The City of Buffalo came to Block Club to develop a brand strategy and campaign to increase the city’s recycling rate—their goal: exceed the national average of 34 percent. To do this, we needed to educate the City’s residents of the misconceptions surrounding recycling—what items can be recycled, what should be thrown out, and what to do with specialty items. We named the initiative “34 and More,” referring to the aspiration of the city’s goal.
From there, we developed a system of conversational headlines and illustrated icons to answer common questions residents have about the disposal of their items. These were installed in a variety of collateral applications, including a series of strategically placed ads and billboards around the city.
A comprehensive social media strategy adds campaign impressions across these (and other) platforms, including guerilla-style street and sidewalk stencils (using eco-friendly chalk paint), and garbage truck wrapping.
All of these messages direct to an innovative website built with intuitive functionality, where users can ask in everyday language how to dispose of their items, get collection schedules based on their address, and learn of citywide events.
This approach uses a full spectrum of marketing methods and simple, interactive tools to help residents reach the city’s recycling goal in an innovative, eye-catching way.
