| Title | RETURN TO SENDER |
| Brand | PUBLIC EYE |
| Product/Service | HUMAN RIGHTS |
| Category |
C01. Use of Digital in a PR campaign |
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Entrant
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PUBLIC EYE Zürich, SWITZERLAND
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Idea Creation
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PUBLIC EYE Zürich, SWITZERLAND
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Media Placement
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PUBLIC EYE Zürich, SWITZERLAND
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PR
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PUBLIC EYE Zürich, SWITZERLAND
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Credits
| Samuel Textor |
Freundliche Grüsse |
Creative Direction |
| Pascal Deville |
Freundliche Grüsse |
Creative Direction |
| David Elmiger |
Freundliche Grüsse |
Copyright/Concept |
| Res Matthys |
Freundliche Grüsse |
Copyright/Concept |
| Alain Aebersold |
Freundliche Grüsse |
Art Direction |
| Patrick Biner |
Freundliche Grüsse |
Consultant |
| Stefanie Schmid |
Freundliche Grüsse |
Consultant |
| Nadine Mojado |
Freundliche Grüsse |
Design |
| Sean Dünki |
Freundliche Grüsse |
Design |
| Erwan Eydt |
Freundliche Grüsse |
Programming |
| Alexander Meier |
Meier Production |
Film direction & production |
| Derek Stierli |
Meier Production |
Camera |
The Campaign
To show the shocking health impacts dirty diesel has on the African population, Public Eye asked us to do a unique campaign. With the help of activists in Accra, Ghana, we shot a short film showing local people capturing the polluted air into canisters and return it to the sender. As a reaction to the dirty business of Trafigura: We sent the air in a shipping container back to the commodities giant.
Execution
The campaign was implement in 3 phases: Phase 1: awareness, mobilization (14.9. – 25.9.16). Phase 2: engagement, journey (26.9. – 26.10.16). Phase 3: involvement, call to action, event (27.10. – 7.11.16). In phase one, the audience was shown a teaser film with local people capturing the polluted air into canisters and return it to the sender. In phase 2, the journey of the dirty air to Switzerland started and was a public event. Users could follow the cargo ship in real time on the website returntosender.ch, including precise geolocation of the container ship, weather data and progression. The website also contained extensive information about the report. It led to a petition demanding Trafigura to stop their dirty business and focus on their goal of becoming market leader in social responsibility. The hook of Phase 3 was the delivery of the dirty air to the sender, to Trafigura in Geneva.
Output, content response: The petition was signed by almost 20´000 people. Accompanied by the press, the signed canisters and the petition were handed over to Trafigura at their headquarters in Geneva.
Awareness, change of behavior: Public pressure caused by our campaign moved the government of Ghana to toughen its national sulfur standard by a factor of 60. As other West African countries are following, the campaign continues to have impacts on local policymakers and trading companies involved in the traffic of dirty diesel.
Coverage depth: The campaign was covered by major news platforms like The Guardian, The New York Times, Financial Times or BBC and the main national newspapers.
The Situation
The core of this campaign is a striking PR stunt. As Trafigura pollutes the air with dirty diesel in Ghana and other West African countries, we shipped the dirty air back to the sender with the help of African activist. The campaign and the report about dirty diesel were covered by major news platforms like The Guardian, The New York Times and BBC, and countless local news sites and papers. At all points, «Return to Sender» was a highly powerful PR campaign.
The Strategy
Public Eye has a member and donor community of 25´000 people. With the campaign, we addressed urban, well-educated Swiss who want to fight against social inequity. People who care about global justice. The idea was to reach the target audience and to multiply the reach by activating the Public Eye community.
With the campaign, we wanted to create public pressure through the mass media and then through the people, in order to get the involved companies to change their behavior.
We wanted to involve people and to find as many petition supporters as possible.