While some of us will go the extra mile to reduce our impact on the planet, we cannot do it alone. We need brands, which have much more influence than a single person, to take action. transformative measures. Companies across all sectors have pledged to reduce their footprints in an effort to increase sustainability for the good of the planet. But to do so, they need to get their message across to a wide audience in a memorable way. After all, brands can't do it alone either.

To leverage more powerful sustainable impacts, it's one thing to have a great idea, it's another to engage audiences in an impactful and tactful way.

The Body Shop's #BringBackOurBottles campaign

The Body Shop is one of those rare brands that realize the beauty industry is in dire need of a makeover. This sector alone generates billions of pieces of plastic every year, which end up in landfills and the ocean. While The Body Shop is not exempt from contributing to this problem, as it still uses some virgin plastic, its vision seems sound.

It was from this vision that the campaign was born #BringBackOurBottles.

The beauty giant created its own hashtag, which was first rolled out in Indonesia, to encourage customers to do just that - return their empty product bottles.

The brand partnered with TerraCycle to install recycling bins in its stores around the world - an ongoing program that motivates customers to return their packaging in exchange for a redeemable discount voucher. The campaign put The Body Shop in the spotlight as an active promoter of the circular economy and sustainability.

The strategy underpinning this vision

The Body Shop uses various marketing strategies (as do most brands), but customer marketing is the driving force behind the awareness creation it aims to leverage. It's about maximizing the strong relationships with customers and the community surrounding the brand. This form of marketing improves the customer experience, enhancing brand retention and growth.

To get customers to connect with The Body Shop, the company listened to their needs. It asked how they could recycle their packaging and The Body Shop offered the perfect solution. In turn, customers felt happy that they could continue to support a brand they love while also supporting the environment and contributing to positive action on sustainability.

Although recycling is not the solution to the plastic problem, it is still a positive step.

Why did it work?

Due to the volatile nature of the market, many businesses may find that attracting new customers can be a costly, time-consuming and disappointing exercise.

Retaining existing customers is cheaper than acquiring new ones. In addition, brands that use customer marketing can often count on consistent and predictable revenue. The goal is to turn existing customers into brand ambassadors.

Customer marketing works for The Body Shop because the majority of its customers prefer to support brands that take sustainability seriously, in their social and environmental issues. More and more people want to participate in the effort to make the planet less trashy and are likely to be increasingly active and participatory on this topic.

Despite The Body Shop's large-scale success, it continues to focus on the human aspect of its customer journey to establish trust. After all, trust in a brand is what makes people feel an emotional connection and want to share their stories.