Recycling and circular economy have raised their heads in the past few years. With more recycling options and tools, it may feel overwhelming to know what package goes to which bin, and people are hoping for companies to lead the way. Arla and UPM are stepping up as trailblazers in showing that recycling is both easy and fun.
In Recycling Buddies, Arla and UPM joined with Youtuber Roni Back to teach children about recycling and the importance of our everyday actions. Previously presented Aamu the cat takes a new adventure with Luonto+ birds in the augmented world of recycling.
| Client | Arla & UPM |
| Concept & AR Production | Arilyn |
| Character Animation | Pinãta |
Campaign goals
Arla and UPM joined their forces on a journey to make an impact against global warming. In 2019 Arla renewed its packages into more sustainable materials, using innovative materials from UPM.
The objective was to create a marketing campaign to showcase the greener packaging and make a physical impact. The companies wanted more than just words - real-life actions that represent the core values of Arla and UPM.
Together we came up with Recycling Buddies, a campaign targeted to children and families all across Finland. The objective was to teach younger kids that recycling is both easy and fun.
Recycling Buddies
An augmented Recycling Buddies game starts by scanning the Recycling Buddies logo in Arla milk and Luonto+ yoghurt packages with Arilyn App!
In the game, Aamu the cat and Luonto+ Birds want to make recycling an everyday activity. The game takes place in an augmented recycling farm, where the users can play with Aamu the cat and Luonto+ Birds.
The Recycling Buddies give the user easy and fun recycling tasks every day. Kids with their families can complete the daily tasks in a schedule that works best in their flow. All assignments are easy to do at home or nearby.
A Finnish Youtuber, Roni Back, took part in designing good recycling deeds. In one of the tasks, the users get to interact with Roni himself!
By completing the given tasks, the players get rewards to put to their recycling farm, where the game continues.
Aftermath
The campaign began in March 2020 and will go on at least for the whole year. On a mission to make recycling more accessible and fun, children are the main target group. A survey made by Arla and UPM showed that every third family in Finland recycles. And it's all thanks to children.
Children are exceptional at adopting new habits, but sometimes it might not be easy to teach something you can't see the impact of. Via AR and gamifying the sustainable actions, the children get rewards right away, so they can see the benefits of recycling. We are confident we will see Aamu the cat with her posse also in their future adventures!
