How Fairtrade succeeded in getting their audience engaged through creative social media content

January 1, 2021

min read

Do you ever wonder where the coffee you drank this morning came from? In today's world of industrialization and rapid capitalism, farmers and workers in developing countries usually work in deplorable conditions and low income.

About Fairtrade

As a leader in the global fair trade movement, Fairtrade supports and challenges businesses and governments and connects farmers and workers with the people who buy their products. Their mission is to change the way trade works by raising awareness, helping farmers set better prices and work under good conditions. With Fairtrade's help, farmers and workers take control of their lives and decide how to invest in their future.

<p> <p><CENTER>___</CENTER><p><CENTER>Ontdekken hoe wij jouw merk helpen groeien?</CENTER></p><CENTER><div class="post_button"><a href="/agency/contact" class="button is-small">Ok, we spreken af</a></div></CENTER>

When you see a product with the Fairtrade logo, it means it has been approved to independently certified standards. By choosing Fairtrade products, people can create change through their daily actions.

Challenges

Fairtrade Belgium recently underwent a rebranding process because they wanted to connect with younger generations. By creating a fresh and modern style, Fairtrade Belgium became more recognizable to their young consumers. Along with a complete redesign, they also set up an appropriate content strategy. However, they needed help translating the new out-of-the-box approach to their social media accounts. "We chose Chase because we needed an extra hand with our social media. We wanted to create social media formats for our ongoing content on Facebook and Instagram that we could fill in according to the theme we wanted to talk about that month," said Sara Vertongen, Digital Communication Manager at Fairtrade. Chase Creative was a great match to help Fairtrade with their shift in social media marketing, not only because of shared values, but also because Chase understands very well how to connect with a young audience.

The goal

The Fairtrade marketing team set clear goals: the social media content needed to activate engagement, spark conversations, collect likes, shares and tags. "Our goal was to create content to reach a younger audience and increase our engagement, and we wanted to use Chase's expertise to achieve that," Sara explains.

The process

Chase Creative took charge of the entire creative process, from coming up with concepts, creating engaging images and witty copy. They worked closely with Sara and her team to create two different concepts: one for a summer campaign starting in July and another in September. The first campaign was designed to support local small businesses during the pandemic crisis. The goal was to highlight some of Fairtrade's key partners who focused on sustainability. The second campaign was designed around the re-branding of Galler as the first major Belgian chocolate brand to fully transition to Fairtrade. This was a big announcement as it confirmed the shift in the Belgian chocolate industry, one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world, to a more sustainable and fair partnership between suppliers and producers. Visuals on social media promoted Galler's new look, which was also created to appeal to a younger audience.

Both campaigns were based on three different concepts:

The first revolved around the stories of "Humans of Fairtrade." The goal was to show real consumers and their testimonies about why they choose products supported by Fairtrade. The images were inspiring and relatable as real people shared their stories.

The second concept revolved around fun recognizable quotes that appealed to a younger target audience.

The third type of content was more informative and had the format of a "frequently asked questions" page. The goal was to optimize awareness and we did that by sharing facts about Fair Trade and informing followers about pressing questions around the food industry and environmental issues.

The results

Both campaigns were a great success and the Fairtrade team was pleased with the collaboration and overall results. "Fairtrade is a broad concept: at first glance it seems simple enough to explain, but there is so much content, so much to talk about, that we tend to make it too difficult for our consumers to understand. That's why it was useful to have creative people look at this with fresh eyes," Sara concludes. The first campaign reached a total of 492 113 people, with 4 869 likes, 93 comments and 129 shares. The second campaign with Galler reached 553,920 people, with a total of 12,577 likes, 582 comments and 404 shares.

<p> </p><CENTER>___</CENTER><p><CENTER>Zelf op zoek naar versterking voor jouw social media?</CENTER></p><CENTER><div class="post_button"><a href="/agency/contact" class="button is-small w-button">Contacteer ons</a></div></CENTER>