Touted as an Australian first, social@Ogilvy and Pulse Communications’ Pin to Make a Difference campaign for Kleenex Cottonelle Australia harnesses Pinterest’s unique female appeal to get mums sharing eco-friendly tips for the home.

A new kind of campaign

Pin to Make a Difference encourages Aussie mum’s to share tips for making homes more environmentally sustainable by pinning them on Pinterest.

“It was designed to show people just how easy it is to make a difference and do their bit by taking small steps in the home, such as choosing sustainable products in the weekly shop,” says Brian Giesen, Australian Director of social@Ogilvy.

Though activated on late last month, the campaign’s main event was a live ‘world’s fastest pinning competition’ held at Jones Bay Wharf in Sydney on 2 May.  MC’d by Sunrise presenter Melissa Doyle, the event brought together select Aussie mum bloggers, representatives from the World Wildlife Fund, the Forest Stewardship Council and Kimberly-Clark Australia.

The event challenged mums to pin as many visual tips as possible on Pinterest that relate to making the home more sustainable, while those not in attendance could follow along on Twitter via the #Pin4Good hash tag.

Strategic approach to breaking new ground

On entering new social media campaign territory Social@Ogilvy and Pulse Communications used a considered approach.

“In terms of inviting people to the event, high influence mum bloggers were the primary focus,” says Giesen. “However, we also sought to identify Sydney-based power users of Pinterest (e.g., people who are heavy pinners or who have a high number of followers on the platform) and also fit the right demographic of Australian mums.

“But, unlike Twitter and other social platforms, it is difficult to search for users based on their location or their activity on the platform. However, we realised that the ‘repins from’ box at the upper right hand-side of a person’s profile on Pinterest often lists the people who are influential on the platform, which enabled us to identify and invite a wider group of people to the event.”

Channels used

Apart from Pinterest, the campaign has been supported by Twitter (via @KimberlyClarkAU and @KleenexMums), Facebook, blogger microcontests and public relations.

“Mel Doyle, a nationally-recognised media personality, and Darren Rowse, one of Australia’s top bloggers, were part of the event program and helped spread the word online in advance of the event,” says Giesen.

More broadly, the campaign is also supported by Kleenex Cottonelle’s ‘Love Your Forests’ TVC campaign currently airing across free-to-air and pay TV.

Demographics

Like many FMCG campaigns, the Pin to Make a Difference focuses squarely on mums, with Pinterest seen as an ideal engagement platform.

“Kleenex Cottonelle believed that by leveraging Pinterest, a platform where the target customers for Kleenex Cottonelle already are – we could offer a fun and educational way of engaging mums by showcasing the everyday sustainable actions they are taking in the home – which can sometimes seem complex or too hard,” says Giesen.  

Aims and measurement

The campaign’s key aim has been to convene and facilitate a conversation that generates ideas about how Australian mums can take small steps toward being more sustainable in the home.

“We are measuring the reach of the campaign based on the total volume of conversation and its reach,” says Giesen. “We are also measuring the positive sentiment toward Kleenex Cottonelle.”

A Pinteresting future for social media campaigns

Apart from obvious Pinterest activity, the Pin to Make a Difference fastest pinning competition on 2 May generated more than 500 tweets using the event hash tag #Pin4Good for a staggering combined total Twitter reach of 2.2 million users. A storify has been created reflecting the engagement.

“One of the recent Nielsen Social Media Landscape Reports for Australia identified photo sharing and uploading as one of the most popular activities in social media here in Australia,” says Geisen. “So it’s no surprise that Pinterest is gaining popularity here – and worldwide, as well.”

On the back of this first effort, there seems little doubt that we’re in for a very Pinteresting social media future indeed.

Want to know more about Pinterest? We rounded up the numbers not too long ago.