Vancouver, August 6, 2008: As part of its ongoing commitment to the environment and the ethnic community, Quote EndQuote Cross-Cultural Strategy Inc. has announced its support of the ‘Red Dot Campaign’. The company will promote the environmental marketing initiative to the Chinese community at the ‘Green Theme Exhibition’, which forms part of the 9th Annual Chinatown Festival being held at Columbia and Keefer Street, Vancouver, from August 9-10, 2008. The goal of the ‘Red Dot Campaign” is to reduce paper wastage by giving residents the choice to not receive unaddressed “junk mail”.
A recent Canada Post survey indicates that 63% of Canadians are concerned about the environmental impact of print advertising. 67% of Canadians are not interested in the flyers and advertising that comes in the mail with 25% of Canadians discarding them without reading. Internally at Canada Post, the ‘Red Dot’ is synonymous with a request for “No Admail Please” and the sticker placed on the mail box promoting the ‘Red Dot Campaign provides residents with a simple action they can take to reduce waste and help the environment. By merely placing a special “Red Dot Campaign” or “No Junk Mail” sign on one’s mailbox, Canada Post will not deliver any unaddressed marketing material to their address. The campaign rationale is that if enough residents say ‘no’, the advertisers and distributors will take notice and reduce the waste in print advertising.
Alisa Choi Darcy, President, Quote EndQuote, is upbeat about her company’s support of the Red Dot Campaign, “We are excited to offer our support to the Red Dot Campaign and its innovative initiative to reduce paper wastage. Our support is two-pronged. At the macro-level, it is tied to QEQ’s broader environmental responsibility as a corporate social citizen. At the micro- level, we want to promote “ethnic marketing” by generating awareness about the campaign and its simple call for action among the two fastest-growing cultural community groups in Canada- Asians and South-Asians.”
Darcy points out how the direct mail approach for marketing can be ineffective for most new immigrants as they may not well-versed in the English language; Canadian innuendos in the promotional material rendered ineffective or not understood. According to numerous research, the majority of established immigrants prefer to obtain their information from ethnic community media. These could include electronic sources, newspapers, radio, and through word-of-mouth.
“There is an urgent need to educate the ethnic community on how to avoid being the recipients of unsolicited mail and help the environment at the same time. We, however, cannot achieve this task alone. I therefore call upon the ethnic media to support Quote EndQuote in communicating the message about the Red Dot Campaign to the ethnic community, and let them know they have a choice.”
Creatively-designed Red Dot “No-Junk Mail” stickers will be distributed by a Quote EndQuote street team deployed at the Red Dot ‘Green Theme Booth’ located at the Carrall Street Greenway launching in Chinatown this summer.
紅點”拒收垃圾郵件”的貼紙將在”綠色環保特區”中”紅點”的攤位由QEQ Street Team發放. 攤位的位址將會在China Town Carrall 街 GreenWay中.
“We are pleased that Quote EndQuote is bringing our message of waste reduction to the ethnic community,” said Beth Ringdahl, Founder of EcoEco, which conceived the showcase Red Dot Campaign. “25% of Canadians say they don’t read junk mail but only 9% of British Columbians, or 5% of Canadians, have opted out. Quote EndQuote is strategically positioned for helping the Red Dot Campaign extend its reach to the diverse ethnic communities which characterize BC’s multicultural landscape.”
Besides being a major factor in deforestation, the global pulp and paper industry is the third largest emitter of greenhouses gases. Two-thirds of paper consumption is used for advertising. Although the average global citizen uses 54 kg of paper annually, Canadians use 263 kg/year, a figure which the Red Dot Campaign aims to reduce. “We are confident that Quote EndQuote’s support will go a long way in helping us achieve our goal of reducing paper wastage in BC, and by extension, Canada,” added Ringdahl.
