the the the other partner, and which is a competitor to Life Boy, to actually say, hey, hey, it's happening in Pakistan. Everybody's washing their hands and the day is out, and and everybody's sending it to their respective leadership to say, hey, we did that together, and we're all founders of what this global hand washing day was. Um and I and I think that in itself was one of my proudest moments where you were like, Well, here's a day. It's not necessarily branded, yet it is utterly branded because it's taking every single distinction of what a brand is, and we created that together. We didn't create that as a single individual entity. And I thought that was fabulous. It really, it really strikes me as something that um that, yeah, of course I'm super proud of it. But you know, it was my dream, but I never thought that you would get that big. I really didn't.

SPEAKER_00 9:58

I think I'm always reminded when I think back on that first year of Global Handwashing Day, as this wonderful Steve Jobs quote, that the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that actually do. It felt crazy, it felt so bold. Um, and that's how you make change, that's how you create systemic change.

SPEAKER_02 10:17

Yeah, no, I agreed. I agreed, agreed, agreed. Oh my goodness, can you believe this? 500 million people every year celebrate Global Handwashing Day in a hundred countries. And I still remember when I was choosing the logo. Do you remember the color of the bar of soap that it was supposed to be? Of course, Life Boy wanted it red. Um, uh Safeguard wanted it or I can't remember green, detail. And then everybody wanted a different colors to fit their brands, and we had to choose the one color that wasn't existing in the market. I mean, these are the kind of things where the conversation was. And I think those tangible moments, it seems so so unique right now and so benign, but it took, you know, like hundreds of logos for us to find one that would stand um, you know, the the test of time and actually still be recognizable for kids anywhere to say, hey, yes, I need those three things to be able to wash my hands properly. And that's you know, that's that still, you know, really melts my heart when I think about the creation of that.

SPEAKER_00 11:18

I think also the logo was particularly magical. But what I thought we all did really well in that first year was to take that logo into advocacy settings. So although it was designed with children in mind, we also had it at World Water Week in Stockholm to launch policy makers there. And it really stood out because we were treating everyone as sort of, you know, bringing playful kind of activities to adults as well. And there they were wandering around in that conference center.

Embedding the Campaign into Culture and Business Strategy

Comparing Global Handwashing Day to Other International Days

SPEAKER_02 11:49

I forgot about this. Oh my goodness, that's so long ago. God, I can't, I forgot completely the creation of this day and how it took off. I want to move a bit from obviously the creation of a campaign to actually embedding it and making it part of the culture. And then um, and and I think you know, one of the things that for us um really took us from, you know, um just a campaign to actually moving into a strategic business lever was when it started being part of the marketing um agenda. So making sure that every year at the 15th of October was something that every brand, um, that Life Boy brand actually had to activate in all the retailers, every supermarket, there was, you know, free for, you know, buy free for the price of two. Um, you know, I still remember every year a different campaign that was coming out around the 15th of October to elevate the day. And it was it was uh, you know, almost a competition for who was the next brand manager that would come back with the best campaign for global handwashing day the next year, right? And because you get a whole year to then, and also to get the entire Unilever on that day to be to go out there into schools, get kids to wash hands, to actually teach about hand washing with soap. And it became part of what the culture was from employees to retailers, um, to obviously uh consumers and in schools as well. And I think that's super important. Um, the fact that we could have resources every year on and on from the private sector and from the brand to invest towards that because there was an incentive, it was part of the agenda, and it became part of now we definitely have to do something because Safeguard's gonna do something, because Detoll is gonna do something, because Colgate's gonna do something. But we were no longer buying, you know, to work together. But it was like we were all celebrated and trying to get the benefits of that day, um, and figuring out what what we could do here. So I think for me that's that's an important part. Um I think now that you see it's scaled, Barianne, um, and and sustained this well, how does this actually compare to other international days? Of course, I know your heart is with Global Handwashing Day. That's your first one and your baby, but yes, tell me a little bit about how does this compare.

