Answering a call from the first lady Michelle Obama and the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) to encourage Americans to drink more water, Current helped Brita sign on as one of the first supporters of Drink Up, a collaboration that celebrates the health benefits of water. Brita set out to encourage everyone to drink more water for improved health and well-being by:
Making Water Desirable: Educating consumers that clean, clear and great-tasting water could be found as close as the nearest tap, thanks to Brita products including pitchers and on-the-go filtering bottles whose on-trend colors and patterns fit any lifestyle and décor.
Making Water Accessible: Highlighting how Brita products make it convenient to stay hydrated – whether on the go or in the home – and help bring that message to life for those in need.
To further drive awareness, Current brought actress Eva Longoria on board as spokesperson to help deliver messaging and shine the spotlight on Brita at Drink Up events, engage consumers on social media and design a limited-edition Drink Up Brita bottle, with proceeds supporting the campaign.
Through its partnership with PHA in support of Drink Up, Brita successfully engaged with consumers, media and influencers around the topic of drinking more water. We met our goal of earning 150MM media impressions, with more than 205MM impressions and 335 unique stories in national and local media outlets, including top-tier national coverage in the Huffington Post, Parade, Associated Press, New York Post and "CBS This Morning," and more.
According to the CDC, more than 40 percent of Americans drink less than four cups of water a day, including seven percent who don't drink any water daily. Research also shows that 92 percent do not drink the U.S. daily recommended eight to ten servings of water. Even more, Americans are drinking about 400 calories a day in sugary drinks; in fact, sugar-sweetened beverages are the number one single source of calories in the American diet and account for about half of all added sugars that people consume. By contrast, the American Heart Association advises people to consume no more than 36 ounces or about 450 calories from sugary beverages a week.
Choosing to drink water is one of the easiest choices one can make every day. Drinking water has been shown to give people more energy and stamina, allowing one to do more, longer and with better focus.
Armed with this research, Brita shifted its overall brand focus from an environmental and sustainability message to one of promoting healthy lifestyle choices for the whole family. Marketing goals were now to spotlight Americans' awareness of the need to drink more water and the potential barriers, positioning Brita as the hero in making it even more convenient to get clean, clear great-tasting water both in the home and on the go.
The Brita team set out to execute a program against the following strategies:
Brita aligned itself with Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), specifically "Drink Up" – a national initiative to encourage everyone to drink more water more often for improved health and well-being and identified activist and actress Eva Longoria as spokesperson to support PHA efforts throughout the year. Known for her healthy lifestyle and activism, Longoria was a strong advocate, helping provide a face to the "water trend."
In less than a year, Brita was able to play a key role in the success of helping American's choose water more often. The team achieved its intended strategic objectives:
In total Brita's FY14 PR program earned more than 205MM total impressions and 335 stories
