Erin Pipkin, APR, account director

For the past couple years, green has been the “it” color for many Borshoff clients. They’ve embraced the concept that reducing the carbon footprint can make a big difference in the health of their communities and the planet.

Protecting the environment is also a priority for Borshoff, and that’s why we jumped at the chance to help Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, Ill., brand and launch its new corporate green initiative – Healthy People. Happy Planet. The Hospital has been implementing energy conservation, waste disposal and recycling initiatives for years, but decided that branding all of these programs under one initiative boosts its education and awareness efforts with consumers in the communities it serves. This whimsical campaign theme positions Carle as a go-to local organization that is helping east central Illinois take a proactive stance on helping the environment, as well as the earth.

What is unique about the Carle RxExpress Medication and Needle Disposal Program – the first program to launch under Healthy People. Happy Planet. – is that it provides an easy way for consumers to help the environment. Through the program, central Illinois residents can take needles and medications for disposal to participating Carle RxExpress pharmacies, protecting the health of their households, reducing infiltration of medicines into the water supply, and preventing medical waste from going into landfills.

For Healthy People. Happy Planet., Borshoff worked with Carle Foundation Hospital to research other U.S. hospitals embracing green efforts; then developed a comprehensive one-year communications plan, including the initiative’s name, tagline, trademarked logo, and foundation and collateral materials. Our communications plan incorporated a mix of media relations, radio and print advertising, social media and key messaging. The Borshoff team included Erik Johnson, Karen Alter, Jennifer Berry, Chris Berry, Micah Sitzman, Megan Bulla and me. Once the branding process was complete, we moved quickly to coordinate the formal launch on August 29 at the Urbana farmers’ Market at the Square.

In addition to designing the Healthy People. Happy Planet. booth, Borshoff developed recyclable “Get Your Green On” bags for shoppers at the farmer’s market. Approximately 450 bags, as well as 250 free needle disposal boxes, were distributed.

While we are always eager to help clients go green or greener, this project was especially rewarding because it married our knowledge of green marketing with our experience in health care marketing.  We hope it’s a sign of great things (perhaps even greener pastures) to come in the health care industry.
Want to learn more about Carle’s green initiative? Visit www.carle.org/environment.

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