When you have a brand that stands for among other things ‘the bin men’, what do you do? The status quo in the waste management sector suggested every player was content to settle for that. But the stakeholders (the UK) weren’t. The world is waking up to the idea of waste as a resource. Not to just be thrown away to the detriment of the environment but to be altered and re-engineered back into the fabric of society.
Luckily Veolia Environmental Services had been living up to growing expectations, in practice at least. It was time to re-position them in line with their capabilities: a champion of responsible waste management and a partner of the environment.
Based on extensive research and opinion, IAS developed a campaign to re-engage stakeholders and redefine the brand. ‘Hand in hand with the environment’ used the beautiful hand paintings of Italian artist Guido Daniele to symoblise the part Veolia plays in transforming waste and attitudes, making the point in style.
The client
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.
The 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. Tthe market viewed the brand, ultimately as being reliable waste management (AKA Bin Men).
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 organization’s 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 to the idea of waste as something useless, to the idea of waste as a useful resource.
Our first creative expression of the strategic proposition was the idea ‘Waste management Hand-in-Hand with the environment’
As the market leader in waste management, Veolia must be seen as the voice of the industry – the torchbearer shining a light on key issues, such as man’s impact on the environment. But in the modern B2B landscape, just saying the right things won’t set you apart from the competition. Businesses and consumers demand creativity that creates a positive difference. Creativity has never been the highest point on the agenda of the waste management industry.
To redefine Veolia, our corporate campaign had to be a worthy brand building exercise. We had to raise the industry bar at brand campaign level. ‘A hands-on approach to the environment’ uses beautiful and intriguing images of hands that have been transformed into animals by Italian artist Guido Daniele. They are symbolic of the part Veoila plays in turning valuable waste into re-usable resources, to transform the world in which we live and work.
Objectives
Strategically
Increase brand awareness among UK markets and internally.
Creatively
To demonstrate and educate on the tangible benefits of the part Veolia plays in transforming
waste and attitudes.
Audience
- Public and private sector organizations with waste management requirements
- Members of the public
- Employees and staff
Timescale
September 2009 – ongoing
Budgets
Circa £50,000
Results
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
Client testimonial
“Very simply this is the best body of work we’ve ever done.”
Kevin Hurst, marketing director, Veolia Environmental Services
