Sherlock Communications strategies to increase Pimp my Carroça’s brand awareness

There is no doubt we are facing an unprecedented situation around the world, and while we cannot be around people right now, that doesn’t mean we can’t be close. As we know, not everyone has the privilege of staying at home during quarantine, and for those who don’t, we at Sherlock are working to raise awareness of their social condition and needs.

Our pro-bono client, Pimp my Carroça, is an NGO focused on helping independent residue collectors achieve better working conditions and pay. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they have been tireless in helping these workers even more in their daily routine. And our job as a communication agency is to make sure we spread their message through the media, and especially online.

The NGO is also responsible for Cataki, an app set up to connect these workers with people who produce recyclable residue and rubble. “Catadores” collect these materials at people’s homes or places of work, and process them in an environmentally-friendly way.

We are a communications agency, and our goal with both the app and the NGO is to make sure people understand the relevance of what they do and why. This involves positioning them in the media to make people more aware of how important it is to compensate the collector’s services, and to generate recognition of their environmental role in the recycling process, so they can obtain better rights and living conditions.

For Mundano, founder of Pimp My Carroça, the protection of residue collectors is of the utmost importance. “The work of recycling professionals has always benefited us all. For this reason, I consider the attitude of crossing our arms and conforming to our privileges extremely cowardly, especially at this time. Now is the time to show solidarity with those who do so much for recycling and for the environment in Brazil. If everyone donates a little bit – and shares the message a lot! – we will be able to protect both their health and their income”, he points out.

At the moment, 2 campaigns are being developed by Pimp my Carroça, for which everyone’s help and support is crucial:

• Crowdfund to offer a fair income to Catadores

Collective financing to offer a minimum income for residue collectors so that they can stay at home and avoid the Coronavirus. The sum will be distributed among almost 3 thousand autonomous residue collectors registered on the Cataki app.
You can make a donation here.

• Distribution of soap and water to those without access

It is vital to realise that not everyone has access to these important items during the pandemic. These workers spend most of their day outside and don’t have regular access to water and soap, which makes it essential to issue them with hygiene kits, and help avoid contamination.

The success of a social project is based on the number of people it reaches and their influence on society. To help Pimp my Carroça raise awareness towards their campaigns, Sherlock’s digital team has created a strategy to communicate with the most engaged influencers on social media. So far, they have reached great names such as Mateus Solano and Sergio Marone, both actors with considerable influence on social media (2.2M and 1.2M followers respectively).

There is no better way to target a larger group of people than through traditional journalism. Television, radio, newspapers and their websites reach more and more people each day, and it’s the Sherlock team’s job to be assertive when approaching journalists who will transmit Pimp’s message to their viewers/readers. When dealing with NGOs, it is essential to organise a tactical press initiative, since they depend on the number of people reached via the news.

Defining a press list, following up constantly and updating your content, social media and website are some of the steps to follow to successfully reach your audience.