The Campaign

Tibet 5100 is a premium provider of bottled mineral water and reigns as the leader of the Chinese high-end bottled water market. Its “5100 Tibet Glacier Spring Water” is sourced from a unique glacial spring at 5,100 meters above sea level. The connotations that are invoked as part of its brand make it one of the most iconic bottled waters in Asia. As a source of local economic pride, the company went public in 2011 and was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Today, it commands 26.9% of China’s high-end bottled water market with its slogan proclaiming that the fine water of Tibet is a premium gift to the world. Despite its domestic leading position, overseas expansion has become a priority for the company and the company felt that there is no better time than now for the world to meet Tibet 5100. The 2012 Summer Davos allowed us to position Tibet 5100 as the leading premium bottled water drink in the whole of Asia. We secured the WEF membership for Tibet 5100 to attend Davos and sponsor the event as the drinking water supplier approved by the government of Tianjin, through which the story of Tibet 5100 was spread at the forefront of the event among those most prominent political and economic elites. As a result, its image was consolidated as a leader in the bottled water industry while its senior executive was recognized as an industry KOL.

The Brief

Our aim was to better position Tibet 5100 as a successful and growing company in the region and to co-brand Tibet 5100 with the Summer Davos. As the exclusive supplier of drinking water, its goal is to enhance the in-person drinking experience for Davos attendees and strengthen the brand image of Tibet 5100 globally. In addition, it is focused on promoting the CEO’s innovative and leading position among the stakeholders in this industry.

Results

The work we completed with Tibet 5100 was extremely successful on a variety of levels. The very starting point to this success should be in the leveraging the sponsorship of the Davos meeting to place the premium water front and center at the most famous global meeting. Aiding these strong connotations of leadership was having the CEO of Tibet 5100 meet with industry peers and shared the success story of how the company had grown from its localized roots to be the premium bottled water of China. The sponsorship also generated four articles that were based around in-depth interviews with the CEO and approximately 380 pieces of media coverage with positive media key words including “Tibet makes an impression”, "blueprint for SMEs”, "China’s top high-end bottled water brand” and “symbol of Chinese elements” etc. Our aim was to help take Tibet 5100 to the next level, help it go global, and by using the global pull of the Davos event in many ways our partnership succeeded.

Execution

- After searching for prominent global events, we finally identified the 2012 Summer Davos as the best fit for Tibet 5100 as it was targeted at the right audience, held profound influence, and drew great media attention. - By integrating the Davos theme of “refreshing the global economy” into the key communication message of Tibet 5100 and tailor-made message for its CEO to discuss the challenges of SMEs and regional economic development, we successfully marketed the brand and performance of Tibet 5100 to industry peers. - We engaged The CEO of Tibet 5100, promoted as an innovative industry leader, in keynotes, panel discussions, and executive talks. - A series of high-profile interviews were arranged with key business media to talk about 5100’s business achievement and marketing strategy, which in turn boosted confidence in the whole industry under the circumstances of the global economic recession.

The Situation

Years of solid market expansion has made Tibet 5100 China’s top brand in the high-end bottled water industry. Listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the company regards overseas expansion as its next step, where it is a new player to enhance its global brand awareness, in contrast to its domestic leading position. Thus, the 2012 Summer Davos was a perfect stage to tell its story as a growing company in the region since it was secured with the right to be the main supplier, by which its global reputation and connotations to leadership was promoted.

The Strategy

- Positioning Tibet 5100 as a successful example of a growing domestic company and co-branding Tibet 5100 with the Summer Davos, we create an experience for the present political and economic elites in order to increase its brand value. - By engaging the CEO of Tibet 5100 to deliver keynote and share learning with executives from other industry giants, his exposure was enhanced as much as possible during Davos. - We secured the Davos sponsorship for Tibet 5100 as the exclusive supplier of the drinking water, through which we enhanced the in-person drinking experience of Davos attendees and the leading brand perception of Tibet 5100. - We pitched high-profile media interviews from top media outlets both home and abroad, including China Daily, Global Times, and the Wall Street Journal.