Montgomery County Recycling Program: Advertising

Situation/Challenge

Each year, Montgomery County, Maryland, aims to communicate different recycling-related messaging to various publics, ranging from businesses and organizations to homeowners and residents of multi-family properties. To this end, the county issues yearly task orders for various advertising services. These include the creation and design of advertising assets (print, TV, radio and digital ads; online videos) and the implementation of full-scale advertising, promotion and social media campaigns.

Task order objectives differ from year to year. While always educational in nature, campaigns have focused on a variety of topics, including reducing waste; composting and grasscycling; recycling at work or home, and purchasing recycled items. At the expressed direction of the county, the onus is on the contractor to carry out two key responsibilities: 1) create the appropriate advertising imagery and 2) promote that messaging via targeted channels to encourage a certain behavior or affect a shift in public perception and response. Over the years, Sage has been tasked with providing these services on numerous occasions.

Approach

In some instances, Sage was provided camera-ready artwork assets to work with. However, in many cases, the county engaged us to create original messaging and visuals across various platforms (print, web, out-of-home and social media) designed to clearly communicate the required initiatives. When producing artwork, we met with the county to determine the actual message elements and gain an understanding of the county’s desired look and feel for the visual assets. We then designed the appropriate artwork assets and submitted for reviews, updates and approval. In every instance when required to do so, Sage also created a comprehensive multi-media campaign strategy designed to effectively convey those message points during peak periods that correspond with the highest potential level of community compliance and engagement.

Results

Each year, Montgomery County sees a continual increase in its key performance indicators. Businesses and households increase their percentage of recycled content, while yard trim diversion numbers—representing the difference between what can be recycled and what ultimately is recycled—also increases. These examples showcase both advertising materials Sage created and the campaigns we worked to design and implement.