In their continued drive to better beer, better communities, and a better world, Carlsberg Brewery Hong Kong has launched their Betterment Campaign with McCann Hong Kong. The campaign focuses on glass bottle recycling. While this is an obvious match with Carlsberg’s business, it also helps address a weak spot in Hong Kong’s recycling ecosystem, where fewer than one third of glass bottles are recycled.
According to Carlsberg Marketing Director Kelvin Cheng, “Betterment is a core principle at Carlsberg. We aim to create a better drinking experience on one hand, and contribute to society one the other.”
At the heart of this integrated campaign, McCann partnered with the recycling tech company Carbon Coin to develop Hong Kong’s very first Bottle Recycling Vending Machine.
Designed completely in-house, the machine doesn’t just make recycling easy and convenient, but also encourages behavioral change by incentivising consumers to recycle with a range of rewards depending on how many bottles are recycled. And in a generous gesture, these Carlsberg-branded Bottle Recycling Vending Machines will take any and all beer brands (although Carlsberg bottles generate more rewards).
McCann Managing Director, Florence Kong, commented “We’re very conscious that Carlsberg isn’t just about growth, but also sustainability. So we decided that we were not only going to help Carlsberg sell bottles of beer, but also help them get those bottles back.”
Expanding out from this initiative, McCann developed a highly integrated campaign utilising a range of tactics to communicate Carlsberg’s spirit of Betterment that includes educational films, social content, and PR. Through these, Carlsberg demonstrates their various approaches to reducing their carbon footprint, such as using greener ink, more durable (and therefore more recyclable) glass bottles, and comprehensive recycling program.
“While it would have been easy to talk about the idea of ‘Betterment’, we felt it was more in the spirit of Carlsberg’s and McCann’s principles to actually do something for the betterment of Hong Kong…” said McCann Executive Creative Director, Wen Louie, “…and in doing so, we gave ourselves something to really talk about.”