SPEAKER_00 14:06

So I think the really um uh innovative part of Global Handwashing Day and brave part was to make it so open sourced and inclusive from the outset. So if you remember, we created Planner's Guide in that first year that was open to everyone, whether it was uh an individual school or a whole government ministry or a private sector partner, anyone could download it and use it. The day really was open to all, and that's hard. I think that's particularly hard for private sector brands because it just goes against you know the the way that they build and the way that they kind of compete in market. Um so I yeah, I think that inclusivity and the clarity of objectives in the first year. I just went onto the Global Handwashing Day Wikipedia website, um, which I do every now and then just to remind you. And the objectives on there are still the same, exactly the same wording as we had in 2008. And I think we spent a lot of time making sure that everyone in the in the coalition was comfortable with those objectives, but it's very easy to move on quickly from objective setting and into planning and activities and the fun stuff. Um, and I think a lot of global recognition days, as they're trying to get off, don't give quite enough time to those objectives. Um, last year I was uh lucky enough to work with Lego and the Lego Foundation and UNICEF and other partners on the inception of the International Day of Play, um, which was which was partly inspired by Global Handwashing Day, um, and certainly in the kind of um inclusive and authentic way that we set it up and that combination of engaging children but also policymakers so that we create kind of lasting change. Um, but I I asked Chat GBT earlier how many global recognition days there are, and just UN recognized ones, there are 150, and there are many, many more that aren't UN recognised. So it's a it's a tricky space to get right, and I think some fall into very serious, very worthy, rightly so, because it's difficult topics, but then they just don't break through into the public consciousness, which is really what these days are all about. It's about driving mass awareness amongst more people. Um, and some just get too silly or have a too vested interest um and start to push a product too much. Um, and I also think that a lot of um private sector brands think that they can magic up a recognition day um without doing the engagement with stakeholders that's needed throughout the year, um, rather than sort of suddenly whipping everyone up into a frenzy when it's something they want to uh create. Um and I think Unilever is particularly good at that and was particularly good at that around Global Handwashing Day. It was already very much a part of all of this um public-private partnerships, and that's where that's where things really change and really happen.

SPEAKER_02 17:03

I can't believe we have a Wikipedia. Oh my god. Oh gosh, this is insane. Um, yeah, Global Handwashing Day, GHD. Janet.

SPEAKER_01 17:13

Yes.

Personal Reflections: Becoming an Ambassador

SPEAKER_02 17:13

Janet Bugua, do you remember how you first got involved into Global Handwashing Day and what did it mean to you personally?

SPEAKER_01 17:20

I do. First of all, I've sat here like I've attended, it's almost like I've known a lot of this information, but it's been so amazing here the two of you take us back to the history of it and then to just think about the impact and the footprint that it still has. So I was just sitting here taking on all of that information, it was so good. How do I remember? Yes, I do remember. I was um, I was so I was just I just had my baby, my firstborn. So this was 10 years ago, 2015. I was expecting Huru. And as I am, I think by nature, I'm a curious human being, and I'm also somebody who likes to share information for the benefit of I don't know, just starting a conversation. So, in many ways, I was wearing the hat of a news anchor and a journalist and an influencer, but I was also just documenting being pregnant and about to have my first baby. And I think because of that, at some point I remember getting a call and sitting down with Miriam and this whole battalion of managers saying, hi, we're from Unilever, and we're looking for somebody who can um just talk about the importance of Helper Child Reach Five and Global Hand Washington. It was Help for Child Reach Five and Global Hand Washing Day. And we thought you'd be, you know, good because we've seen that you're somebody who's having these conversations. I had actually just had Huru. He was about a few months old. I had him in October, and I think we had the conversation early 2016. Because I remember the launch was on June. So we started the conversation early. So he was a few months old, and I was already OCD about just his hygiene and his health. I heard the most thing that my pediatrician would tell me is make sure that if somebody's going to hold your baby, that they've washed their hands, that they're looking after themselves. You don't want them to pass it. So even before we started the conversation, it was something that I was carrying in me. So when we started talking about this collaboration, it just made sense. And um I think that's how we kind of clinched the partnership and we launched in June. I remember we were with Miriam and we were the first lady of Kenya at the time, Margaret Kenyatta. Yes. Um and I think with Amraf, it was such a, it was almost like um for me, it's one of the times that I've seen what we call this multi-stakeholder approach. And we hear it said often time, that was really the muscle of what it meant for different stakeholders from government, from media, from private sector to come together with the same message about making sure that we're saving lives of the children under the age of five, by you know, making sure that hand washing with soap is top of mind. And I, you know, that's how our journey began. And I think we walked this that journey for several years. So, yeah, that was the genesis.

