Research made in 2007 revealed that fast food litter is one of England’s biggest litter problems, with 24% of streets being strewn with fast food. The 18-24-year-old males are the most likely to drop food litter and issues around hygiene and desirability are very important to them. Through the campaign Keep Britain Tidy likened litter droppers to pigs to show this audience how others see them. They also wanted to show that fast food outlets had a part to play in reducing litter. For the media campaign, they monitored the most littered brands on our streets and publicly named and shamed the organisations behind them.
The campaign reflects Keep Britain Tidy’s corporate social responsibility strategy. As an environmental charity, their aim is to improve the quality of local environments and tackle acts of anti-social behaviour that affect them. This includes – amongst others – littering, graffiti, flyposting and dog fouling. They are committed to being a good corporate citizen and aspire to embody the principles of respect for others and the environment in everything that they do. They believe that their activities deliver positive benefits to people and the places in which they live, work and visit. The food on the go litter campaign communicates the message to dispose of fast food litter in the bin. By conveying this message and bringing about a change in behaviour and raising awareness of the issue, they are working towards the aim of improving local environments for those using them. Their corporate strapline is ‘Working together for cleaner, greener places’. Throughout the campaign, they worked in partnership with local authorities to ensure its reach was both national and regional, therefore reaching as wide an audience as possible.
The principal public audience was Keep Britain Tidy’s ‘Am I bothered’ segment – which is young males, aged 18-24, who live in England, and have a complete disregard for the consequences of dropping litter. The message was that littering labels you as a dirty person and to dispose of your fast food litter in the bin. The target audience is deeply concerned with issues surrounding sexual desirability and are embarrassed if other people think they are dirty or unhygienic. Therefore, the strapline ‘What does dropping litter make you look like?’ used alongside the image of a pig has a significant impact on this image-conscious age group. Through the media they targeted fast food manufacturers/retailers by monitoring the most littered brands on our streets, and naming and shaming the organisations. They wrote to the chief executives of each of these companies with a list of initiatives for reducing litter.
The campaign has been highly successful. In terms of short-term success, it gave them immediate correlation between the campaign and the impact of litter as it brought about a 31% reduction in litter at survey sites. The annual Local Environment Quality Survey of England (LEQSE) will give a wider picture of the campaign’s long-term impact on food litter. The campaign messaging was well understood, with 45% of respondents saying they thought the key message was ‘Don’t drop litter’, 23% interpreted it as being ‘Put your litter in the bin’ and 65% said that if you ‘Drop litter it makes you look like a pig’. Contacting both Greggs and McDonald’s Chief Executives by letter was also highly fruitful, with the companies responding with long-terms strategies to reduce litter. Greggs is changing its packaging messaging and is holding Big Tidy Up clean up events across England, whilst McDonald’s has improved litter cleansing outside its stores.
What’s more, the campaign PR launch event in London generated media coverage worth £6.8 million, and reached an audience of 122 million people worldwide. They were featured on national television, including BBC Breakfast and BBC Newsround, and their story made page leads in five national newspapers and regional and commercial radio stations.
Agency budget (creative, design, artwork) – £72,935
Advertising space – £159,404
Printing/production – £2,689
Media – £2,000 was spent on a PR launch event in London.
Total budget – £238,000