'60% of this pack is rubbish'

Background

Fuji Xerox relaunch Greenwrap, their 60% recycled paper, every year. Not surprisingly, the people who receive the ‘annual’ DM piece tend to feel they’ve heard it all before. MercerBell needed to break through their lack of interest despite there being very little new to tell them. In addition, because of the mandatory inclusion of a paper sample, they were restricted to the same components as previous campaigns - an envelope, letter and folder containing paper specs and a sample.

Idea

MercerBell decided to move away from 'guilting' consumers into using recycled paper and instead created a piece that was eye-catching, yet simple, and would make sure that Greenwrap stayed top of mind when it came to choosing a recycled paper. Building the entire artwork as a collage of recycled materials was just the start of communicating that ‘60% of the pack was rubbish’. The real trick came through some paper engineering that turned the folder - guaranteed otherwise to be consigned to the desk drawer - into something reusable, and a constant reminder: a Greenwrap recycling bin.

Results

Overall sales rose 67% in three months. New business orders for the three-month period represented the largest surge in new business activity since the 1999 Greenwrap campaign. Anecdotal feedback on the bin was also extremely positive.

Target Audience

Office administrators and managers, predominantly female. The audience is generally cynical regarding recycled paper, believing it compromises quality. They are hard to impress and already have regular suppliers.

Size

10,000 packs

Our Thoughts

I suspect we’re all going to see a lot more of this sort of work soon, as environmental issues become of more pressing concern. The neat part of the mailshot is how you can turn it into a recycling bin.