Yellow Pages launches environmental cause related marketing campaign - 25 October 2002
Yellow Pages has launched a unique cause related marketing campaign – the Yellow Woods Challenge - that links Yellow Pages recycling with educating young people on the environment alongside fundraising for the Woodland Trust, the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity.Up to 1,000 schools across the UK will take on the Yellow Woods Challenge in its first year. Schools will be rewarded with environmental education materials and cash prizes and for every pound awarded to schools in prize money, a pound will be donated to the Woodland Trust to help keep native woodland alive.
Developed in consultation with environmental organisations, local authorities, teachers, children and the Woodland Trust, the Challenge is led by ‘Kirk’, a cartoon character created to make the Challenge fun for children. Kirk is a tiny woodland creature that recycles leaf litter and features in all the campaign’s promotional and educational materials.
Susan Irwin, head of public relations at Yell, the publisher of Yellow Pages, said: “The Yellow Woods Challenge takes a novel approach to cause related marketing as the aim is not to increase product sales, but to boost product recycling. Instead of buying products or collecting tokens, children simply collect old Yellow Pages directories and bring them to school for recycling.”
In return, all schools will receive a ‘Teacher’s Toolkit’ containing posters and an activity pack to bring the Challenge to life by educating children about the environment and woodland. The pack has been researched with teachers and curriculum bodies and developed in accordance with the ISBA/Consumers’ Association best practice principles on commercial activities in schools.
Schools compete with each other to win cash prizes for collecting the most old directories per pupil and can win up to £2000 to improve their school’s environment. They can also win woodland certificates, videos, CD-Roms and tree dedications. Schools can enter the optional Yellow Pages Sculpture Competition and win computer equipment for building the best work of art out of old directories.
Yellow Woods Challenges are being organised across the UK by local councils and environmental organisations working with Yellow Pages and its Directory Recycling Scheme. 50 local councils will organise Challenges between now and August 2003 and will be supported with financial grants from The Directory Recycling Scheme.
Karl Mitchell, Woodland Trust director of fundraising said: “The Yellow Woods Challenge represents a great deal for the environment. By educating schools and children and encouraging them to recycle their old Yellow Pages, we are not only reducing our impact on the environment, but UK woodland will also benefit via the money donated from Yellow Pages to the Woodland Trust.”
