The City of Vancouver approached Edelman to plan and execute a measurable communications program to generate awareness and participation in the pilot as well as to create measurable results around the effectiveness of specific communication vehicles in fostering pilot neighbourhood participation.

Edelman developed and launched a community-based social marketing program consisting of a wordmark, program look-and-feel, print pieces, cart hanging tags, instructional videos, and a dedicated presence on the City’s website and Greenest City Facebook page. A multilingual outreach team was also deployed to engage residents door-to-door and at local community events with informational materials and program-branded equipment.

Measurement of the campaign’s communication tactics in different quadrants against participation and contamination rates will inform the citywide rollout of food scrap recycling and contribute to a behavior change that will help divert millions of tonnes of waste from landfills and help Vancouver reach its goal of becoming the world’s greenest city by 2020.