A recent study undertaken by Indian advertising industry’s apex body, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), found that the advertisements in the $1.45-billion Indian edtech industry are too marks-oriented, stereotypical and topper-focused, with the tendency to under-represent girls. “Edtech brands are pitching to their audience the fear of failing in exams or scoring low marks. It’s unethical as it leverages the insecurities of parents and students,” says Siddharth Devnani, co-founder and director
of SoCheers.
The government in late 2021 asked such companies to “eliminate unfair trade practices” and extended its support to formulate guidelines that would curb “misleading ads”. Last year, ASCI studied 100 advertisements in the sector across TV, digital and print and concluded that it is time the industry, set to touch $10.2 billion by 2025 with a CAGR of over 27.6%, learnt some hard lessons.
So what can be done to improve the situation?
Honesty is the best policy
The ASCI, in a framework, has proposed a ‘RAISE’ model for future advertisements. This “R” here stands for emphasising the “relationship” of the student with learning; “A” is about ensuring “authenticity” of situations, promises and claims in ads that must display “inclusive” representation of characters in terms of gender and age; maintain a “spectrum” of pedagogy; and ensure that “excellence” markers are not reduced to academic scores.
The industry body has also emphasised the use of better role models, not simply celebrities (who are also mostly male) and using real-life examples to present students with inspirational stories. It has urged companies to focus on subjects other than the “safe and popular” math and science. Says Karthik Srinivasan, an independent communications strategy consultant, “Edtech brands must focus less on conventional outcomes and more on the method, process, and pedagogy. They should consider framing their learning methods and processes as a supplement to formal schooling instead of a replacement. That’s a rather tall order.”
That said, ad industry veterans believe just laying down a roadmap isn’t enough. Samit Sinha, founder and management partner of Alchemist Brand Consulting, says, “We have to accept that edtech companies are driven by commercial motives — if they believe that it is academic performance and high marks that are the demands of the market, then that is what they will promise in their advertising, directly or indirectly.” Adds Srinivasan, “Non-differentiated offerings may lead edtech companies to talk about results/outcomes”.
The bright spot in all this is, edtech companies such as BYJUs and UpGrad have expressed their commitment to ASCI’s proposed advertising framework. Mayank Kumar, chair at the Indian edtech consortium and co-founder of UpGrad, says, “The research shows how the sector can benefit through responsible advertising.” Agrees Divya Gokulnath, co-chair at the edtech consortium and co-founder, BYJU’s, “The ASCI initiative will help us design more responsible and effective ad campaigns.”