Background Information
The City of Fort Worth Environmental Management Department had not participated in any consumer outreach for the past three years regarding residential recycling. The City needed a marketing campaign to re-energize and inform residents about the benefits of recycling and encourage them to recycle their approved household waste.
Target Audience
Our messaging needed to resonate with the 700,000 City of Fort Worth residents, with specific focus placed on 40,000 homes with the worst contamination in recycling efforts defined by zip code.
Objectives
Ignite It Group proposed a mixed media campaign designed to emanate positive response from the diverse city residential audience. The two pronged marketing campaign would:
- Encourage residential recycling
- Reduce the quantity of incorrect materials placed in residential recycling bins
This campaign needed to reach as many of their residents as possible with an effective message on a limited budget.
Challenges
The two most prevalent challenges to overcome in this campaign development were:
- How to communicate this environmentally important message to a broad spectrum of residents
- Secure the buy-in of the homeowners to take action as desired by the client
This campaign needed to achieve desired objectives and overcome challenges within the limited budget.
Methods and Strategies
Ignite It Group's difference in marketing resides in our research efforts in conjunction with traditional graphic design. With the challenge presented by the City of Fort Worth, our research included analysis of prior marketing components targeting recycling efforts, and then subsequent concentrated focus on who the primary action takers are within the households who would promote and continue to take action on the message.
Perhaps surprisingly, the research indicated that elementary age youth are high responders and family influencers to this type of action. Ignite it Group worked alongside the City of Fort Worth to prepare and produce materials for 200 school presentations as part of the Neighborhood Education and Outreach Division's co-sponsorship of the recycling efforts. The youth education flyer we produced served as a take-home piece for youth to share with their families in support of Recycling Right, the identified theme of the campaign.
We also felt it important to add a human element to the campaign, and created a personality with the Blue Crew. The Blue Crew consists of City of Fort Worth employees who are responsible for house by house monitoring of the recycling bins. These employees are seen frequently in neighborhoods and now have a team moniker associated with their recycling responsibilities.
The following pieces were developed for the Recycle Right campaign, produced both in English and Spanish for maximum comprehension by the 700,000 citizens.
Take a look at the City of Fort Worth Recycle Right campaign components below. Click on the image for a quick preview, or click the blue link to visit that page.
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Campaign Theme and Logo - Recycle Right! Used in various pieces of artwork throughout the campaign. |
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Postcards Postcards, aptly named "Report Cards", were developed for a quarterly direct mail drop. The cards, printed on recycled cardstock, feature the recycling message, a reminder from the mascots of the campaign, The Blue Crew, and a report back to the citizens presenting the quarterly audit information on how the recycling program is working. Two of four scheduled cards have been produced. |
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Youth Flyer Developed specifically for elementary aged students, this vibrant flyer serves as a reminder for correct recycling. Also printed on recycled paper stock for message consistancy. |
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Billboard Positioned centrally for the targeted audience, this billboard reiterates the Recycle Right message. |
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Ad Three advertorials designed to resemble news articles, were developed and placed in Fort Worth major newspapers including The Star Telegram, Fort Worth Black News, and La Vida. |
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Water Bill Insert Piggybacking on other City services, this specifically formatted print piece for insertion in City water bills was a budget friendly piece reinforcing the recycling message. Delivery was to all residents in the City receiving water service. |
Additional marketing pieces still in progress:
- Recycling bin hang tags – Leave behind printed collateral providing instant feedback on recycling container materials to residents
- Blue Crew life size two-dimensional cut-outs – Featuring photos of actual team members for use at press presentations and informational speaking engagements
- Art work for heat stamping residential recycling bins - Designed to provide visual cues as to what household waste is acceptable in the Cities’ recycling bins
Results
As a result of mixed media campaign, The City of Fort Worth Environmental Management Department saw a 9% decrease in contamination of residential recycling materials attributed directly to the first quarter timing of the campaign message. This percentage of reduction has been heralded as an outstanding result as compared to similar size populations across the nation. "We couldn't be more pleased with the residential recycling results we experienced through the efforts of Ignite It Group," commented Diane Covey, City of Fort Worth Communications Director. "We are anxious to see the ongoing results of this campaign."