The client company
Veolia Environmental Services is the largest UK waste management organisation employing almost 12,500 employees across the spectrum of services in waste management and cleaning.
Strategy
Until 2009 Veolia had managed it’s functional communications effectively but its marketing strategy had really only lived up to the generic view of the industry – Veolia was indistinguishable from its competitors’ brands. But the generic perception didn’t do justice to the reality (in Veolia’s case anyway), nor the changing attitudes in a marketplace looking for a leader on the new issues of waste. The challenge was enormous. But, in light of the fact that every other waste management company seemed content to be the bin men, so was the opportunity. We wanted one marketing and communications strategy to re-engage our stakeholders, redefine our brand and, in one fell swoop, the industry.
Phase one
Who is the market and what do they think of us?
It’s only when you see a market mapped out like this in a Web of Influence that you realise the true scope of your marketing task.
A large marketing and communications effort for practical and brand relationship management was going to be needed for the diverse main stakeholders, Local Authorities and Businesses. But to build the brand as a champion of the new era in waste it was crucial to have a strategy to influence the influencers too. And the 12,500 employees!
Seeking opinion from across the web of influence (and benchmarking for future performance) on the brand as it stood we discovered the gut feeling was right.
Phase two
So who exactly are we and how should we present ourselves?
To make the most of the opportunity at the turning of the attitudinal tide we extracted the organisations impressive credentials and, in accordance, established the future brand positioning. We were about to reposition Veolia in 2009 as the company that Transforms Waste and Attitudes. In longhand that means: Transforming the resource of waste to make it useful to society again AND transforming society’s attitude from the idea of waste as something useless, to the idea of waste as a useful resource.
Objectives
Veolia, post mergers and acquisitions, had poor brand awareness. The objectives were simply to raise it and realign it with capabilities and bring the staff along too.
Audience
- Public and private sector organisations with waste management requirements
- Members of the public
- Employees
Media
One strategy to guide all our brand actions
It’s amazing how much easier it is to make marketing decisions and measure success with pure focus. We made one simple rule for all the wide and complex tactics we had to employ across the Web of Influence in our 2009 marketing communications: whatever we allocated budget to, it needed to help transform waste or attitudes or both.
The Waste Manifesto Launch
Staff/Press/Local Authorities/Businesses
To lead attitudinal change you have to let people know where you stand, dispel myths and open the debate. The Waste Manifesto was a project that let the people of Veolia put forward their stance on all current forms of recycling, energy recovery and disposal. Veolia polled their people on the issues and held up champions from across the organisation to put forward the company’s views. It is white paper level thinking from a world authority that proved to the staff they were capable of leading the industry. The Waste Manifesto then went public to the press and customers at the Futuresource Exhibition – at the stand taken entitled ‘A stand that takes a stand’.
Sponsoring Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Staff/All stakeholders
The sponsorship of the world famous competition for 2009/10, in partnership with the Natural History Museum (NHM), was a considerable investment for Veolia and challenged the group norm of advertising. The sponsorship got the brand associated with the NHM and the BBC raising its profile considerably. It gave staff and their families free, exclusive open days at the museum and photo exhibitions. A real boost for morale that helped build the brand from the inside-out.
Partnering the most innovative recycling company on earth – RecycleBank®
Press/Residents/Local Authorities
Looking for new ways to transform waste, Veolia partnered with Recyclebank who gave them the technology and expertise to weigh recyclates, then reward residents the more they recycle. It’s an extremely successful American idea that Veolia brought here and implemented with contracts in Windsor and Maidenhead. IAS handles the PR for both brands and we hope it will transform attitudes to recycling on whole new level.
Image and attitude transforming corporate communications
Local Authorities/Businesses
Creativity has never been the highest point on the agenda of the waste management industry. To redefine Veolia, our corporate campaigns had to be worthy brand building exercises. We had to raise the industry bar at brand campaign level. The campaign, hand in hand with the environment, used the beautiful hand paintings of Italian artist Guido Daniele to make our point on industry transformation in style.
A website to transform attitudes and communications
All stakeholders
A website that can manage relationships with our Web of Influence will be no mean feat. But it’s an essential part of our vision. Apologies to the jury for not yet having the site live (it’s a big job!), but in Q2 2010 we shall have a web 2.0 website ready to play its role in leading the attitudinal change to waste.
Transforming attitudes to Health and Safety
A strategy that always asks the question, how will this change attitudes? Has been useful in a surprising number of ways. Not least the efforts to keep 12,500 staff, the majority in manual jobs, safe. For the first time we asked not how to keep accident figures down but how to change attitudes to H&S. The antidote to shock campaigns that alienated people was RAE, Veolia’s very own Risk Assessment Expert. By humorously demonstrating every possible way to get hurt at work, he involved the audience and educated them without telling them off! A success RAE has reduced lost time incidents by 27 per cent, saving Veolia £1.5million 2009/10.
Timescale
Early 2009 – ongoing
Results
Recognised for transforming waste and attitudes Ongoing research is essential and, we’re happy to say, continues to prove that a single, powerful strategic focus backed by sustained tactical action gets results.
In 2009/10:
- Overall awareness is up from 62 per cent to 73 per cent
- Brand awareness within Commercial and Government areas was up by 14 per cent, and 17 per cent respectively
- Local Authority awareness has risen from 78 per cent to 84 per cent, with media also increasing by 4 per cent
- Business awareness grew strongly from 68 per cent to 94 per cent
- RAE internal H&S campaign reduced lost time incidents by 27 per cent, saving Veolia £1.5million
Client testimonial
“Very simply this is the best body of work we’ve ever done.” Kevin Hurst, marketing director, Veolia Environmental Services
