DBS Bank’s #RecycleMoreWasteLess sets a new tone for CSR Campaigns

In a cluttered marketing world where CSR campaigns take the clichéd route of serious speeches or guilt-tripping viewers with a preachy narrative, DBS Bank's #RecycleMoreWasteLess is a breath of fresh air

With the tons of waste being generated year after year with no end in sight, DBS Bank’s movement urges you to ‘Recycle more, Waste less’ and tries to addresses the issue at the source. A campaign focused on nurturing entrepreneurs that work hard to make the Earth a cleaner, greener and inclusive place, #RecycleMoreWasteLess reinforces DBS Bank’s support of Social Innovators.

What stands out though, is how they have broken free from the cut and dried CSR campaign stereotypes and chosen a fast-paced, fun take which speaks the language of millennials. The atypical storytelling makes for highly shareable videos and makes doing good look “cool”, inspiring you to join the movement.

Shiryans for instance, built GreenSole to recycle old shoes to create new footwear, aimed at eventually clothing every pair of feet without utilizing more resources. DBS also introduces us to Sampurn(E)arth and its founders Debartha, Jayant, and Ritwik who strive to make the Earth’s future brighter, by their smart, decentralized Waste Management Solutions.

#RecycleMoreWasteLess has a conversational style and comical voice over with light-hearted undertones. The clever insertion of key facts and figures within this space, makes for consumable and useful content, a smart way to stand-out from generic campaigns. The BFSI brand also created several interactive elements such as environmental quizzes and waste-segregation games to reach out to a wider audience base, targeting digital natives. Further, the brand latched on to trending topics such as post-festival litter to drive their important message in a contextual way across platforms.

Keeping true to their human and approachable tone DBS roped in popular social media personality, Jose to speak about waste management and the importance of recycling in his typical relatable style. With witty captions and hard-hitting messages the brand resonated with their target audience of 25-40 AA across the top 6 Metros. There is even an option for the audience to get connected to the social innovators - Greensole and Sampurn(e)arth through the DBS website to increase positive impact.

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Sampurnearth Breaking News : Kachara cannot have an Instagram account but they must be heard. So must @dbsbankindia , who're mentoring Sampurn(e)arth to help clean up our city. All they're asking is to help them help us.. #RecycleMoreWasteLess #SocialInnovators

A post shared by José Covaco (@hoezaay) on Sep 24, 2018 at 11:56pm PDT

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My friend @cyrildabs was suffering from a serious case of ’Shoe Hoarder-itis'. So, I sorted him out ? But Greensole & @dbsbankindia can help you tackle this the right way. So help your friends, help the earth, help your shoes, help children, help everyone! #RecycleMoreWasteLess #SocialInnovators

A post shared by José Covaco (@hoezaay) on Sep 9, 2018 at 11:08pm PDT

The videos have already garnered more than 10 million views with 1.2 million engagements and growing. With a fun and friendly approach, #RecycleMoreWasteLess makes the audience a part of the story and frankly sets a new benchmark for socially-responsible messaging.