• by Larissa Faw , April 25, 2018

WPP’s Kinetic North America is relaunching its print production management company Lively Production with new eco-friendly production options.

The unit will introduce what its calling the “Upcycled Brand Equity” approach to repurpose billboard vinyl into new products, such as bags, wallets and cardholders. The Lively Production team will coordinate the removal of the vinyl with OOH media vendors. It will also be involved in product selection, and production logistics, according to a spokesperson.

Participating brands will cover the cost to transform the billboard vinyl into so-call “upcycled” products that they — hopefully — will then use as a consumer engagement tool. For instance, if the brand has a retail chain, they might sell the products at point of purchase.

In addition, Lively Production will now offer the Lumactiv coating system that claims a number of eco-friendly attributes, like air purifying. The coating can be sprayed on billboard vinyl or any other printed OOH format. 

According to the agency,  Lively Production is partnering with outdoor advertising vendors to coat the advertisement structures themselves, “with the goal of turning billboards, bus shelters, and bus wraps into giant air filtration systems purifying city air pollution every day.”

To further enhance its eco bonafides, the agency has also worked with key vendor partners to create what it says is the first Eco-index that will enable OOH media plans to be assigned an environmental impact score.

“We developed this new media currency in order to quantify the environmental impact of an OOH campaign, based on the equivalent number of trees that would have to be planted to produce the same air purifying effect on the environment,” stated Karin Baatsch-Deboulet, Head of Product and Business Transformation, Kinetic North America and Lively Production. 

“Not only is this the right thing to do for the benefit of the environment, it is also good business,” added Baatsch-Deboulet.

The agency cited Nielsen’s annual Global Corporate Sustainability Report, which indicates that 66% of consumers globally are wiling to spend more on a product if it comes from a sustainable brand. Some 73% of millennials surveyed indicated a similar preference.