In 2023, Singtel (a telco company in Singapore) approached Nickelodeon Asia to develop and run a tech sustainability campaign.
The aim: to raise awareness about digital device recycling, by educating the public on this initiative. Dubbed as “Go Green with the Turtles”, we developed a multiplatform campaign that rallies viewers to become “eco-ninjas” and join the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) on a mission to reduce e-waste.
This campaign was launched shortly after the release of the movie, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem”, where the turtles learn to work as a team to fight against an evil villain. Like the TMNT, we wanted to show how battles are won through a collective effort. In this case, our adversary is techno-trash (old or unwanted gadgets), and our solution is to get viewers to drop off their unused electronic devices at designated recycling bins in select Singtel stores across Singapore. The donated devices are either refurbished and distributed to vulnerable communities or harvested for parts that can be reused or upcycled.
As we drive consumer awareness about tech sustainability, we also wanted to incentivize the participants to kickstart this habit. Viewers who joined this initiative and posted a picture of themselves doing so via Instagram stories stand a chance to win a 6-month subscription of the Learning Plus pack from CAST (from SingtelTV.)
Ultimately, “Go Green with the Turtles” aims to inspire more people to take steps, no matter how small, to fight the effects of the climate crisis.
Prior to this campaign, Singtel already had an ongoing tech sustainability drive. By partnering with Nickelodeon and having the TMNT be the face of the campaign, we wanted to broaden the awareness and reach families with kids to join this initiative and save the world, one tech device at a time.
This multiplatform campaign primarily featured a series of short form videos that invited viewers to become “eco-ninjas” with the TMNT. The spots were developed and produced by Nickelodeon and were shown on both Nickelodeon and Singtel’s on-air and online (including social media) platforms, as well as in on-ground events.
The campaign ran from Nov 2023 to Feb 2024, and was divided into 3 main phases, with an additional phase for sustenance:
Phase 1: Building awareness or the education phase. Here we provided an overview of why we’re doing this campaign, how the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are connected, and what happens to the device donations. The overview spot was presented as a mission to invite viewers to join the mission with the TMNT and be an eco-ninja.
Phase 2: Kickstarting recycling or the call-to-action phase. We got our viewers to put their tech sustainability knowledge into practice and incentivized them to kickstart their battle against techno-trash. This phase also included on-ground activations at Singapore Comic Con 2023 and at Singtel’s flagship store, which featured a collection booth where viewers got to bring their devices, take photos with costume characters, and play an interactive game inspired by eliminating techno-trash.
Phase 3: Making it a habit or the do-it-yourself (DIY) phase. As we want our viewers to carry on this practice of tech sustainability even after the campaign, we also released a series of DIY videos that are meant to inspire them to upcycle their old gadgets and give them new life. These short form videos are presented as side quests that teach viewers to turn their rooms into a Turtle Lair or HQ through repurposing their old devices.
Phase 4: Continuous education or the sustenance phase. Beyond the campaign with Singtel, we also produced a set of spots that feature eco-ninja lessons to help inspire our viewers to continue practicing sustainability in their everyday lives.
During the call-to-action phase (Dec 2023-Jan 2024), we achieved 2x uplift in weight from the 4 collection points across Singapore. Meanwhile, the Go Green with the Turtles videos online gained 7.5M video views (combined across Nickelodeon and Singtel platforms) and got media coverage from marketing publications like Marketing Interactive and Marketing in Asia, and parenting portals.
More importantly, this campaign would have a long-term impact. The tech sustainability message was exposed to a wide audience across Nickelodeon and Singtel subscribers, TMNT fan communities and beyond (with a total media value >S$4.8M) – so even if one didn’t donate a device immediately, many people would now know what to do with their used devices when the time comes and be able to put it into direct action.
