Harvard Case Study Examines India Campaign

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, Nov. 21, 2006 — Harvard Business School has published the first of two case studies on an innovative behavior change campaign featuring a fictional character named Balbir Pasha implemented by PSI/India in 2003-2004.

The case study, entitled "PSI India — Will Balbir Pasha Help Fight AIDS? (A)," is described by Harvard Business Online as follows:

"In 2002, Population Services International was committed to curbing the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in India. Sanjay Chaganti, program director of HIV/AIDS at PSI India, has to decide on the best communication strategy to achieve this goal. Up to this date most efforts consisted of on-the-ground efforts by PSI personnel, but Chaganti was considering shifting a significant portion of funds to a provocative mass media advertising campaign. The campaign would feature a fictional character — Balbir Pasha. At one extreme the campaign would impact that target population and lift barriers to safe sex practices. At the other extreme the campaign could be controversial, ineffective, and squander precious resources."

The learning objective of the case study is "to show how marketing actions can induce behavior and attitude change, and how an integrated communication strategy can help overcome barriers to adoption."

The case study notes that "Cases are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management."

The case study can be ordered from Harvard Business School's website.

• Archives