SPEAKER_02 20:06

Wow, wow, wow. So, what what did it look like in practice? I mean, uh, you know, to be an ambassador of Global Handwashing Day. I mean, I know you were our best ones. Um I'm still very sad that the business in itself didn't succeed as much as our partnership, our friendship, and your ambassadorship. But talk to us because I'm sure people still come up to you and saying, Do you remember you were like that hand washing lady from Life Boy, right? I remember you in those beautiful red dresses and red outfits. With a red lip to boot.

SPEAKER_01 20:38

The red lip has stays. The red lip had stays. Yeah. Thank you. That's a really good question. Yes, I do get reference from millennial moms saying, I remember you, uh, you know, on the billboards and on TV telling us to wash our hands. Um I think what I remember is carrying a responsibility. I feel like with a lot of the roles I do in life, I really don't take the responsibility lightly. Right now, I'm co-hosting a daily show. I don't take that lightly because I'm speaking into the camera and into the microphone about social political issues. Um, and something that can be said there or done there can have some kind of effect, right? So even then, I thought to myself, this isn't just an ambassadorship to look good and post on Instagram and it's about carrying this message, how I live out every day. Am I practicing this with my friends and family and community beyond the specific days of collaboration with the brand? Am I also making it a mission for people to prioritize this as one way that we can fight disease and make sure that our children are safe? So it I didn't feel the pressure on it, I felt the honor. And because it worked, it tied in very seamlessly to what I believed in and what I was living. To date, it's probably one of the best, if not the best, brand collaboration I've done in my whole life. And I've worked with other brands. But I'm like, this for me was the coming together of people like you who have who had the backstory and the knowledge and the passion. And then working with LifeWare as a brand that was passionate about driving the message, it wasn't just about optics. And I feel like I don't see that a lot. I don't know that I've experienced it as much again. And so it was a very easy honor to carry. It came with obviously a lot of the recognition and all of the great things that a brand ambassadorship comes with, but it also came with the fact that there was a community of new moms and parents and fathers who were finding intentionality in making sure that their children's lives were also safeguarded by this very simple habit that actually was a life-saving habit. So a lot of people would stop me and say, Oh, you know, because of you, I don't see soap and water as these separate things anymore. We've integrated it as a family in how we can actually protect our children. And them also hearing from their children, because I think Help a Child Reach Five is still one of the strongest campaigns I've ever come across in my life, where now children were taking this message back home and telling their parents, you're gonna have to buy this soap because I'm being taught that it's something that can help us as a family, it can help me as a child. So parents were also being pushed into that responsibility and accountability by their children. I haven't seen that before. So I think being an ambassador was just multi-pronged. It just meant there was community that was building. It meant that back home, even with my two sons, it's something that I was being intentional about. And I was carrying the message every day, everywhere I went, and it's never left me.

Maintaining Authenticity in Advocacy

SPEAKER_02 23:42

But this is this takes me to the next question, which is exactly the difference between branding versus authenticity. So, how do we make sure that advocacy doesn't lose its soul? Marianne, I'd love to hear that from you. Like, because of course you're one of the most amazing communicators I've ever come across, um, you know, and and and brilliant in articulating messages, and I still owe so much. I owe my 1.2 million views to her help on my TED Talk again. But I mean, you know, this purpose gold rush. But how do we not lose our soul when we decide on an advocacy and an advocacy moment?

SPEAKER_00 24:20

It's yeah, it's a it's a difficult one. I think it's a quite difficult time for advocacy at the moment. I think it's quite easy to lose your your um spirit as well as your soul in just trying to fight for what you know should be done, whether it's private sector action or public sector partnerships. Um I think one of the things that Global Handwashing Day has done since it was created was to come up with new themes and new relevance each year. Um so they've always kind of reached out to new audiences. I think it was healthcare workers, so exactly your point, Janet, um, for a few years. And obviously, COVID made it very relevant suddenly for everyone. And I think these days an advocacy isn't static, it has to be dynamic, it has to be relevant to what's happening in society and the challenges that are happening. Um and I think not to use too much jargon, so even the word advocacy itself, I think isn't widely understood. Um, whereas I think championing a cause for a country or for a sector is really what it's about, and on behalf of someone. So, really keeping that audience, young children, for example, in mind to keep people's souls honest and to keep them focused on what really matters and not get too kind of overwhelmed with the corporate um bureaucracy that I think can sometimes slow down um what advocacy is really about.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Handwashing Awareness

