How they exceeded the brand recycling target by 1500%

Making recycling batteries fun

The Impact Challenge with VARTA Batteries allowed the brand to interact directly with Bowers users. It's an expansion of our reward system boosting activation, retention and increased recycling.

why

But let's rewind: VARTA Batteries recognized that the recycling rates for batteries are low, with only 50% of all batteries being recycled. This low rate is concerning for environmental reasons, as batteries contain hazardous materials that can cause harm to the environment if not disposed of properly.

To address this issue, VARTA Batteries began searching for ways to increase the recycling rate of their batteries. And that's when Bower came into the picture. The Bower app doesn't only reward consumers for recycling but also developed features that gamify recycling. One of those is the 'impact challenge' feature.

how

Creating a Perfect Match: VARTA Batteries and Bower Collaborate to Revolutionize Battery Recycling.

In a harmonious partnership, VARTA Batteries and Bower joined forces to craft an innovative battery recycling challenge. Bower, in particular, stepped up their game by introducing a cutting-edge tech solution within their app, enabling users to scan items, including batteries, even if they lacked barcodes.

Over a span of two exciting weeks, participants were generously rewarded with an extra 10SEK for their commitment to recycling batteries. This engaging initiative featured a dynamic game plan, incorporating brand activation strategies such as in-app push notifications, a newsletter feature, and a well-received presence on organic social media channels, reaching out to a vast user base of over 380,000.

To ensure that consumer participation was as seamless as possible, we introduced user-friendly 'campaign stations' within our app. These stations not only pinpointed recycling locations on the app's map but also highlighted convenient store collection boxes, including those at popular outlets like Teknikmagasinet.

Outcome

Don't ever say recycling and batteries - or recycling batteries - are boring again. Within 7 days, the challenge was "sold out". Our Bowies (as we call our beloved app users) recycled over 13,000 batteries and exceeded the aimed campaign target by 1500%.

This initiative didn't only raise awareness to reduce the environmental impact of batteries but also drove the repurchase of rechargeable batteries.

While the collaboration was executed in Sweden only, it serves as the best practice for all of VARTA's markets, starting with Norway.