• Situation

Paper is the 3rd largest polluter of air, water and soil in the world. It accounts for 26% of waste in the world's landfills and when paper rots it emits ethane gas, 25 times more toxic than CO2.

Every year corporate brands across the globe print and distribute corporate calendars contributing to the situation. Zain, Kuwait's leading telco also prints a giveaway corporate calendar every year. Kuwait itself is one the world ‘s least green countries, from an environmental point of view, and it has also has a very sparse vegetation due to its climate with lack of rainfall.

• Brief

To create an environmentally friendly corporate calendar for Zain Kuwait.

• Objectives

To have a direct distributed brand collateral with a minimal carbon footprint. Something that would inspire ecological thinking, and would be something different than the conventional classic corporate calendar that would spark a conversation.

Zain's brand promise is 'A Wonderful World'. We wanted to deliver on this brand promise by making Kuwait, one of the least green countries on earth, greener. This calendar uses ecological seed paper. So once a month is finished, you can plant it and a plant, herb or flower will grow.

However, what really makes this calendar unique, and truly one of a kind, plus highly relevant to the brand, is that each month’s plant grows to look like one of the designs of Zain’s iconic brand patterns(!). Bringing them to life in a whole new dimension: The living dimension.

The world’s first living and breathing brand elements! Zain is probably the only brand in the world that would be able to make a project like this - as their rich brand identity is comprised of 30+ different brand patterns, that are being utilized across in their communication.

• Data gathering

When analyzing Kuwait Google keyword searches in 2020, we saw a marked increase between Jan 2020 - June 2020 (project started in June) for the following search keywords:

Recycling, Plants, Organic, flowers

This showed us that the Kuwaiti population would be quite receptive for an idea like this.

• Media planning

N/A

Same distribution of +20,000 calendars to consumers to their homes and offices, with some copies available also at Zain POS.

• Approach

A simple and engaging interactive giveaway, which allowed customers to interact with the brand in an unprecedented way, by planting and growing the brand itself!

• Implementation

A calendar in a box with the calendar printed on 12 organic growable seed papers. All of the materials were out of recycled paper and recycled compressed cardboard. We also used de-bossing for our patterns on the box and our notebook to save ink.

•Timeline

The development of the calendar started in June. We conducted 2 months of botanical design research looking at hundreds of plants and flowers in their different growth cycles selecting suitable matches for Zain's brand patterns. Once we locked our 12 months we sourced our organic and ecological seed paper, and set out to create a pleasing modern design for our direct giveaway calendar. Once finished, this was deliver during the last week of December and the first weeks of January 2021.

•Placement

Delivered to homes, offices and Zain POS.

Scale

+20,000 copies (Box size 25 x 18cm and A5 Calendar & A5 notebook)

• Value added to brand

(Not enough data available to measure, yet) Word of mouth, PR. Enhanced emotional connection with the brand, as the consumer become brand custodians and literally nurtured and cared for the brand.

• Value for consumer

Turning an every day object into something that beautified the consumers lives, and something that can live and continue giving joy way beyond 2021.

• Reach / cultural impact

Most of Kuwait where talking about the calendar. Additional copies of the calendar where also distributed to Bahraini customers through Zain Bahrain, with equal positive reception.

• Sales

N/A, as it's a free giveaway. However this is the first time Zain's customers where calling to ask if and where they could buy the calendar, once the free distribution was finished.

• Achievement against brief

It widely exceed the clients expectations.

• Other KPIs

All KPIs where met and exceeded.