Appleton Coated
U1X Geen Project: B2B Environmental Leadership Campaign
Industry: Paper
Audience: Communications creatives, Production & Print Managers, Paper Buyers, Printers

The client sought to shift U1X’s campaign focus from creative inspiration to market leadership. We repositioned the category’s brightest post-consumer paper as proof that environmental responsibility and uncompromising visual performance can coexist without sacrificing impact. Context • Shift brand narrative to environmental leadership.
• Position U1X as category performance leader.
• Highlight brightest post-consumer paper advantage.
• Eliminate perceptions of visual compromise.
• Reinforce environmental responsibility through product performance. Criteria

Brand
Strategy A ‘big picture’ paper that proves environmental progress doesn’t require
visual compromise. Brand Promise

Recycled Fiber Proof Points Made with 20% post-consumer recovered fiber. Environmental Leadership FSC-certified sourcing to support responsible material stewardship. Sharp Halftone Dot Minimal dot-gain preserves detail and tonal control. High-White Shade Calibrated Blue-White shade removes warmth creating visual separation.

Showing others how business leadership is brightening the ‘big picture’ with every last fiber of our being. Centering Idea

Character Renewed — Made with 20% post consumer fiber.
Responsible — FSC-certified sourcing.
True — Blue-white shade removes warmth for truer color.
Detailed — Preserves detail with minimal dot-gain.
Lucid — Brightness increases contrast for clearer visual separation.

Concept Development Creative
Strategy Appleton Coated requested a more formal campaign to support a new position around environmental leadership. With the auto industry as the largest purchaser of U1X—and as Subaru’s Agency of Record during the opening of its new LEED-certified plant—our concept took shape as By drawing on Subaru’s conservation story, we showed how rigorous manufacturing and responsible stewardship can coexist at scale, using side-by-side comparisons of industrial manufacturing and natural landscapes to illustrate both today’s actions and tomorrow’s brighter future.

Copy Tone Identity Development In collaboration with copywriter Van Horgan, developed evidence-driven messaging positioning sustainability through measurable stewardship.

Photography Selection Partnered with Vic Huber to pair on-location photography with nature archives, creating visual comparisons between industry and environmental systems.

Performance Sales Guide Engagement Application U1X Green Performance Sales Guide presents product benefits, sustainability commitments, and key performance attributes through clear brand storytelling.

The brand shift generated strong cross-channel engagement, positioning Utopia as a credible environmental leader while increasing awareness of its conservation efforts and shared responsibility.

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