Recycle BC isn’t playing around when it comes to recycling, introducing a new coach to offer up useful tips.
The province’s nonprofit recycling program and Elemental, its longtime agency partner, are introducing “Rick Cycle,” a genial tracksuit-wearing trainer who will motivate people to check out the Recycle BC website and app.
Elemental creative director Scott Fess tells strategy it has used several approaches to engage with residents in the province, from celebrating their actions to pointing out their errors, “and pretty much everything in between.” Admittedly, Fess says, it has had a hard time breaking through the clutter at times and changing behaviours.
“For this campaign, we knew we needed to take a bit more of an innovative approach with how to talk to people, and that’s where we came up with this idea of a ‘material mentor,'” he says.
The idea of a coach was pitched as a longer-term initiative, Fess says, so more mentor-related brand work can be expected.
“We’re hoping to gain a foothold [through him],” he says.
A coach is a friendly, easygoing way to educate people, Fess says, and Recycle BC does campaigns throughout the year – the next effort is typically in the spring. The target spans a large age group of “anyone who recycles,” and while most residents are serious about recycling, there’s a still a segment that isn’t.
In the messaging, Rick Cycle offers support that will “take your recycling game to the next level.” His tips and tricks will be shared across TV, connected TV, in-stream video, pre-roll, Samsung TV Plus, site takeovers, TikTok and Pinterest. The spot directs people to learn more about best-practice recycling on the Recycle website and app, complete with assets.
Cossette Media handled the media buy.
The campaign, a slightly higher spend than in previous years, is live across the province and runs until the end of November.
According to BC Recycle’s latest annual report from 2021, 99.3% of households have access to a recycling program, with brand awareness at 61%. The province is among the top three in Canada when it comes to recycling, and is relatively high in efficiency by North American standards.
