INNOCENT "PFAND FÜR ALLE"
INNOCENT
/ OVERVIEW
One PETition, 76,873 signatures, and a mission even Germany's packaging law couldn't ignore.
SOOH WHAT
We love our planet. And this project gave everyone a chance to give something back. Smoothie maker innocent came to us with a mission that was right up our alley: they wanted their single-use PET bottles brought into Germany’s deposit-return system. So the PET gets recycled instead of going up in flames.
A totally logical, simple thing. Was it simple? Of course not. This is Germany, after all — birthplace of red tape. Getting those bottles into the deposit system meant we had to shake up German law. Section 31 (4) No. 7 of the Packaging Act, to be exact. So here was the job: carry this initiative into the public sphere so loudly that politicians couldn’t look away.
SOOH SPECIAL
/ STRATEGY
SOOH WHY?
How do you get a clunky piece of legislation moving? Simple: bottom-up, power to the people — make it everybody’s business. Our idea: a “PETition” on change.org to light a fire under the lawmakers.
The goal:
at least 50,000 signatures.
The strategic core:
turn an abstract recycling issue into a movement people actually want to join. The thread tying it all together: a responsible approach to resources. Which is exactly what the deposit law is all about.
SOOH SPECIAL
/ EXECUTION
SOOH HOW?
Online, we got the PETition flowing: an interactive survey ad format to spread the word, video ads on Twitter and Snapchat to build awareness and collect signatures, and influencer marketing for reach and credibility. And under the radar: more mobilization across WhatsApp, Telegram, and Facebook groups, plus nebenan.de.
Then we hit the streets — right in the heart of Berlin, at Moritzplatz.
We took over the traffic circle and a pop-up store right by the subway station. Inside the traffic circle: a patch of grass covered in hand-painted protest signs. Signing was dead simple — a quick QR code scan on your way past.
On the retail side, the message went straight to the product: 10,000 innocent bottles got mini protest signs asking shoppers to “Help us turn this bottle into a deposit bottle.” Activism in the fridge aisle. Print advertorials backed it up, spelling out why the change to the deposit law was long overdue.
The cherry on top at the pop-up store: a bike-powered recycling machine. Just hop on, pedal a little — and the innocent caps we’d collected got turned into plastic granulate, which then became slick little cups and saucers. Your own pedaling, turned into a giveaway made from recycled waste.
SOOH WOW!
Four weeks of campaigning. Then we blinked at our PETition counter: 76,873 signatures. HUGE — way past the goal. We marched into the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy with thick binders and symbolically handed over the signature lists along with our request.
The hard KPIs:
- 133,000 landing page views
- 4.1 million users reached via online advertorials
- 412,000 impressions through influencers
- 539,000 complete views on Snapchat
- 80,000 tweet engagements on Twitter
- 128,000 clicks on our interactive opinion ad
- 200 visitors to our one-week pop-up store
And the best part? Since January 1, 2022, the new deposit law also covers smoothie bottles and plenty of other beverage packaging. Getting there took a broad public debate — and we’re proud to have helped push the issue loudly onto the agenda. So the beverage industry is a little more sustainable today. You’re welcome!