The Campaign

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 product is a smart medium designed to trigger lifesaving action at the right place, at the right time, and right frame of mind. The design targets the misconception many people had that the amount of water wasted during a few minutes of soaping doesn’t amount to much. By demonstrating what can be done with the equivalent amount of water, the Protex Water Saving label creates urgency to turn the tap off.

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 in the shower. The design of the product highlighted the shocking data concerning water wastage in the shower – Every minute could waste up to 10L of water. Instead of merely showcasing the figures, the design visualised differently what a few minutes of a running tap could provide and contextualised the harmful effects of our carelessness. The first batch of products carrying the Water Saving Labels were sold as a special edition in conjunction with World Water Day. These 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.

Results

The campaign was launched 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 body wash has prompted Colgate-Palmolive to evaluate scaling up the project to a full regional rollout later in 2016. Protex Water Saving Labels has proven to be successful extension of the Colgate-Palmolive sustainability plan and adds the critical component of driving behavior change and helping consumers care for the world around them.

There are plenty of advertising messages telling us to conserve water, yet none of them appear in the shower, which accounts for over 25% of a household’s total water consumption. To trigger a real-time reaction to turn off the tap, we were able to get a water-saving message into the most private space at home. We did this by treating Protex body wash labels with hydrochromic ink. When exposed to water, the labels reveal a reminder when and where it matters to trigger a direct response to turn the tap off.

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 product 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.