Secrets to Sustaining Advocacy and Creating Movements

SPEAKER_02 25:43

Very, very good point, very good point. Hey, you touched on COVID-19. Wasn't that like the biggest global hand washing year ever? I I still remember when we had our first uh episodes and everyone in Kenya and people were like, oh my goodness, we've got this lady who's like a global hand washing day guru in Kenya. She's gonna come and save us. And I was like, Well, all I know is how to wash hands. I mean, but I went on live TV and when there was no one, there was no vaccines, there was nothing except eventually washing hands. And and I mean, it brought back the importance of something as simple and yet crucial, and the only way in which we could mitigate um the spread of COVID-19. I just think that, you know, the importance of something as simple and crucial as a behavior like that is so critical. You know, that takes me to, you know, what's the playbook and the future when you look at advocacy, right? So, what's the secret to embedding awareness and advocacy or you know, championing a cause into institutions so that they endure? What's the secret, Marianne? Is there a secret?

SPEAKER_00 26:51

Um, so for me, I think private sectors need to really understand um where they fit in their ecosystem. So, what their role is and what the unique thing is they bring to a global recognition day or a coalition. And it's persuasion, it's the power of persuasion, it's the ability to change behavior, to move people from one way of thinking to another, um, whether that's consumers, policymakers, governments, and to really celebrate that and and also to take time to listen. So always to listen to other people's perspective on the ground in every meeting, um, and and make sure that those voices are heard and that no one's left behind, particularly on on issues like this, on hand washing and public health.

SPEAKER_01 27:38

Your secret, Janet? Um I think uh Marian said something really important when she talked about uh the word advocacy not necessarily being fully understood. So, first she's talked about private sector, which I mean you both know best about this, but even from sort of the outside looking in, there needs to be a lot more intentionality with private sector, not just in terms of, oh, this is a KPI, but in terms of just integrating it as part of the culture and understanding um how these habits can be embedded in the everyday conversations, if that makes sense. But when I look at the online platforms, because I've had this very interesting transition in my life now, where I'm also sort of um creating content almost every week. And the reason I bring this is because how do you talk about things that don't get lost in the noise? Because there's so much noise around us every day. There's noise enough to lose sight of an of focus on a conversation, and therefore I think quote unquote dilute its importance because there's so much else going on. And I've noticed that just everyday storytelling, everyday experiences are becoming the way in which people are grasping knowledge and information on either a product or a conversation. Um, and I've been studying that. A very small example is very recently, I don't know if this is related, I did a video talking about how certain gen alpha code words actually have harmful undertones. And it's been shared widely, like on WhatsApp groups by moms in schools. People are like, oh, wait, I didn't know this. Oh, this has been happening with my nine-year-old. Oh my God, thank you. And so I was wondering why that landed, but it's because I wasn't seeing it as, hey, this is happening. It was, you know, I've noticed this trend or I've noticed this conversation, and I just want to talk about what the implications are. So it's breaking down and make it very mainstream and very conversational and very everyday, that it's not necessarily just siloed to certain people on certain days of the year in certain seasons, but this is something that I can carry with me as a habit because it hasn't been otherwise by a brand ambassador or a or a brand. It's almost been taught to me like, hey, this is part of how you improve the quality of your life. This is a simple habit that if you're not doing it, then how are you how are you pouring into yourself and pouring into the others around you? I don't know if I've made sense. I'm really trying to like study the terrain and study, um, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 30:15

