Nexnet

Case Study

 
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Helping a new, bottled-water business grow from audacious start-up to mainstream player in two years

Project – To provide the sole marketing support for an audacious attempt by a small start-up business in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, that launched from scratch a new, bottled-water brand – Harrogate Spa – taking on long-established, often globally owned competitors.

Audiences – Initially consumers in Yorkshire in order to help build a regional distribution platform through retail and catering trades, and to develop local consumer loyalty, and then, on the success of this, a twin-pronged approach targeted at national trade and consumer audiences to stimulate and support developing UK-wide distribution channels.

Campaign – Nexnet set out to ensure that Harrogate Spa had good stories to tell, and organised the campaign so that favourable coverage created consumer demand that could easily be satisfied by supermarket listings. When the first bottles came off the production line, Nexnet secured extensive coverage on regional TV and radio and in the press by exploiting Yorkshire pride in Harrogate’s fame as a historic spa town, albeit previously noted for the health-promoting rather than drinking qualities of its spring waters.

Results –The initial nationwide listing in Asda was supported with coverage that reached more than 23 million readers in a matter of months. This helped to promote sales, secure the continuation of the listing, and allowed for investment in new packaging, which in turn created new stories and helped cement new deals to supply Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose, as well as major airlines, hospitals, schools, and leading rail operators. Within two years of its launch, Harrogate Spa achieved value sales that put it in the top 20 UK bottled-water brands, and had secured its place in the mainstream of the market.

Budget – £60,000 per annum.

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