Results

Lane County Waste Management “Less is Best” campaign

The Ulum Group was retained in August 2002 to conduct a year-long, countywide waste reduction campaign. Working on a shoestring budget, we decided to create three “mini-campaigns” under the umbrella of the larger Less is Best campaign. These mini-campaigns allowed us to see immediate results, focus on earned media rather than advertising, and educate the public on various ways to reduce waste — in very tangible ways. This approach also increased the chances that some aspect of the campaign would resonate with different citizens.

Goals:

Reduce the amount of waste going into the landfill.

Increase awareness of waste reduction and reuse opportunities.

Launch

A telephone survey of Lane County households was conducted to establish a baseline of public awareness and perceptions regarding waste management, as well as “motivating factors” related to behaviors.

The campaign kicked off in November 2002 at an event at Short Mountain Landfill. The focus of the kick-off was to unveil the campaign theme and logo and explain the upcoming mini-campaigns. The kick-off received prominent news media coverage.

Campaign

Phase I: Re-use Holiday Cards
The first mini-campaign encouraged the public to drop off holiday cards at business sites around the community. The cards were then collected by volunteers and delivered to St. Jude’s Ranch for Children, a nonprofit agency that reuses the cards.
- Results:
  - Collected one ton of used holiday cards.
  - Generated widespread positive mass media coverage as well as articles in numerous customer and employee newsletters.

Phase II: “Take the Pledge” to Reduce Waste
The second mini-campaign focused on ways to reduce waste in your everyday life. With a limited budget, we kept this phase low-key, focusing on earned media and word of mouth and using community events as a vehicle to distribute information. Highlights included:
- Results:
  - Received 325 completed Pledge forms and distributed waste reduction tips magnets in return.
  - Distributed 250 Less is Best cloth grocery bags and 250 Less is Best reusable coffee mugs at community events.
  - Received positive media coverage in Register-Guard and customer newsletters.

Phase III: Reduce Junk Mail
This third and final mini-campaign focused on reducing junk mail and educating the public on how to remove their names from junk mail lists. We wanted to end with a “bang,” so much of our budget was dedicated to promoting this mini-campaign through advertising. Instructions on how to remove a name from junk mail lists were included in a revised junk mail brochure and print ads. (A direct mail piece was considered and, while it would likely have been successful, was deemed inconsistent with the spirit of the campaign.) Citizens were instructed to mail in postcards, letters and clipped ad forms with a written request to remove their name from junk mail lists. These requests were collected and mailed to the Direct Marketing Association where they will be processed.
- Results:
  - Received 3,500 requests from citizens to remove their name from junk mail lists.
  - Received widespread positive mass media coverage as well as articles in employee and customer newsletters.

Conclusion

On a relatively small marketing communications budget, The Ulum Group and Lane County Waste Management researched, planned, executed and measured a public education campaign that successfully reduced the amount of waste going into the landfill in the short term, and increased awareness of waste reduction and reuse opportunities to slow the growth of the landfill in the long term. A final survey showed that one-third of respondents recalled the “Less is Best” theme, and 55 percent recalled the junk mail reduction campaign.

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