DEPAUL UK: THE DEPAUL BOX COMPANY

Credits & Description:

Client DEPAUL UK
Product YOUTH HOMELESS CHARITY
Entrant PUBLICIS LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
Type of Entry Strategy
Category BEST LOW BUDGET CAMPAIGN
Title THE DEPAUL BOX COMPANY
Product/Service YOUTH HOMELESS CHARITY
Entrant Company PUBLICIS LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
Advertising Agency PUBLICIS LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
Ken Blake Publicis London Digital Project Manager
Luisa Mioni Publicis London Digital Project Manager
Leo Bellis-Jones Publicis London Creative
Joshua Norbury Publicis London Creative
Andy Bird Publicis London Executive Creative Director
Bryan Riddle Publicis London Designer
Simon Tomlin Publicis London Designer
Debbie Burke Publicis London Agency Producer
Colin Hickson Publicis London Agency Producer
Simon Frost Publicis London Director
Mark Wesley Publicis London Photographer
Ant Harris Publicis London Project Lead
Ben Worden Publicis London Planner
Will Arnold-Baker Publicis London Managing Director
Paul Sparrow Publicis London Digital Designer
David Clarke Publicis London Head Of Tech
Chris Tivey Account Manager
Describe The Brief From The Client:
Depaul UK, a youth homeless charity, wanted to double their support for young homeless people despite their limited marketing budget. Over 80,000 young people experience homelessness each year in the UK, with 3 in 4 turning to hard drugs after just one night on the street. Because other charities in this sector are more powerful than ever, Depaul UK were getting drowned out in all the noise. We set out to find a new method for Depaul UK to raise funds. Targeting a new audience, we found a way to achieve much more than the usual temporary spike in donations.
Creative Execution:
Our audience doesn’t have to spend a penny more than they otherwise would do. The boxes themselves act as a highly visible reminder of the issue at a highly relevant time. Even better, they make people feel good about the choice they’ve made.
Describe The Creative Solution To The Brief/Objective.
Rather than appealing for sympathy, we decided to be useful instead. We founded The Depaul Box Company, a business selling cardboard boxes to home movers, with all the profit helping the homeless move off the street. Nobody should have to make a cardboard box their home. Buying our boxes when moving house ensures nobody has to.
Describe The Results In As Much Detail As Possible.
We created a product that flips a negative association of cardboard boxes into a positive one, resulting in a piece of communication that people wanted to pay for. Depaul UK is no longer solely dependent on donations. So far 10,000 home movers have used Depaul boxes, and this is only the beginning. We’ve already begun expanding into archive boxes, with several large pre-orders already placed. Estate agents have approached us for partnerships, and our target audience has been keen to pass the message on too, with many even sharing photographs of the boxes in use. It’s an entirely self-sustaining revenue stream with minimal marketing expenditure from Depaul UK.