Direct mail case study: You eat one credit card a week

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Singapore sent out a direct mailer to influencers and journalists, business leaders and government officials as part of its recent “Your Plastic Diet” campaign, which aims to raise awareness about the amount of plastic individuals are consuming on a weekly basis.

Each audience received what appeared to be a credit card from WWF that was environmentally friendly, made from recycled paper and printed on suitable ink.  Upon closer inspection, the credit card revealed a folded-out brochure indicating key information on the severity of the plastics crisis, and a personalised call-to-action, inviting each of the three demographics to take part in the solution.

Influencers were asked to post on  their channels about the campaign, including light-hearted footage of them pretending to “eat” the credit card they had received. Business leaders and government officials were provided with the contact details of relevant WWF staff members who could tell them more about WWF’s proposed solutions for businesses and government.

All users were directed to a campaign website (yourplasticdiet.org) where, among other things, they were invited to take part in an online petition that WWF will use to convince leaders and decision makers worldwide to carry out the necessary action to tackle plastic pollution.

The campaign is currently running worldwide across television, digital and outdoor media in more than 40 countries and Grey Malaysia was involved in the campaign.

“Your Plastic Diet” was based on a study commissioned by WWF called “No Plastic in Nature: Assessing Plastic Ingestion from Nature to People”. Carried out by the University of Newcastle, Australia, the study found that consumers could be consuming on average five grams of plastic a week, which is the same weight as a credit card.

To ensure the message hit the hearts and stomachs of people, Grey Malaysia worked with WWF Singapore to create a compelling multi- channel campaign using easily recognisable plastic items to help people understand in very simple terms just how much plastic they could be ingesting. The campaign included a website featuring a digital calculator that estimates exactly how much plastic you consume in a week based on a few key consumption habits.

Objective

Drive political leadership on tackling plastic pollution by creating popular support for WWF’s call for a global legally binding treaty on the issue.

Target audience

General audience, media, influencers, business leaders and government officials.

Results

Influencers, government ministers and business leaders worldwide have been proactively contacting WWF to get involved. More than 700,000 individuals globally have also joined the campaign.

The writer is Michael Alexander, regional campaigns manager, WWF Singapore.

The Direct Mail Case Study is brought to you by Marketing Magazine in association with SingPost.