INFORMING, CHANGING BEHAVIOUR, BUILDING BRAND LOYALTY

CREATING BRAND ACTIVISTS

Animal agriculture’s demands on fresh water, land, fuel and other resources are far higher than the production of plant protein. “The more that this is highlighted, the more the human consciousness as a whole will understand the need to minimise the impact we humans are inflicting on the environment,” says Wally Fry, co-founder of the Fry Family Food Co.

Fry’s tasked us with developing an impactful brand activation to take place around Earth Day, a time when globally people show their support for environmental responsibility examples.

The aim was to show South Africans that eating a vegetarian diet, even for only one day, can help save our planet.

Interest in vegan, vegetarian and flexitarian lifestyles is higher than ever in South Africa – a recent report showed that South African Google searches for “vegan” ranked 14th highest in the world.

The interest was there, the timing was right … we just needed to help convert that interest into a decision.

dotGOOD researched and developed a campaign that demonstrated the volume of trees, water and carbon emissions that could be saved by cutting out meat for just one day. We brought the message to life by dressing up actors in polar bear and penguin suits. These characters participated in “pickets” at intersections during rush hour traffic, where their placards carried information on the impact of global warming. These were fun activations that got a serious, important message across in an accessible way. they took place in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban during the week leading up to Earth Day.

To ensure our message reached a receptive audience likely to change behaviour if equipped with the facts, dotGOOD negotiated a strategic partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature in South Africa (WWF-SA). Both WWF-SA and Fry’s social media platforms were used to spark conversations around topics like why it’s better to be a vegan in a car than a meat eater on a bicycle.

The partnership enabled Fry’s to add value to WWF’s Earth Guardians Programme, which rewards its 10 000 regular donors through a discount coupon. The Fry’s coupon was accompanied by information about animal agriculture and the impact donors could have if they would #SwapTheMeat for one day.

Both aspects of the campaign drove and landed Fry’s message, while creating an emotional connection with the brand.