Can you use the marketing tactics of big business to change people’s minds about environmental issues? Fran Crowe, an artist and environmental activist, thinks so. She is combining her knowledge gained as a senior buyer at retailer Tesco with her training as an artist to open peoples’ eyes to the problem of plastic waste. Ultimately she is challenging businesses to use less plastic and consumers to dispose of it more thoughtfully.

Fran lives in the county of Suffolk on the east coast of England (click here and here to see some views). She enjoys walking on her local beach, but too often, her visits are spoiled by the trash. The receding tide leaves the sand and pebble beaches of Suffolk littered with plastic bottles, discarded toys, packing materials, syringes and worse.

Most people just see the trash.  Fran sees an opportunity to create publicity and highlight the problem more widely.

As part of her “46,000 Challenge” – so called because there are reported to be 46,000 pieces of plastic litter per square mile of ocean worldwide - Fran collects the trash, packages it, and, in exchange for a donation to the Marine Conservation Society, gives it to tourists as a memento of their visit. The labels on Fran’s packets of trash read:

A PRESENT FROM THORPENESS
100% Unique
Hand picked especially for you
Made by man, fashioned by nature

So a visitor to Thorpeness might leave as the proud owner of a sea-worn piece of plastic that mimics a piece of seaweed, or a piece of packing-case tape that looks like a party ribbon. Fran has also held successful shows in East Anglia featuring her original exhibits made entirely from wave-worn debris. Her displays, either organized in groups or packaged for gift-giving, look more like cosmetics or fashion jewelry than trash.

At first hearing this idea may sound crazy, but in reality I think it is a great example of event marketing, for three reasons. First, it’s well branded. The concept of the event is intrinsically linked to the issue which it is intended to promote.  Second, the concept is humorous, different and engaging. Third, it keeps the memory of a day at the beach alive for the beach visitor in the form of the memento.

While marketers might learn a thing or two about engagement from Fran’s activities, they may also care to think about what the trash says about their brands. Take, for instance, the example of the crisp (chip) packets still found on the shore more than thirty years after they were thrown away. And what of the Heinz Ketchup bottles found near the seaside town of Aldeburgh?

Yes, the source of this collection is probably the local fish and chip shop, but it drives home the point that many companies seeking to go “green” today have already left a plastic legacy that will blight the beaches and countryside for many years to come. Perhaps they might consider sponsoring Fran and her friends to clean up after them?

Fran intends to franchise the “A Present From…” idea to other counties and organizations in exchange for further donations to the Marine Conservation Society. So what do you think? Will Fran’s campaign sweep the beaches clean or is it destined to be a washout?Š

Tags: Millward Brown, Nigel Hollis, Fran Crowe, Thorpeness, beaches of Suffolk, litter, trash, environmental degradation

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 6th, 2007 at 11:25 am and is filed under Media, Other. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Print this Page