999 launches London borough recycling campaign
A domestic recycling campaign created for Tower Hamlets Council has been launched across the East London borough with visual identity and communications materials produced by 999.
The ‘We Can Recycle More’ campaign, aims to improve Tower Hamlets’ residential recycling rate from 14% to 19% in 2008/09.
Tower Hamlets Council appointed 999’s London office to develop the brand framework for the campaign in June following a competitive creative pitch.
A call to action, the campaign will adopt a two-pronged approach geared at raising awareness of the importance of recycling and educating the local community on how to use the borough’s recycling services.
A key part of the brief involved the campaign strapline, which Tower Hamlets Council insisted must be flexible enough to work across multiple initiatives as the campaign progresses. From this, 999 came up with the core ‘We Can’ message, which can be adapted to embrace related issues - such as keeping healthy, keeping safe and keeping the environment clean – with minimal adaptation.
The campaign launched with a giant robot display. At 6m tall, the giant robot - which is made of recycling bins and rubbish – is higher than a double-decker bus and will tour the streets as the council’s ambassador for recycling as well as visiting community days in residential areas and estates.
In support of this, 999 has been responsible for building an integrated, through-the-line media programme which will feature banners on schools and other buildings, advertising on council vehicles and in the press, direct mail and various promotional material.
Additionally, 999 visited local community projects to identify real life recycling champions whose faces will appear on hundreds of billboards and buses throughout the borough.
Tower Hamlets is among the lowest recycling authorities in the UK and the challenge faced by the borough is significant given its multi-cultural community and the nature of its housing stock type, which is predominantly high rise.
However, the council is determined to tackle this head on and get the whole community involved in recycling more having set ambitious recycling targets of 26% by 2009/10 and 32% by the end of 2010/11.
As such, new services have been introduced in the borough – green and food waste recycling – as well as an army of litter pickers who will sort recyclable litter at the point they collect it.
999 has also contributed by ensuring that its designs and campaign messaging easily work in Bengali translation.