Danielle Palumbo

Ethikus - Shop Your Values Week
Launch Assets

THE PROJECT

Ethikus started as entrepreneurial endeavor that surveyed local establishments to identify what is ethical and sustainable in their day-to-day business practices. This information was then compiled into a database where shoppers could find and choose local businesses that share their values.

The group reached out to Mark & Phil to assist with their first annual Shop Your Values Week, which took place in May of 2012. Consumers who pledged to shop locally, ethically, and sustainably all across the New York area for the week would be rewarded with deals and discounts, and be able to engage in planned networking meetups and fun events. This would also allow Ethikus to expand their reach of both businesses and newly pledged consumers. Mark & Phil devised a guerilla marketing campaign leading up to and spanning the week's events to spark curiosity about the movement and engage a new audience.

ROLE: Design

TIME: Early 2012

MAIN OBJECTIVES


  • Spark curiosity with guerilla marketing tactics

  • Grow the Ethikus customer database with new pledges and signups

  • Create print and digital assets to help campaign on all fronts

  • Get consumers to consider shopping their values and reward them with discounts

THE WEBSITE

Ethikus already had created a logo for the event and set their company branding for us to work from.

I was tasked with creating a layout for the initial microsite to announce the event. The needs were pretty straightforward; a brief description and video explaining the intent of the event, a way for both consumers and businesses to join the pledge and receive further information, and a directory of businesses that would be updated as more joined to offer deals. The page needed to be simple but eye catching, and display well both on laptop and tablet screens that would be present for attendees to pledge on at the in-person events.

I went with more of a fun approach than a more standard and structured layout, using a store counter as a base for the main page content, and the shelves within to house the expanding list of partner logos. My boss/lead developer then evolved this into the full Wordpress-driven website, which went further into the schedule for the week, and included an interactive Google map of where businesses would be offering deals, and what they would be, marked with icons by category. I continued to provide visual assets as he needed throughout its development. Unfortunately, neither version of the page is live anymore, but you can view most of the indexed website here.

POSTERS & PRINTS

I also created a number of print materials for the events, including postcards, flyers, posters, banners, table tents and stickers. I was asked to create these satirical political posters featuring celebrities of New York mimicking Shepard Fairey's style. These were hung up around the city as a teaser to spike interest, getting people to question what hashtag meant and look it up.

THE RESULT

Over 1,000 consumers took the pledge, and over 200 businesses joined the cause. We were able to see a lot of positive engagement, from Twitter reactions to people found the posters, to a great turnout at the week's scheduled events.