Toppr takes on coaching classes, positions itself as a smart alternative that teaches ‘soching’

It’s an emerging trend where edtech companies are trying to replace coaching classes.

Have you ever seen your parent ask your friends or their parents, “Which coaching class do you attend, this one (you) doesn’t study at all…” We’re sure you have because yours certainly experienced it.

For decades, coaching classes have been the most common after-school activity for kids and when they enter classes 8, 9, or 10; the number of coaching classes a student is enrolled at increases exponentially. And these classes leave no stone unturned to advertise themselves on billboards (remember ‘Meet our toppers’) but do they improve a student’s performance and rank?

This question is the underlying theme of edtech company Toppr’s three 20-second ad campaign called, “Better Learning. Better Results.” The scenarios in each of the three ads show parents who’ve taken their kids out of a coaching class and instead got them a Toppr subscription because of the edtech platform’s learning methodology, especially three key sections: Live Classes, Adaptive Practice, and Ask Doubts, solely aimed at encouraging students to understand, reason and question for better learning outcomes.

Zishaan Hayath, CEO and Founder, Toppr said, "Coaching classes are inaccessible to millions of students and by design, they can’t personalise learning for every student. While a handful of better-performing students get to learn from better teachers, others don't have access to the same resources, even though they are enrolled in the same coaching class.

Toppr eliminates all such discrepancies and personalises learning for every single student. We encourage students to understand, reason and question for better learning. And when students start “soching”, better results become the outcome of a better learning process. We are excited to see what conversations our new TV campaign will drive for our students."

Tasneem Ali, Executive Director, Creative, Lowe Lintas said, "Toppr’s three key features, Live Classes, Adaptive Practice and Ask Doubts Anytime help kids to first ace learning. Because only then can exams be aced. This being our guiding philosophy from the very first start, we felt it was time to carry it forward in our advertising.

Thus, we came up with the creative expression of Soching Class, to not only bring alive our emphasis on thinking-based learning but also to encourage parents to shift their kids from one class to another. From a coaching class to a soching class."

“Coaching se nikala. Soching Mein dala,” is a line that is repeated in all three ads. It’s a clear shot at coaching classes as places which stifle the student’s ability to think and instead depend on rote learning.

Our coaching classes spoon feeding culture and copy paste xerox of notes has resulted in a entire with terrible research skills.

— Kunal Shah (@kunalb11) October 7, 2020

For instance, Kunal Shah, founder of CRED tweeted on 7 October, “Our coaching classes spoon feeding culture and copy paste xerox of notes has resulted in a entire with terrible research skills.”

It’s an emerging trend where edtech platforms are positioning themselves as a superior alternative to coaching classes now that the Union Government has permitted the reopening of schools in phases after October 15. Take Toppr’s rival Byju’s whose IPL campaign as actor Shah Rukh Khan pitching Byju’s as a smart choice instead of coaching classes to parents.