Challenging the forcefield: Crafting entertainment-education transmedia campaigns

Abstract

To promote gender-transformative social change, UNICEF partnered with BBC Media Action to develop a transmedia intervention anchored by a 78-episode entertainment-education (EE) television program, AdhaFULL. An accompanying radio show, Full on Nikki, used real-life role models, celebrities, experts, and music to reflect the same topics as the television show, creating a link between fiction and reality. An android phone game app, Nugget, personified the pressure points in an adolescent's life, turning them into a game. An interpersonal communication toolkit for rural and media dark audiences provided a version of AdhaFULL for viewer clubs. Ten graphic novels and an activity book in the toolkit built life skills to negotiate gender issues. A social media campaign #BigdiHuiLadki/Ladka (#BHL) directly engaged youth audiences in sharing their stories of challenging gender norms. The chapter discusses challenges and learnings from implementing a transmedia entertainment-education campaign in a complex media landscape.