Population Foundation Of India Collaborated With TikTok On Family Planning

National NGO Population Foundation of India has collaborated with TikTok (the short video mobile application) and India Matters in an interesting campaign on family planning.  The name of the campaign is '#CoolNotFool'. The #CoolnotFool campaign on family planning for the young demographic on TikTok has short clips on consent, contraceptive usage and other themes under family planning.

Launched recently, the videos using the campaign hashtag have crossed 499 million views. It is encouraging to note that the engagement is going beyond views and likes – as users are commenting on videos asking for more information on contraceptives, availability and side effects. The most popular video from the campaign is of partners completing a ritual which is over 3, 00,000 views and 7,600 likes.

Talking about PFI’s collaboration with TikTok, Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director, Population Foundation of India, says, “Tiktok has taken over young people’s imagination in India –the platform is being used to showcase their creativity and skills. We looked at the popularity of TikTok as an opportunity to engage with young people on a platform they find cool and fun.”

The short video format is ideal to give out messages in a quick and engaging manner.  “Collaborating with TikTok India on the #coolnotfool campaign helped us understand the TikTok platform and we look forward to further engagements in the future,” adds Muttreja.

National NGO Population Foundation’s presence on the most popular platform for young people enables to engage in important conversations with them. Muttrej says, “Using TikTok as a platform for pro-social messages allows us to reach a large number of young people on the platform, and even outside of it – as videos are often shared in personal WhatsApp networks, and on other social media. The #CoolNotFool campaign resonated with the audience by talking about issues that are often considered taboo, but which are relevant for young people.”

PFI has a long history of using entertainment to shift behaviours and challenging social norms on sexual and reproductive health, and the #CoolNotFool campaign carries that forward. TikTok influencers are also uploading duets and reaction videos with the original campaign videos taking the message forward. The popular app with a short video format (mostly 15 seconds) is a good starting point to inform and equip users with new information.