Tele2 Russia is the fastest growing mobile operator in the world (Analysys Mason data). One of the main challenges for business is the lowest Consideration for the focus audience (with high telecom spending) among competitors.

Several years ago Tele2 launched “the Other Rules” communication platform and continues to act according to its principles by changing the market rules for the clients favour by launching innovative products for the customers.

To solve our task we decided to look wider than just billing plans and telecom services. The researches show that responsible consumption is one of the most relevant topics that affects our target audience.

So our goal was to launch a campaign that would create “the Other Rules” on the territory of responsible consumption and would have a positive impact on brand perception boosting business KPI.

Insight:

People keep old cell phones at home or send them to landfills, as they are unaware that each device contains hazardous components and valuable materials that can be reused.

Idea:

Provide an environmentally friendly way to get rid of an old phone and turn it into a new one. Or maybe a plane computer? Or a toy? Exactly!

«Give your phone a second life with Tele2!» – is an educational and a cell phone recycling program. It shows that every phone could have its second life and gives an opportunity to recycle them. We created infrastructure within Tele2 stores so everyone could dispose the mobile phones in a special eco-friendly collecting bin for the further recycling. Moreover, every participant received a pin made of precious metals extracted from the old phones that we collected.

TA – residents of Russia aged 16-45 with high telecom spending. Core audience is concerned about responsible consumption and willing to pay more for environmentally friendly production (PwC).

We’d started our research and chose a direction of e-waste recycling as mostly related to the Tele2 core business and area of responsibility.

None of the operators has ever provided an opportunity to give away devices without need to buy a new one, neither with a transparent recycling process. The lack of knowledge and appropriate infrastructure are the main obstacles to engage the TA in eco-friendly activities.

We couldn’t solve the problem just by bringing it up because there was no infrastructure for it. As real actions and transparency are core values of the brand we decided to make a step towards creating this infrastructure for the disposal of electronic waste.

We organized the recycling program in 11 major Russian cities. The collecting bins were installed in 69 stores. We raised the awareness of the e-waste problem and announced our program via:

Eco-experts talked about the importance of responsible consumption via social media live streaming.

Media campaign with OLV and paid posts stated the problem and showed the phone’s journey from Tele2 store to the end of recycling process.

Social media bot instantly replied to comments, informing authors about recycling benefits and demonstrating what recycled phones can be turned into.

Opinion leaders and bloggers explained how to give phone for recycling in Tele2 store.

All phones were transported to the recycling plants and all valuable materials were sent for reuse in different manufacturing industries. Participants received pins made of precious metals received during recycling.

Furthermore, the project was scaled to a national level with more than 500 stores in 60 regions.