The Campaign

The challenge with any social awareness campaign is to convert awareness into action and real behavior change. Research conducted by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has suggested that up to 30 percent of shower water is wasted. As a body wash product, Protex naturally sits in the shower where the wastage occurs and where no medium is readily available to remind consumers. The opportunity was to turn the product itself into a key touch-point, designing a smart and timely conservation message that is activated by the very water being wasted. The water reactive packaging is more than just a product label, it is a smart medium designed to trigger lifesaving action at the right place, at the right time, and right frame of mind. The innovative packaging design created a unique visual identity for Protex and drove consumer understanding of important facts around water conservation.

Creative Execution

The packaging was printed with a special hydrochromic ink and appears all white, but when exposed to water, a message reveals itself to remind us to turn off the tap while we soap. This was accompanied by a water fact that aims to contextualise our over-consumption. The first batch of the products were sold as Special Edition packaging in conjunction with World Water Day. Strong in-store communication covered the 3 key shopping phases – Destination, Impulse and Transition – to ensure the message was re-enforced throughout the path to purchase. The special edition bottles were offered to shoppers as a buy one, get free one promotion to incentivize purchase on World Water Day (March 22) and drive maximum awareness.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

The campaign was launched as a Special Edition pack sold in Thailand on World Water Day 2016. The first batch of the Special Edition sold out and a second batch of mass production is in progress to pipeline for a June activation. The positive take-up of the Special Edition packaging has prompted CP to evaluate scaling up the project to a full regional roll-out later in 2016. Protex Water Saving Labels has proven to be successful extension of Colgate-Palmolive’s sustainability plan and adds the critical component of driving behavior change and helping consumers care for the world around them.

The campaign strategy is designed to drive sustainable behavioral change on the water conservation issue beyond World Water Day awareness. Our strategy was to leverage on the United Nation’s initiative on World Water Day to launch the Protex Special Edition packaging with a retail partner – Watson’s, who share the same values and commitment to the cause. By inserting the innovative packaging into the home and shower of the shopper, the message of advocating a behavior change is sustainable and can be constantly delivered at the right time.