The Brief

Melbourne has the best tap water in the world, yet the bottled water industry (and its environmental impacts) is only growing. It has higher market share than Coca Cola and costs more per litre than oil. Through their Choose Tap initiative, Yarra Valley Water aims to raise awareness of the cost, health and environmental benefits of tap water. Our objective was to change how people think, create awareness and get them to ‘Choose Tap’ again.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

Dupé: a ‘fake’ brand highlighting the absurdity of bottled water. Overnight we set up a store in one of Melbourne’s main shopping centres. We sold the unsellable and filmed people’s reactions as they shopped. The Dupé range consisted of packaged and bottled products such as ‘Organic Fresh Air’, ‘Good Vibrations’ and other absurd items. If it’s something you’d never spend your hard earned cash on, you’ll find it here. The whole process was captured on hidden camera and used to create a thought-provoking film that was seeded and seen worldwide, heavily supported by free PR activity and key influencer blogging.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

The campaign is still evolving with more online activity scheduled. To date, some highlights include: • Melbourne’s average tap water usage almost doubled during the campaign period. • 201,951 YouTube hits to date. • 800+ visits (per week) to the DUPÉ e-store. • Message reach to over 175 countries. • 19% increase in Facebook likes. • Facebook post reach peaked at 10,873 on the campaign launch on 21 October. Average prior was 200. • Growth of the Choose Tap community by over 1,000. • Nationally and internationally, other water authorities are replicating the campaign.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

Dupé sold products you can get for virtually free, just like bottled water companies do. This pointed out to shoppers that buying bottled water makes about as much sense as buying a jar of Organic Fresh Air or a packet of Good Vibrations.