Project “Flatten the Plastic Curve” run by RMIT Vietnam Bachelor of Communication (Professional Communication) students Hoang Nguyen Nhat Vi and Pham Quang Vinh successfully reached nearly 200,000 young audiences after only one month of running.
Following the theme #ASEANYouth and COVID-19 ─ Response, Recovery, and Resilience, the duo decided to empower young online shoppers to take small but impactful actions while making their orders through comic-like graphics and influencer marketing.
Hoang Nguyen Nhat Vi said that COVID-19 has challenged Vietnamese people’s sustainable habits since they have been requested to minimise physical contact and unnecessary travelling.
“As the most adaptable generation of the region, ASEAN youth quickly adjusted themselves to the situation by transferring their daily activities to digital platforms,” she said.
“Convenience comes with a price, and minimised physical contact is a trade-off between health and environment.
“The ‘new normal’ life is now indulged with single-use plastic packaging.”
Throughout the campaign, the duo encouraged young people make changes such as ordering from one shop to minimise plastic packaging, or directly messaging to the shop owners or food shippers to remind them to reduce as much as they can the plastic wrappings.
Starting the regional round with great enthusiasm, the duo instantly faced a huge challenge due to the latest COVID-19 outbreak in Ho Chi Minh City.
Pham Quang Vinh said that as the lockdown imposed, “we were unable to go out to produce video contents or organise a youth event as required by the competition rules.
“We had only one month to run our entire campaign, and the results from the first two weeks were so disappointing that we started to question our own purpose,” he said.
“However, as the theme of this year’s contest, we have gradually adapted to this new situation by re-adopting a digital-led approach for our plastic reduction intention.
“We revised our strategy, reached out to environmental experts and published comic-inspired content in minimalist and green living community groups to drive more traffic to the page.”