Red Balloon ‘The day Brazil woke up to English’ newspaper direct mail campaign

Brazil is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, but fewer than 5% of Brazilians speak English.

For Brazil to be more competitive in the future, its children need to master English. But, how could Red Balloon, an English school for children, highlight this issue to parents and to opinion-formers?

A piece was created specifically for 132,000 subscribers to the most traditional newspaper in Brazil, the Estado de São Paulo (the equivalent of The New York Times).

On January 31, 2011, back-to-school day, subscribers received the newspaper at their homes with the cover page written entirely in English.

A team of Red Balloon teachers worked around the clock in real time to translate the cover news, using the same content and design as the original front page.

A footer at the bottom of the page explained the idea, reading: 'Didn't get it? Ask your kid for help. Red Balloon. English for kids.'

On that day, calls to Red Balloon increased 150%. In the following week, there was a total increase in the number of enquiries of 65% occurred.

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