State of the Campaign 2023

FOR THE

DRIVING

& THE INDUSTRY

Helping a Sustainable Planet Unfold

2023 State of the Campaign

The Paper and Packaging Board’s sustainability campaign is reminding consumers about the positive environmental characteristics of paper and paper-based packaging. As a result, we’re seeing more positive perceptions of our industry and customer brands looking to re-engineer their packaging with paper.

What we’ve achieved by speaking in one voice as an industry is living proof that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

- Jonathan Kraft, President, The Kraft Group and Board Chair, Paper and Packaging Board

“In business, it is so hard to create momentum — to get that spark that gets something positive going. We’ve been able to achieve that with the Paper and Packaging Board.

SECURING THE INDUSTRY’S REPUTATION

We continue to build a favorable marketplace for paper and paper-based packaging, conveying the industry’s key messages to consumers and customers. From our unrivaled recycling story to our product innovations and forest stewardship, we are making it clear that this industry is putting the planet first.

Key Messages

Brand Position

Ultimate Benefit

This past year, we brought this story to life with a series of initiatives and a breakthrough and motivational campaign with actress and comedian Retta — our first celebrity papertarian ambassador.

There is no denying the momentum we’ve gained by telling our circular, sustainable story to both consumers and customers. We need to continue educating both about our industry’s commitment to sustainability and proactively dispel myths, or others will fill the void with their own story.

By creating a movement of papertarians that choose paper products for a more sustainable future, and expanding who we are talking to in the years ahead, we are securing our reputation for the future of our industry and our planet!

We are proud to share the state of this critically important campaign, and the progress we’ve made over the last twelve months.

Other industries have been promoting themselves through consistent messaging and deliberate outreach for many years. The paper and packaging industry has some catching up to do. This is an opportunity for us to truly play offense on the topics that we know matter to our customers and our consumers who want to hear more about the environmental benefits of fiber-based products.

Santiago Arbelaez VP Strategy, International Paper

STARTING A MOVEMENT

Are You a Papertarian? We All Are!

Our most motivational campaign yet went mainstream in 2023, inviting consumers across America to be advocates for the planet by choosing and using paper. Combining humor, relatability and education, we aim to create a movement of proud papertarians and get consumers thinking about how products are packaged before purchasing, recycling correctly and using paper to achieve more productively.

With 40 million views in the first two months alone, our message is truly getting consumers’ attention, with post-market research showing great consumer recall.

is

The papertarian campaign is an invitation and call to action to help consumers make the right choices for the next generation and for the planet. I think it is a very compelling campaign and I am a proud papertarian, too! Join the movement because it is the right thing to do!

And the Campaign

Resonating with Consumers.

I like that it keeps you engaged andreallypusheshomethe papertarian label for a person, which is catchy and instantly prompts you to remember the importanceofrecyclingandpurchasing paper products.

It combined humor YET was super informative for someone that doesn’t know they should flatten boxes.

I enjoy the real-life examples in a grocery store of how you can make small changes in what you buy to make a big impact!

Shining a positive light on the industry

Telling our sustainable forest story

Showcasing paper products

Highlighting proper recycling practices

Featuring actress and comedian Retta

TELLING OUR FOREST STEWARDSHIP STORY

Connecting Personal Wellness with Healthy Forests

We’re flipping persistent myths about the relationship between paper products and trees in our forest wellness ad campaign that communicates that just as we make decisions to better ourselves, we can choose paper-based products to help our forests flourish.

Focusing on the overall sustainability of our industry — specifically on the forest and the renewability of our products — has been a great pivot. There’s still a sense of guilt with harvesting trees, and there’s a lack of understanding that it’s part of keeping a healthy forest. So, the switch has been very powerful in educating consumers and customers alike.

Beth Cormier VP Research, Development and Sustainability, Sappi

Promoting personal and forest wellness

Promoting personal and forest wellness

Capitalizing on Growing Trends

We tapped into the forest bathing practice growing in popularity across the United States with a tranquil video, showing how forest bathing is one way to connect with and celebrate nature — and that utilizing paper-based products is another.

Sharing the industry’s caring role in privately managed forests

One of our most downloaded PDFs

Sharing the industry’s caring role in privately managed forests

SHOWCASING INNOVATION

Designed for Sustainability

Building on the 26M video views of the 2022 contest, Pack It! The Packaging Recycling Design Challenge, we launched two new episodes in July 2023.

The video series saw designers go head-to-head to create a 100% paper-based produce box and plant delivery box highlighting why choosing paper packaging, which is made from a renewable resource, is the smart choice for the environment.

10 hours to create innovative, recyclable and shippable designs

DROP TEST!

Mark Beamesderfer Packaging Services Director, Metsa Board Americas

Need to survive the drop test!

