Title	FRIDGE HACKING
Brand	RECUPEL
Product/Service	RECYCLING
Category	C05. Customer Retail / In-Store Experience
Entrant	DDB Brussels, BELGIUM
Idea Creation	DDB Brussels, BELGIUM
Media Placement	ZIGT MEDIA Zaventem, BELGIUM
Production	MAKE Zaventem, BELGIUM
Post Production	MAKE Zaventem, BELGIUM

Name	Company	Position
Kwint De Meyer	DDB Brussels	Creative Direction
Jan Schoofs	DDB	Copy
Jonas Caluwé	DDB Brussels	Creative
Lennie De Troyer	DDB Brussels	Art Direction
Catherine Hermans	DDB Brussels	Copywriting
Wim Provoost	DDB Brussels	Copywriting
Nicolas De Beauffort	DDB Brussels	Concepting
Yannick Pringels	DDB Brussels	Copywriting
Fiona Boyle	DDB Brussels	Strategy + Connection Planning
Dieter Riemaeker	DDB Brussels	Strategy
Silvie Erzeel	DDB Brussels	Account Management
Alice Simon	DDB Brussels	Account Management
Annelies Schrevens	DDB Brussels	Account Management
Flup Coppens	DDB Brussels	Business Director
Glenn Vanhasselt	DDB Brussels	Design
Sven Verfaille	DDB Brussels	Sven
Sébastien Tirot	DDB Brussels	Design
Joël Kockaert	DDB Brussels	Mac Artist

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

To make people aware of the importance of recycling their fridge, we did not create a TV or print ad. We wanted our audience to engage with our message more subtly, at a relevant moment. Context is everything. Hence, we created our own sauce brand. Recupel engaged with people directly and activated them – every time they opened their refrigerator – to recycle it properly, once it ceased to be. Because of COVID-19, we did not opt for an in-store activation but decided to be present in delivery boxes for a more pleasant and personal experience.

Background

Refrigerators used to contain chemical refrigerants which depleted the ozone layer. Those gasses are now replaced by so-called HFCs. After being carefully removed in the recycling process, these HFCs can be purified for reuse. Unfortunately, many of these chemical refrigerants are released into the atmosphere due to careless recycling. Even though they no longer damage the ozone layer, HFCs now contribute to an even bigger problem: global heating. These gasses have 1,000 to 9,000 times greater capacity to warm the atmosphere than CO2. The pollution created by one badly recycled refrigerator equals the CO2 emissions of driving a car for 7,500 km. In Belgium alone, 200,000 refrigerators are not properly recycled every year, accelerating the warming of our planet. Recupel organises the collection of discarded electro-appliances in Belgium and wanted to address this issue.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

How to raise awareness about some invisible yet extremely harmful chemical? A TV commercial might do the trick, although chances are you are looking for a snack in your fridge when it airs. Radio commercials, posters or banners may leave people cold as well. So, what if we sneaked into your refrigerator with a new medium …? And there it was: Recupel’s own sauce brand. The label on the mayonnaise jar said: “Be mayo-nice for the environment. Do not only recycle this jar but also the refrigerator in which you keep it.” The andalouse sauce had something to say too: “Do not be an andaloser.” Every time people opened their refrigerator – and that is a lot – they were reminded of the importance of bringing their old refrigerator to a recycling partner with the official Recupel label.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Recupel wanted to increase the number of collected refrigerators. To succeed, it aimed to attract more retailers to become official Recupel Collection Points. And for that to happen, Recupel wanted to make people aware of the (importance of) the Recupel quality label. That resulted in a target audience that was too broad. To increase accuracy on social media, we targeted people that see themselves as eco conscious, as well as movers and people who searched for refrigerators and freezers. A lookalike audience was created based on that target group to increase reach. People interacting with a certain ad were then retargeted with similar messages to increase frequency.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

Due to the pandemic, traditional sampling at train stations or cooking events was not possible. We therefore decided to partner with Delhaize, one of Belgium’s biggest retailers. Everyone placing an online order via Delhaize Delivery received a free Recupel sauce jar. The message was reinforced in Delhaize’s monthly magazine, which has an audience of approximately two million people. To broaden the reach, we placed print ads in national newspapers and shared the message online via social media ads. To boost the message even more, we made an online video with Sofie Dumont, a popular Belgian tv chef, who visited a recycling centre together with her daughter. She supported the initiative and shared the video with her audience as well.

List the results (30% of vote)

10,000 sauce jars were sampled in just one week via Delhaize Delivery. The increased awareness about the importance of recycling your refrigerator contributed to a 4% increase in spontaneous awareness for Recupel.