In line with the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, household cleaning product brand Cif established its brand purpose as "contributing to the well-being of people by beautifying living spaces with cleaning." As such, it launched its campaign, Beautiful When Clean Project in 2020; the campaign aimed to extend positive feelings and support from homes to the cities. In order to make a great impact, Cif started this work in Istanbul, the most populated city in Turkey.
Objective
Recent research shows that cleaning spaces contribute to people's well-being. However, pollution is a problem, which is frequently seen in the most populated cities, and thus, negatively affects the lives of city residents.
With the earthquake seen in 11 provinces in Turkey in February, people's homes and common living spaces were greatly damaged. Millions of people whose homes were destroyed started living in tent cities. One of the most important needs, thus, was cleaning. Cif moved its project to earthquake zones to respond to these needs as a result.
The company chose the Turkish cities of Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Adıyaman, and Malatya, which were heavily affected by the earthquake. Cif focused on responding to immediate cleaning needs which were important for the physical health and well-being of people there. Further, Cif planned to clean and beautify common living spaces.
In order to solve the cleaning needs in the region, Cif first produced special products which covered all cleaning needs, and then delivered them to the specified regions. Afterwards, for cleaning and beautifying common living spaces, the company created Cif Cleaning Teams employed by the local people. Moreover, the company also opened a park in Hatay to create green and clean socialization areas.
Context
Other Cif initiatives include placing 27 Cif Sea Waste Traps in the ocean to collect the surface wastes in Bosphorus, producing fully recyclable Cif Cream bottles with collected plastic waste, renewing the Zincirlikuyu Metrobus Stop and Karaköy and Eminönü pedestrian ways, as well as raising awareness with a hologram show.
Creative and Media Strategy
Cif's project aims to contribute to the well-being of everyone with the cleaning and renewal of common living spaces in cities. All people who could benefit from UN Sustainable Development Goals were among the target audience. The project also included providing support to the people who were negatively affected by the earthquake in Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Adıyaman, and Malatya.
As well as cleaning the cities, it was also important to keep them clean. Cif wanted to raise awareness about this issue by using traditional and digital channels. By using all channels, Cif managed to reach its entire target audience. In addition, the company called on people to pledge to protect the city on the project website. In the post-earthquake period, Cif worked to raise awareness to improve life in earthquake zones.
Cif's mission is to raise awareness to its products through its brand purpose, as well as better the environment. By creating this awareness, Cif invited everyone to protect the areas it cleans and not pollute them again. Further, Cif sought to raise awareness about plastic waste. By sharing its work in earthquake zones on traditional and digital media, the team aimed to inspire everyone who can help.
Moreover, Cif's communication strategy brings together the concepts of "cleaning" and "happiness," showcasing the positive impact of cleaning on people's well-being – as well as explaining the importance of cleaning cities as well as cleaning houses. The challenge, however, was finding ways to inspire people to take action. To do this, Cif created a message explaining that all people have a responsibility to protect the environment. Cif also collaborated with popular YouTubers to spread the project messages.
As Turkey's leading cleaning brand, Cif aimed to differentiate itself by responding to people's emotional, social, and environmental needs, as well as promote its superior product performance. While strengthening its emotional bond and market share with Turkish consumers in a cleaning market where there are lots of competitors, Cif sought to foster social and environmental benefits.
With its Beautiful When Clean project three years on, Cif aimed to garner global scale. As a leading home cleaning brand, Cif fostered innovation in the category by adopting the cleaning of cities, and adapted the program's strategies each year, including:
Cif's project, which touched millions of people in Istanbul in the first few years of the project, has been creating value for people living in difficult conditions in earthquake zones. The project continues to provide social and environmental benefits, thus contributing to the cleanliness and sustainability of cities, the well-being of millions of people, and the health of the planet. For Cif, it was imperative to find a solution to social problems.
