Most sustainable trophies ever? The Drum will plant one tree to honour each Marketing Can Change World Award winner
The Drum is putting its money where its mouth is and will plant a fruit tree for every category winner of the Marketing Can Change the World awards on 10 November as part of a partnership with Trees for Cities. The result? A Drum orchard.
The Drum and Trees for Cities
Not only will winners go home with an award, but they will also get a tree named after them. A total of 20 trees will be planted for each category of the awards. On the evening of the awards, a virtual orchard will be created to represent a tangible result of The Drum’s do good initiative.
The partnership with Trees for Cities, an organisation bringing green spaces to urban areas, marks The Drum’s continued support to combat deforestation and compliments its joint project with Dennis Publishing and the Heart of England Forest to plant 15,000 trees in a day as part of its global Do It Day event.
The deforestation of the UK should not be underestimated. According to reports, the UK is one of the least wooded areas of Europe. Planting trees in urban areas has many benefits, such as tackling air pollution by producing clean air, reducing urban flooding, masking noise, as well as environmental-related and ecological benefits.
The planting of the orchard also increases community engagement, by drawing on local schools and communities to help plant the trees, maintain them and use the fruit.
“Access to nature is important to us,” said Trees for Cities chief executive David Elliott.
Elliott is looking forward to tapping into The Drum’s marketing ability and global audience to raise the brand profile of Trees for Cities, which he admitted has felt challenged by low brand awareness.
The Drum’s editor-in-chief Gordon Young said the partnership is the perfect way to align The Drum’s philanthropic identity to a strong environmental movement, that at the end of it has a tangible result.
"The Drum’s strapline is ‘Marketing Can Change the World’ and through this partnership we are truly showing we mean what we say it. By planting an orchard we are leaving behind a legacy that will show our commitment to forestry for years to come. Our strategy is coming to fruition," Young said.