The more education and the more knowledge that’s out there will prompt consumers to demand more innovative solutions out of companies that are made from more renewable, more sustainable types of materials.

Hosted by Cassie Stephens

CREATING “SUPER” RECYCLERS

Increasing Understanding

Next Door, a local advertising platform, is one way we are educating consumers to increase residential recycling rates and support the industry’s $7 billion investment in recycling infrastructure through 2025.

We’re also helping our industry recover ~600,000 tons of fiber from pizza boxes by focusing media outreach around events like National Pizza Month, Earth Day and key football games — including the biggest gameday of the year.

John Mulcahy VP Stewardship, Georgia-Pacific

One of the largest drivers of traffic to website

Amplified by influencer Kathryn Kellogg on Good Morning America

Publicized research on top 10 pizza box recycling powerhouse states

We know that consumers want to be more responsible and are concerned about the waste they generate. If they know that paper is a highly recyclable material and that paper companies are working hard to recycle more materials, that is going to help them make better choices.

Getting More Residential Fiber Back

With the acceleration of e-commerce, more and more boxes are being shipped to consumers’ homes than ever before — putting the onus on them to recycle. The launch of Box to Nature and our “Empty. Flatten. Recycle.” messaging and residential recycling initiative aims to remind consumers, in a breakthrough way, how to correctly recycle their boxes every time.

75%

Source: Heart + Mind Strategies, Box Message Testing, 2021

TAKING OUR MESSAGE TO CUSTOMERS

Showcasing the Sustainability of Paper

We used Pack Expo 2022 to launch Box to Nature and our “Empty. Flatten. Recycle.” residential recycling initiative in a big way, directly connecting with box manufacturers and customers at this big event.

To draw people in, we took the power of corrugated to new levels with a fully recyclable, paper and corrugated booth and DeLorean, which was the place to take and share photos on social media.

Life-size, fully corrugated DeLorean

I never used to have CEOs of consumer product companies or financial services companies talk to me about packaging unless I was selling to them. Now, proactively, I hear more and more that they want to understand better why paper is the preferred way of packaging their products. Clearly, something has changed in the public discourse. I think the campaign has definitely influenced the way CEOs think about this.

Jonathan Kraft President, The Kraft Group

Supporting Members’ Conversations with Customers

In 2023, we revamped our sales toolkit to better help our members tell a consistent sustainability story and sell to customers. New videos and assets can be used to quickly share and quell misinformation because they tell our industry’s recycling and forestry stewardship stories and highlight our industry’s innovations.

We launched the sales toolkit revamp with a live webinar that attracted over 300 registrants. Since then, engagements have increased five-fold!

SMARTLY DELIVERING ON YOUR INVESTMENT

Richard Bennett VP Paperboard Sales and Marketing, Pactiv Evergreen

MOVING THE NEEDLE

Across the board, we are seeing increases in the positive perception of the industry and its product sectors, whether it is specifically among consumers who are aware of our campaign or the general adult public.

It’s exciting to see that some of the campaign’s most searched for and downloaded content continues to relate to the value of paper, including learning, printable calendars and tips on how to recycle paper. The value of the campaign will hopefully be measured over decades as we influence an entire generation’s perception of paper and paper-based packaging as a more sustainable solution.

Rob Melton SVP, Paper and Packaging Sales, Domtar

Paper Preference is Strong

Direct mail is believed to be a good source of information and ideas for travel, home projects and community events2

And

Printed catalogs inspire more ideas than browsing an e-commerce site2

Campaign has Moved the Needle

84% AGREE

66% AGREE

Belief that the industry makes innovative products has grown 18% since the campaign’s inception3

52% AGREE

78% AGREE

Companies that decide to package their products in paper-based packaging are thought of more highly3

61% AGREE

75% AGREE

And those that agree the industry is trustworthy has reached 75%!3

I am also proud of the discipline and focus the board and committees have shown, helping to guide us with a ‘lift all boats’ commitment.

We are engaging with consumers at the right time with the right message — communicating our industry’s sustainability and innovation story because consumers are looking for ways to make simple choices and changes for the future and the health of our planet. Our breakthrough papertarian campaign shows them the way.

We are finally telling our story and doing it with success! Let’s keep the spark and the momentum going.”

- Mary Anne Hansan, President, Paper and Packaging Board

“I am proud of the results we have achieved in a relatively short amount of time since refocusing the campaign strategy in 2021 to sustainabilty.

The Paper and Packaging Board promotes the use of paper products and paper-based packaging by highlighting how their sustainable nature, the industry’s practices and recycling help contribute to a healthier planet. Forty-six U.S. manufacturers and importers collectively fund the national marketing campaign, www.howlifeunfolds.com

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© 2023 Paper and Packaging Board