Yeah, I see exactly what you mean. And I think that takes me back to how do you create a movement and sustain a movement. Um, and you know, what what sort of future movements can you can can be driven and the role of corporate ownership or collective goods, right? And for me, in a lot of these conversations, brands have such a big role to play. And we that's when you know the doing well by doing good became really important, is the doing good part could be elevating what you do beyond what your brand is supposed to sell, beyond the products. And I think for me, that's the part that even in the advocacy part, when I talk about my purpose tree and I talk about what I help brands do in terms of bridging the divide between what they say and what they do, is elevating what you have to offer beyond yourself. That's the only way in which you can create an environment in which the pie is bigger and where you can grab more of the pie. And I think that's really important to think about. If Life Boy hadn't actually thought about the fact that they could embed reducing, help a child reach five and reducing child mortality, they would have never been able to really push and capitalize on what this would mean for growing the brand and thinking about developing a program for one billion people and hand washing because it became part intrinsic of the fact that you know selling the brand and saving lives were not in separation from one and another. Yeah, yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_01 31:45

No, I just feel like I don't know. We we need more minds like yours. Um, and I talk about you and Marianne, and I'll say, as somebody who's looking at what brands are doing, um anecdotally, I think to your point, there's so much more that could be done. And I don't know whether the soul and heart of doing well and doing good exists as it did at the time when we were working on Life Boy. I don't see it as boldly and as intentionally as I would like to. And again, I'm speaking anecdotally, don't come for me, brands, but I feel like you brought an intentionality and you continue to do that by making it part of um the home of a brand. They don't feel like they have to bring something else. It's not being othered, it's being integrated. And I just think it needs to be mainstreamed and scaled a lot more. And I feel like sometimes brands overthink it without realizing, to your point, they have so much leverage, so much influence, so much power. Brands influence our habits. Brands influence how we live, how we talk. Every day we see what they're talking about and pitching. And I don't know that that's something that's as mainstream and mainstay anymore. And I think there is time to do some kind of intentional revival of these conversations, which sometimes I think brands feel um they can be overtaken by, for example, now it's TikTok trends and memes and ETC. There's a place for that, but there's a place for the meat and heart and soul of, for example, what Global Handwashing Day is, what Helper Child Reach Five is. I just feel anecdotally, so much more needs to be done. And it's so amazing that people like you are in the space. Just multiply, maybe? Just clone yourselves, you and Marianne. But I don't know if what I've said has made sense with you too, you and Marianne. I just feel like, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:38

And I think Marianne, maybe that's about what you've started talking about is what keeps stakeholders engaged and what keep brands engaged on a cause relevant year after year, right? And I think we shouldn't shy away from profits, you know, and making it relevant to consumers. Because if you know consumers are really looking and saying, well, this brand is doing good for my family, I'm gonna choose this brand because it's an ally in helping my kids have fun washing their hands with the lifeboy bar or you know, the dead or bar? I mean, the point is that that's how you keep the relevance. And and people don't realize that to build a brand, you need to keep that loyalty and and and that love and association to that. So, and that's connected to human connection, to human, um, you know, to to human needs and how you're responding to those. But I mean, what keeps stakeholders engaged and a cause relevant year after year, Marianne?

SPEAKER_00 34:36

It's very tricky, and I I fully hear you, Janet, um, on that people have gone quiet in this space. I think um businesses have got shy, um nervous about speaking out, worried about looking too woke, um, and the political winds have changed. Um, and we're sort of everyone's waiting for them to change back at a global level. Um, but I love that intentionality point. And there are lots of individuals in different companies who are absolutely bought into this agenda of growing with good, we're doing well by doing good. Um, and it's almost like we need that sort of magnet to pull them out and to make sure that they know that there are many others like them. And Miriam talks in her TED talk about being a chief mission officer inside your own organization. And I think allowing people to feel confident, braver, that they can drive things through and that things happen. My experience of working with businesses and brands is that very long-term benefits no longer cut it. Jam today versus jam tomorrow is how they talk about it in investment terms. But I think it's really important with advocacy, with social impact, that you have short-term and long-term goals so that you can see that something's happening and people can appreciate it rather than just waiting around for something big to happen in five years' time. I don't think people are thinking like that. It's the TikTok era, things, you know, return on investment needs to happen much, much quicker. Um, but it is about creating a legacy, it's about creating brands with a good legacy. Um, and I think appealing to people's sense of the brand equity and the memory structure that they're building for their brand is is how to think about it. But there's no doubt it's got harder to stand out and it's harder to do, to do it to act with purpose and to do things with a social impact.

