It’s impossible to ignore the importance of plastics or the problems caused by this material. Plastics Europe, a leading European trade association representing plastics manufacturers, has been on a journey of transformation. In early 2021, the organisation redefined its purpose: to be a catalyst for the plastics industry accelerating sustainable solutions valued by society.
“Plastic is an extraordinary material – flexible, colourful, light, abundant and almost indestructible…Plastic is also an extraordinary pollutant. Flexible, colourful, light, abundant and almost indestructible: the very properties that make it so useful also make it problematic when it escapes into the environment…plastic is also becoming an extraordinary unifier.”
Hugo Tagholm, CEO of the charity Surfers Against Sewage, in the foreword of “Turning the Tide on Plastic” by Lucy Siegle
Plastics Europe engaged Grain to bring to life its new purpose, strategy statement, strategic pillars and specific goals — all supported with an organisational narrative — with a robust brand strategy, new visual identity, and website.
Embarking on the brand strategy, we interviewed stakeholders including Plastics Europe staff and members as well as people representing non-profits, policy makers, brands which use plastics, academics, and journalists. These interviews and further research informed the brand strategy, which was in turn the foundation for the new visual identity and strapline, “Enabling a sustainable future”.
The full website was available in seven different languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Polish and Dutch. After website analysis and consultation with staff and members, we agreed to keep the international site in English as the fully-fledged version, and to have a streamlined variation for the other six languages.
Most traffic on the site was going to the “About Plastics” section, and people were visiting from India and the US, which are outside of Plastics Europe’s geographical focus. We agreed to keep that section, now called Plastics Explained, and link the pages back to more relevant and dynamic areas of the site, for example members’ case studies.
The new website revolves around Plastics Europe’s purpose of accelerating sustainable solutions valued by society, with news, publications, position papers, and market data all readily available. The straightforward search function makes it easy to find any content on the site, which is fully responsive for viewing on smartphones or tablets.
Plastics Europe asked us to rewrite all of the copy on the site, and we ensured that there was stylistic consistency throughout, striking the right balance between being easy to read and scientific. Each page is search engine optimised, using best practice for metatags.
All of the work was carried out working closely with the Plastics Europe team, and committees made up of Plastics Europe members. The new strategy, branding, and website launched on 25th October 2021. Virginia Janssens, Managing Director, described the new visual identity, “Built on openness, collaboration, trust and innovation, the logo symbolises different entities coming together to form a dynamic core, enabling a sustainable future.”
We also created the launch video, including script, storyboard, editing and logo animation. Our collaboration with Plastics Europe continues and we look forward to further supporting this organisation’s important work in the sustainable use of plastics.
“Plastics Europe recently defined a new purpose and strategy revolving around sustainability. We chose Grain to support us in articulating our strategy and to reflect it in a rebranding, with a new logo and visual identity, strapline, website including copywriting and marketing materials. Their work helped us gain consensus with many stakeholder groups, repositioning Plastics Europe and providing us with new tools for effective engagement and communication.”
— Sylvie Aitken, Communications Director, Plastics Europe
