Tap Into Water - Best Green PR Campaign Under £50K Case Study
The 2008 Green Award for Best Green PR Under £50K went to United Utilities Plc for their Tap Into Water campaign.
North West water company United Utilities keeps the taps flowing and the toilets flushing for households across the region.
Earlier this year, we launched a major campaign to promote the environmental and cost benefits of choosing our excellent tap water over bottled.
The Tap Into Water campaign was designed to:
- Encourage customers to switch to tap water.
- Convince North West restaurants to put tap water on the menu.
- Get the debate featured prominently in the regional press.
- Secure political support.
- Underline our credentials as a green-minded business.
- Promote the superb quality of the region's water.
We pride ourselves on being an environmentally responsible business - so a campaign to influence consumer habits made perfect sense.
We have set ourselves ambitious company targets to reduce carbon emissions by 2012, and we rely on the support of our employees, contractors and customers to help us get there.
Our commitment is set out in a far-reaching sustainable business policy. From generating renewable energy from sewage to innovative approaches to land management, we are constantly looking for ways to improve our environmental performance. A full-time carbon manager and a team of carbon champions throughout the business are tasked with driving this process forward.
Tap Into Water was a great opportunity to involve customers, journalists and politicians in a timely environmental campaign, which stood to reduce landfill use and carbon emissions.
The North West has some of the best tap water in the world. It requires no excess packaging or transportation, and costs less than 1p per litre.
However, many adults still spend an estimated £500 each year on designer bottled brands. Containers take up to 1000 years to biodegrade, and 33,000 tonnes of CO2 is generated in transporting them around the country.
With the environmental agenda and the economic downturn making daily national headlines, we knew there was never a better time to remind our customers to tap into water.
There were several stands to the campaign:
- Media partnerships: we teamed up with the region's biggest daily newspapers, who actively embraced the campaign. Participants included the Manchester Evening News, Liverpool Echo, Blackpool Gazette and North West Evening Mail.
- Street campaign: we hit the streets with a pub-style outdoor water bar, complete with pumps that tapped directly into the mains. Working with our media partners, we gave away 40,000 branded 'bottles for life' to shoppers in North West cities.
- Water babe: to coincide with the 2008 May Day summit on climate change in Manchester, we recruited Lucy Evans, Coronation Street's former feisty barmaid, to pull some pints of water for thirsty punters.
- Getting tap on the menu: we gave away free window stickers to allow restaurants to advertise their support for the campaign, and featured tap-water friendly eateries in our press activity.
- Research: we commissioned a regional consumer survey to examine North West diners' experiences of ordering tap water in restaurants.
- Lobbying: MPs and elected members were made aware of the campaign by our in-house Public Affairs team, via face-to-face and written briefings.
- Radio package: a pre-recorded radio package was distributed to BBC and commercial stations across the region.
- Breaking into the boardroom: we encouraged businesses and local authorities to take up the campaign, by switching to tap water for board meetings.
- Community groups: via our employees, we gave away 9,000 free branded bottles for life to North West community groups.
The campaign was aimed at:
- North West households
- North West restaurants
- Regional and national media
- North West MPs, elected members and local authorities
- United Utilities employees
Tap Into Water generated creaking files of positive media coverage, and a flood of public and political support.
Key regional newspaper partners embraced the campaign with gusto, delivering several weeks’ worth of enthusiastic coverage. More than 60 articles have appeared so far.
The Manchester Evening News devoted three front pages to the campaign and several leader columns. On launch day, its switchboard lit up with readers congratulating the paper on its stance. Our other regional media partners were just as vociferous.
Broadcast coverage was just as impressive. Sky News ran a lengthy piece and interview with our carbon manger, Chris Matthews, while regional BBC TV, Channel M TV and 12 commercial and BBC radio stations also picked up on the story, and ran interviews with United Utilities experts. Total media coverage to date is valued at more than £250k.
With the regional press and our own public affairs team actively pushing the agenda, a number of heavyweight political figures came on board. Gordon Brown and David Cameron publicly pledged their support, with Mr Cameron saying in a press interview: “I absolutely applaud this campaign. The whole move towards tap water – which is of very good quality now – is an extremely good one.”
On the back of our campaign, Phil Woolas, environment minister and MP for Oldham East, launched a motion calling for an end to bottled water in the House of Commons. Dozens of MPs have subsequently signed up.
Back in the North West, scores of restaurants came out in support of the campaign. This helped to keep the media band-wagon rolling. Some papers even chose to name and shame non-compliers.
Manchester City Council, Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council and Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce also came on board, by introducing tap water into board meetings.
Total budget: £45,000
Elements included: Street campaign, Promotional materials (bottles for life, restaurant window stickers), Celebrity support, Artwork
Results:
'Tap Into Water’ developed an unstoppable momentum - and it's still going strong to this day!
By encouraging regional newspapers to take ownership of the campaign, we were able to secure months' worth of positive coverage. Editors took up the baton with real enthusiasm, and reported being swamped with calls from supportive readers.
Our lobbying efforts, meanwhile, spread the campaign beyond the North West to Westminster, helping to place the issue firmly on the national agenda. Securing the backing of Brown, Cameron and Woolas was a major coup.
At grass roots level, the campaign was just as impactful, with dozens of restaurants pledging their support, and several local authorities, community groups and commercial businesses getting involved.
The campaign put an important environmental issue firmly in the public spotlight, generating debate and inspiring a positive change in consumer behaviour.
Paul Horrocks, Editor of the Manchester Evening News said: “It’s been a pleasure to work with United Utilities on this brilliant campaign. Tap Into Water continues to strike a real chord with our readers. I congratulate United Utilities’ press team.”
Mark Thomas, Editor of the Liverpool Daily Post said: “What a great campaign – and it’s still very much alive. When United Utilities approached us, we knew we had to get involved. The response from our readers has been superb.”
At grass roots level, the campaign has been equally successful, with more than 40,000 bottles for life distributed, and a wide range of restaurants, local councils and businesses all agreeing to come on board.
The judges thought this campaign was bright, easy to understand, and an excellent example of a lasting partnership between the entrant and the media.