SPEAKER_02 36:29

So between the three of us, we're going to rewrite the playbook for the next generation of advocacy days. So let's agree together what are the three golden rules? What are the three golden rules? And I think, you know, because I'm sure there are people listening to us right now that are thinking, I want to create the international day of, I mean, most international days have kind of been created, but I'm sure there's an international day that's coming up on responsible gaming or something like this. I'm not sure. Maybe it exists already, I don't know. But um, you know, I I'm just thinking the, you know, like what are the three golden rules?

SPEAKER_00 37:08

Shall I go?

SPEAKER_02 37:09

Yeah, go, go, go, go. While Janet is thinking of another rule. So we can we can agree together and create the playbook and get it out there, you know, because that's how we do it. Live, live playbook creation.

SPEAKER_00 37:22

So, number one for me is those big, bold, clear objectives at the outset that all of the partners agree on. I think without that, it's it's a day. It's it hasn't got a point to it. Um, the second one for me is really what Janet said. You need to stand out, it needs to be visible, it needs to be fun, it needs to be creative. And and I also think it needs to be inclusive. I think everyone has to be invited. It can't be a closed door type um activation. This is about really getting people behind something bigger than them.

SPEAKER_01 37:56

I mean, Marion has listed the golden.

SPEAKER_02 38:00

Shall we just take Marion her playbook and agree? Because I've struggled to come up with better than those. Yeah, I'm starting to think and think, and I'm like, well, actually, that kind of encompasses it all.

SPEAKER_01 38:11

She's captured it really well. Yeah. And I think especially that one of you're making it fun, making it relatable, not making it seem like it's so outside of what somebody does or what people do. Otherwise, they begin to feel, again, to her third rule, excluded. So I think making it inclusive, communicating it in a way that doesn't look like you're communicating, talking at, you know, it's just about having a conversation with. That is something that I'm seeing more and more. Those are things that don't change. I think Marian again has mentioned really well what brands are beginning to shy away from. You're finding it in voices every day of people who are coming in to say, well, I'm not going to shy away from this. But I think the brands again have the biggest leverage and influence. And hopefully, as they're getting back to being bold and unafraid, there's still certain voices and platforms that are not afraid to be inclusive, not afraid to communicate and integrate fun, uh relatable sort of like communication. And then just live, live out your mission. You know, nobody can take away your purpose and your mission. And it doesn't mean you wake up wearing a cape to say, I'm living out my mission today. Chief mission office. Hey. Listen, that's my title. I own it. But I think you're an example of somebody who lives their mission every day. For you, it's, you know, being on a stage in front of millions. No pressure, Miriam. For Marion, it's coming up with, you know, messaging that reaches millions. Um, for somebody else, it could just be the way they have a conversation with their partner or their friend or in the workplace. It could be an activity they do that and you know that enhances or amplifies what this life mission is. Just make it your everyday mission in the smallest ways and biggest ways. And if you make it part of your lifestyle, people are looking at you thinking, okay, this isn't so far-fetched. They're living it. I may not be able to live it to that degree, but seeing them live out with purpose and mission every day gives me permission to do it in some way. And I think that's making it an everyday, you know, habit.

SPEAKER_02 40:15

This has been fabulous. Thank you so much, Marianne and Janet, for joining me and for all the work you've done to make this day and its impact and what it is today. Global Hand Washing Day is alive because of the two of you and because of millions around the world. And I think that's absolutely fabulous. Um, so I hope that um those that have listened today have taken some taken some lessons on what it takes to actually drive and um advocacy, but to also drive meaning to key issues around this world and how you actually create a movement. So if you've enjoyed this episode, follow sex, soap, and alcohol on your favorite listening platform. Share your thoughts, give us a five-star rating, and tell a friend. I'm Professor Miriam Sidibe. And this podcast is brought to you by Brands on a Mission, helping organizations achieve social impact and business growth for purpose. Head over to brandsonamission.com to learn more about our work.

SPEAKER_00 41:15

I am Marianne, and I'm on a mission to use persuasive communication to change behaviors at scale.

SPEAKER_01 41:24

I'm Janet, and I'm on a mission to communicate every day that you can live out a meaningful life and invite others to do the same.