Hasta La Creative!

My favourite part of advertising is the problem solving. This idea solves a big problem in such a clever way I just know it’ll bring home Lions from Cannes. Provided they manage to make a case study that is shorter than this one.

The Colombian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development had a very specific problem to solve. They need to stop the trafficking of illegal wildlife in Colombia. Geometry Global Colombia, their partner agency since 2014, was tasked to brainstorm ways to achieve this. Their solution: change the behaviour of those who were buying the illegally trafficked wildlife. Chinese consumers believe in the stamina and libido increasing promises of rhinoceros horn and tiger parts, so Geometry Global decided to give them a fruit to believe in instead. The ugly chontaduro fruit was rebranded as “Orgasmic Peach,” packaged as massage oils, supplements, energy drinks and was sent out to work in the red light districts of China. This is brilliant!

With the help of the expertise at Geometry’s Hong Kong office and WildBond Hong Kong, a conservation group dedicated to protecting endangered species, Geometry created the new brand that would appeal to the Chinese buyer of aphrodisiacs, identified the distribution networks and sales channels and brought the product to market. Go team Geometry. The social impact of this increased demand for the ugly fruit has African-Colombian communities in the Colombian Pacific busy harvesting more, creating new job opportunities there.

Gabriel Vallejo, former Colombian Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, said: “On the fauna traffic matter, we are attacking the source of the problem by eradicating the behaviour.”

Edwin Pineda, ECD Geometry Global Colombia commented: “As an agency, we focus on changing behaviour. In this case, we realised that it would be nearly impossible to change the behaviour of illegal traffickers. So instead we focused on getting the buyers to switch brands at the moment of purchase. What a beautiful problem to solve!”

Juliàn Hernandez, ECD Geometry Global Hong Kong added, “Wildlife traffic is a global issue that requires global thinking. That’s why we’re thrilled with this collaboration, that has given us the chance to invent new products, a new brand, and craft an effective marketing and distribution strategy in China with the goal of saving endangered animals across the globe while supporting farming communities in Colombia. It is indeed a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

The red and blue package designs are excellent as well, as they appear different in different lighting. I might have to order some of these energy drinks just for that. If you want to, you can via the website Flora for Fauna