CITEO, an intriguing advertising campaign.

For this interview, Mr. Philippe MOCCAND, Director of Industrial Schemes and Overseas, had the honor of speaking with us.

• Hello everyone and thank you for accepting this interview. First, let’s talk about a campaign that made headlines last month. I suppose I am not the only one who was surprised by the campaign “**É ou ki manniè ou ka fè’y **?” displayed during carnival.
• It is quite unexpected for an environmental sector company to address a serious issue with a question that could be confusing. Indeed, this campaign called for questioning that could, in a festive and very popular context like carnival in Martinique, be interpreted in the most classic to the most absurd ways. I would be lying if I told you I didn’t think of certain things 🔞 [LAUGHS]. How did you come up with the idea of asking such a question without initially indicating the recipient of the message ?
• So, how did this specific communication around Martinique come about? Since selective collection and sorting have been established for several years on French territory and more recently in the Overseas territories, around fifteen years for the oldest ones on Réunion Island and ten years for the Antilles – we assessed the selective collection on the territories and realized that there was a deficit in performance in terms of sorting. We can see that the performances are generally 2 to 3 times lower than in mainland France. Therefore, based on this, it is clear that Martinicans do sort their waste, but there are other ways to sort more and improve performance and the sorting gesture. So the objective was to implement a specific campaign, by territory, and adapted to all territories. The message we give to Martinicans will not necessarily be the same as for Guadeloupeans, and it will also be different compared to Réunion. We based ourselves on a sorting gesture observatory that we conducted in 2020, with various inhabitants, after qualitative tests, which allowed us to conclude that no matter how, when, or how you do it, you sort your packaging and paper in the yellow bin. So, that was really the hook we wanted to create. All of this was to trigger the sorting gesture, to generalize and systematize it among populations. Because when we surveyed the Martinican population, they said “YES, I SORT,” but they do not necessarily sort systematically, so we wanted to anchor this message and tell residents “No matter how you do it, at least try to sort and sort correctly and regularly.” The message was translated into Creole, Martinican. The objective was this first campaign that we launched in February-March. The goal was also to challenge citizens and try to find strong moments to discuss this. At the end of March, we will analyze and measure the results and the impact of this first communication campaign to eventually adapt it. What we offer is not just to do 4*3 advertising or a TV or radio spot, but to complement this media action with proximity actions with various stakeholders and several activities such as in shopping centers, in the living areas of Martinicans, to be a little closer to the population, to really anchor this sorting gesture.
• Once the campaign was revealed to the public, did you receive positive feedback? If so, could you give us some examples ?

Photo credit: CITEO

• The campaign started at the end of February, so we don't have any official feedback yet. Many questions have already been asked, but as I mentioned earlier, we will conduct post-tests at the end of March after the results, and then we will have a precise analysis of the feedback and impact on Martinique. We started a bit earlier in Guyana, around the end of January, also during the carnival season in Guyana. The feedback and results from the post-tests there are very positive. I won't say that the people of Guyana are the same as those in Martinique, but there are cultural similarities. So far, the results are quite positive. But it's better to wait for the results of the post-tests in Martinique, which will take place at the end of March.

• Now, let's talk about CITEO. Who is CITEO? Since when have you been established in the Antilles-Guyane region, mainly in Martinique? In addressing the issue of waste treatment, illegal dumps, and selective sorting, what are your main actions on the island?

• CITEO is a mission-driven company created by consumer goods and retail industry professionals. The goal is to reduce the environmental impact of various household packaging and papers placed on the market. Firstly, we help industries meet their obligations, and all of this involves developing recycling and eco-design (to obtain eco-designed packaging that can be better recycled). The objective is to encourage residents to improve their sorting habits. In this context, CITEO supports local authorities and various stakeholders in implementing the famous yellow bin for selective collection to enhance performance. In the Overseas Departments, we intervened initially in Reunion in 2003, and Martinique followed shortly after. We signed the first contract with one of the local authorities to implement selective collection. We support local authorities, including Cacem, Cap Nord, and Espace Sud, in implementing sorting, and each year we provide financial support based on the sorting zone and the number of residents. We strengthen our actions with specific initiatives for overseas territories. Sorting habits are not ingrained in the same way, and behaviors and consumption patterns are very different from mainland France. We specifically support local authorities by invigorating their selective collection systems, implementing densification or equipment projects, and improving communication. We communicate with residents and aim to promote local recycling or local valorization because the goal here is to create a circular economy in the territory. We also reinforce operations and work on reuse. CITEO's mission also involves working with companies to establish reuse systems, as we are currently doing with the Antilles Glaces group. Regarding abandoned waste, CITEO implements specific actions for overseas territories where we support municipalities and public actors in establishing prevention plans to combat this abandoned waste. These actions are currently specific to overseas territories, especially in Martinique.

• According to you, how can we achieve a significant awareness among the Martinican population regarding these issues?

• The goal is to awaken awareness, inform, mobilize, and sensitize citizens to ultimately systematize the act of sorting. We want to encourage collaboration with local authorities, our clients, and companies that put packaging on the market to raise general awareness. This work, with both industries, distributors, local authorities, and CITEO, aims to achieve an improvement in sorting performance in the Martinique territory.

• We thank you, Mr. MOCCAND, for the time given to Airlocal Martinique, and we wish you success in achieving your goals.

Now, dear readers, how did you perceive this campaign? Did it spark curiosity in you, or were you too caught up in the wild atmosphere of this legendary Carnival 2022? Let us know in the comments. 😉📱💻