Reduce, Reuse, Rethink Your Habits
The City and County of Denver’s Office of Climate Action Sustainability and Resiliency (CASR) partnered with us to understand, digest, and respond to the perceptions Denverites have about the circular economy. Do they know what the circular economy is? Do they understand that waste habit changes go beyond recycling? Do they even care?
These were just a few of the questions I needed to ask myself before my partner and I embarked on a journey with our city and its residents to create a campaign with enough education and impact to change the way Denverites think about waste.
let's Ask Our Peers Directly
We worked together with CASR to develop a survey, poll the public, and learn more about who we were targeting. After analyzing the results, I developed four unique personas for us and the City to reference as we developed creative.
The Next Right Choice
I then developed messaging platforms to get the client on board with a tone and voice appropriate for our target audience. They went with platform two, which informed the following manifesto to be a guiding light for the rest of the campaign:
What does Denver need?
It’s a daunting question — what does the very place we call home need to survive? And what can we do to make sure it gets it?
You may already be on the right track:
Every time you grab a tote over a plastic bag at the grocery store.
Every time you re-fill your Nalgene instead of sipping a Smartwater.
Every time you head to Goodwill for a fashion fix.
Every time you grab a tote over a plastic bag at the grocery store.
Every time you re-fill your Nalgene instead of sipping a Smartwater.
Every time you head to Goodwill for a fashion fix.
Every time you make the right choice — small steps make a big difference in the fight for zero waste.
It’s a lot to ask.
Reducing your trash. Reusing items. Recycling correctly.
We get it.
But it doesn’t have to be hard.
Reducing your trash. Reusing items. Recycling correctly.
We get it.
But it doesn’t have to be hard.
With a little bit more guidance and a whole lot of action,
the answer to the above question is quite simple.
Right now, what Denver needs … is you.
the answer to the above question is quite simple.
Right now, what Denver needs … is you.
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It's all About Rethinking our habits and looking beyond the bin
After dissecting the research findings, understanding the public’s preference for visuals, and consulting CASR, the final decision-maker, we developed a campaign. The final mock-ups were full of tips and tricks for Denverites to make simple adjustments to their habits and become more zero-waste-focused. The simplicity of the visuals and messaging was key. The concept focuses on helping Denverites make easy, small adjustments — even if it’s small, you’re making a big difference.
The ads successfully break down barriers and provide Denverites with educational tools to make adjustments to their life and also understand the benefits zero waste has on their local economy and natural surroundings.
