QDOBA - "#TheirWordsNotOurs Case Study"

LOS ANGELES, May 22, 2018 — In celebration of World Biodiversity Day, Sambazon, the industry pioneer and market leader in the organic açaí category, and a champion of sustainable and fair-trade business practices, announces the success of #PurpleForThePlanet, a unique experiential and social initiative created in partnership with L.A. creative agency, Mistress. Through a commitment to buy five acres of rainforest for every person to participate, the campaign, which concludes today, has inspired over 5,800 people to color their hair purple and upload a photo to social media, reaching its goal of saving 30 endangered species in 30 days.

How do acres of rainforest translate into saving endangered species? Scientists estimate that one species is lost to extinction for every 584 acres of rainforest cut down—meaning one species is saved for every 584 acres of rainforest that are protected.

Beyond the social media campaign, #PurpleForThePlanet is a larger movement. Not only have celebrity influencers like Madelaine Petsch and Vanessa Morgan from “Riverdale” and Jonathan Van Ness from “Queer Eye” lent their voices (and hair) to the cause, Mistress tapped the Los Angeles community to attend an activation on Venice’s famed Abbot Kinney Boulevard, which challenged crowds of Angelenos to go purple for the planet.

“When the answer to a problem is two things you can't ignore—the preservation of biodiversity and a head of purple hair—you've tapped into something uniquely Sambazon,” said Blake E. Marquis, Executive Creative Director at Mistress. “Sambazon’s #PurpleForThePlanet challenge underscores the brand’s dedication to creating a superior and ethically-sourced product, as well as its commitment to saving the Amazon Rainforest.”

Since launching on Earth Day (April 22nd), #PurpleForThePlanet has secured over 17,500 acres of rainforest through The Rainforest Trust’s “Save-An-Acre” program.

About Mistress
Based in Los Angeles, California, Mistress is an internationally awarded, full-service creative agency that applies the rigorous thinking behind traditional brand building to the pace and demands of modern media culture. In 2017, Mistress merged with fellow Los Angeles independent agency Supermoon adding metrics-based performance marketing and media capabilities to create a modern, re-imagined and re-bundled offering capable of servicing the unmet needs of today’s marketers. The agency has been awarded at Cannes, One Show, Shortys, Clios, LIA, D&AD, Andy, A-List Hollywood, PromaxDBA and Game Marketing Awards. Mistress was 2016 PromaxDBA North American Agency of the Year and 2011 and 2014 Adage Small Agency of the Year.

About Sambazon
Sambazon is the first to bring açaí to the US and remains the only certified organic and fair trade açaí company in the world, launching in 2000. Sambazon products are certified Fair Trade, USDA organic, non-GMO, vegan and include superfruit packs, frozen sorbet and novelties, Amazon Energy drinks, fresh juices and açaí powder. The brand harvests açaí fruit through sustainable management in the Brazilian Amazon forest. Sambazon products are sold primarily through top retail grocers such as Vons, Whole Foods and Costco, and a leading provider of food service and at several top universities.