Citeo Dramatises 'Life After Sorting' in a New Recycling Campaign
Updated: 6 days ago
TL;DR: French packaging eco-organisation Citeo has launched 'La vie après le tri', a 360° campaign via agency Belle showing what actually happens to packaging after it is sorted — tackling recycling scepticism with proof and transparency.
Faced with public doubt about whether recycling actually works, Citeo is answering with proof. The French packaging eco-organisation has launched 'La vie après le tri' ('Life after sorting') via agency Belle, a 360° campaign showing what happens to packaging after it is sorted — from collection to transformation.
The campaign
It centres on three films blending live action and 3D, created by Fred de Pontcharra for Obvious, running across TV, digital, out-of-home, print and an interactive 'Faites le tri' platform. The work also spotlights the people in the recycling chain.
The strategy is transparency: rather than exhort people to sort more, it shows the outcome of sorting, directly addressing the suspicion that it all ends up in the same place.
Marketing Minute's read
This is the right answer to a growing problem. Recycling scepticism is corrosive — if people believe sorting is pointless, they stop doing it — and the antidote is not more guilt but more visible proof. Showing the process builds the trust that behaviour change depends on.
Centring the people in the chain is a smart humanising move. It turns an abstract system into something with faces and effort behind it, which is far more persuasive than statistics about tonnage.
What brands should take from it
When your audience is sceptical about whether your claims are real — on sustainability above all — lead with proof, not persuasion. Show the process, name the people, and make the outcome visible. Transparency is the most credible form of purpose marketing left.
Quick FAQ
What is Citeo's 'La vie après le tri' campaign?
A 360° campaign via agency Belle showing what actually happens to packaging after it is sorted — across three live-action-and-3D films, TV, digital, OOH, print and an interactive platform.
Why show the recycling process?
Recycling scepticism makes people stop sorting. Visible proof of what happens after sorting rebuilds the trust that behaviour change depends on — more effective than guilt or exhortation.
Recycling scepticism is corrosive — if people think sorting is pointless, they stop. The antidote isn't more guilt, it's more proof. Showing the process, with the real people behind it, rebuilds the trust behaviour change needs. On sustainability especially, transparency is the most credible purpose marketing left. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
When audiences doubt your claims, lead with visible proof, not persuasion — transparency is the most credible form of purpose marketing.
When your audience is sceptical, do you argue harder, or show them the proof?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: CB News, e-marketing.fr.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
