Case Study
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Helping charity bottled-water brand Thirsty Planet to raise £1m in two years for water projects in Africa through sales and raising awareness of the links between water shortages and poverty.
Project – Thirsty Planet was launched in March 2007 by long-standing Nexnet client Waterbrands, of Harrogate, producers of Harrogate Spa Water. For every bottle of Thirsty Planet sold a stated, .jpg)
guaranteed donation goes to the charity Pump Aid. The money is used to help African rural communities to sink wells and install locally-made, sustainable water pumps to provide continuous supplies of clean, safe drinking water. It is a retail-only brand and success was dependent upon strong supermarket listings. It is the only good-cause bottled water brand guaranteeing a stated donation from every bottle sold. A modest PR budget was all that could be committed to marketing of the brand.
Objective - From the first listing in Asda, to initiate and maintain enough continuous media interest in Thirsty Planet to help convince more major multiple supermarket buyers to commit to and maintain shelf space for the brand, and to generate consumer interest in buying it.
Campaign - Pump Aid was a very small and little-known charity but with an exceptionally strong story that had had little previous exposure. Nexnet recognised that delivering media coverage for Pump Aid as a means to introduce the role of Thirsty Planet would be more productive for both parties than positioning the relationship the other way around, and would deliver a much bigger return on investment in PR for Thirsty Planet.
It was also agreed that as Thirsty Planet had to compete for hard-to-keep shelf space against global brands with global marketing budgets, it was essential that the PR campaign must be seen by supermarket buyers to be punching far above its weight. To this end, it was decided to focus on achieving big hits in big media by talking about the issues of water provision and consumption around the world.
Brand launch – Pop singer Corinne Bailey Rae agreed to front the launch of Thirsty Planet coinciding with the start of its national distribution through Asda, and thereafter to be an ambassador for Pump Aid. The highlight of the extensive media coverage generated by Nexnet was a Sky TV News interview with Corinne about the launch of Thirsty Planet, which was broadcast repeatedly throughout the launch day as an extended five-minute piece. Placing the founder of Pump Aid as a guest on Radio 4’s Midweek programme gained more valuable exposure for Thirsty Planet, with the added bonus of stimulating £20,000 in spontaneous and unsolicited cash donations to the charity from Radio 4 listeners.
World Water Day – For World Water Day 2008, Nexnet sent a 20-litre collapsible water container branded Thirsty Planet to journalists on national quality newspapers and to presenters of TV magazine programmes, and challenged them to manage for 24 hours using just 20 litres of water, the average amount someone in sub-Saharan Africa has each day. We also supplied water facts, hints on how to save water, background notes on Thirsty Planet and Pump Aid, a DVD of Pump Aid’s work in Malawi, pack shots and images from Africa. The Independent ran a double page spread of in-depth coverage of the water footprint of the food industry as well as the writer’s one-day log of the 20-litre challenge and a page-deep colour photograph of her holding the Thirsty Planet branded water container. The Times gave the challenge a more light-hearted treatment but still included the comparison between Western and African water consumption and several brand mentions for Thirsty Planet. The Metro gave the story almost a full page of coverage. The CEO of Thirsty Planet and Corinne Bailey Rae completed the challenge and their diaries were used in an e-newsletter to supporters encouraging people to take part in the challenge and report back on the Thirsty Planet website. An event was held in Trafalgar Square where Pump Aid’s employees from Zimbabwe built a working pump. A DVD of Pump Aid’s work was shown on a big screen while visitors were challenged to carry a full bucket of water to experience how heavy it is. The event gained coverage on London radio station, LBC, including two interviews with the CEO of Pump Aid.
The Times Christmas charity appeal – Nexnet proposed and helped to secure the selection of Pump Aid as one of three charities in the Times 2008 Christmas appeal. This is a much sought-after endorsement for which major charities compete every year. Nexnet contributed to the bid by researching and writing a synopsis for each of 12 strong news and feature ideas. After selection, the Times despatched to Africa leading journalists, including Matthew Paris, to follow up the leads. The result was the publication of 12 major articles over the Christmas period, one of which focused on the role of Thirsty Planet as a simple way for UK shoppers to support the charity. So strong was the editorial coverage that Times readers donated £340,000 to Pump Aid, a record amount for any charity involved in the Times Christmas Appeal.
Store support in local media – Records are kept of sales of Thirsty Planet in individual stores of the major supermarkets, and for every £250 each store raises (the cost of a well and pump) it is given a certificate confirming a named village in Africa that it has helped. Asda agreed to allow store managers to co-operate in local media coverage arranged by Nexnet in which they receive their certificates from Thirsty Planet representatives. So far, sales of Thirsty Planet through Asda have paid for 1,500 wells and pumps.
Results - PR by Nexnet, which is the only marketing support behind Thirsty Planet, has helped the brand achieve in two years:
· Listings by all the major-multiple supermarkets, and without interruption by Asda, Sainsbury's and Waitrose.
· Market leadership by volume of good-cause bottled water brands.
· £1 million for Pump Aid.
Budget - Circa £30,000 per annum
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