Studio Brief 02 - Product, Range & Distribution - Research

The main issue with the global water crisis is that not enough people in developed countries are aware of the shear scale of the problem. So I am looking at what is being done already to try and show people what they can do to help. 

Water.org x Stella Artios -

Stella Artois has partnered with Water.org to launch ‘Buy a Lady a Drink,’ a campaign to help raise awareness of the global water crisis. There is two parts to their campaign firstly a series of videos that helps to how people where their money is going, which I believe is very important as a lot of people are resilient to give money if they don't see the positive effects so the video helps to show the audience this. The second part is a limited edition Stella glass which anyone can by and the money from that also goes towards Water.org. 

The campaign is very simple by using key facts and interesting anecdotes that will make people think about the third world countries that don't have access to clean water. One thing that I don't agree with about this campaign is that is in collaboration with alcohol although I can see how it makes sense to use the audience that they have it also seem slightly disrecptpful to the vulnerable people. So I think it would be wise not to look at collaborating with large corporations like Stella. 

Charity: Water

Charity: water is a non-profit organisation bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries. This video helps to show people what they do through a very beautiful illustration, this helps massively to appeal to anyone if it was a advert that uses real people I don't feel that it would have had the same effect. This charity seem to understand that having a good identify and quality content will help to grab peoples attention as it doesn't have to be all doom and gloom.

They also allow people to put on their own events as a form of fundraising, which I think is a great idea as this helps to get all sorts of people involved and that way you can spread the awareness even further.

Yorkshire Water

As the problem is so vast I thought it would be important to look at what has been done in my local community to help save water. Yorkshire water work with Water Aid to help raise money and awareness of the global water crisis they have a good section on their website showing people what they can do to save water at home as well ad what they can do to help on the bigger scale. However this section could be utilised in a better way, the information and the structure is there for a good advertising campaign but it does not seem that they are overly promoting the fact that they work with water aid, if they were to produce some sort of print campaign that could help raise awareness in the local area massively. 

https://www.yorkshirewater.com/household/help-advice/save-water/water-saving-tips/#ls3

Water Aid

Water Aid are doing a lot of work by themselves and with large corporations in order to raise awareness of the global water crisis, their vision is that by 2030 they aim for the whole world to have access to clean water. 

H&M - Water Aid work with H&M to transform lives in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, through access to clean water and safe toilets. H&M has donated 25% of all sales from their H&M for Water Collection – which was most recently fronted by Beyonce – to WaterAid. This is a great example how you can use a large brand to help to promote a huge issue, things like this can be done on smaller scales to help attract different target audiences. 

Belu Water - Belu is an ethical business and a pioneering social enterprise that produces great tasting, natural mineral water in the UK. It focuses on environmentally and socially considerate business practice with the purpose of investing all its profits in ending water poverty. WaterAid formed an exclusive partnership with Belu in June 2011.The relationship sees Belu donate 100% of its profits to WaterAid. 

I also found some of the Belu water posters which help to advertise the benefits of their water, this is some of the better design that I have seen for water campaigns. They are in this style as they are attracting the design conscious audience, but it this doesn't mean that it won't appeal to anyone the better the design the more likely people are going to pay attention to the content.  

World Water Day - 

World Water Day, on 22 March every year, is about taking action to tackle the water crisis. Each year they have a theme which is helps tackle different issues that the water crisis has, this year the theme is water waste. 

"Globally, the vast majority of all the wastewater from our homes, cities, industry and agriculture flows back to nature without being treated or reused – polluting the environment, and losing valuable nutrients and other recoverable materials."

This is an issue that effects everyone and it would be interesting to see how this could work in a campaign as I feel that there is not enough awareness for this day. On their website they have posters which you can download for free, the idea is that people download them and then post them up in their local area/in their homes etc. 

Awareness & solutions to water scarcity -

• Education 
• Recycle water 
• Water conservation 
• Improving farming 
• Improve sewage systems
• Supporting charity 

Even if people know that the water crisis is going on and they are giving money to charity etc, there is still things that can be done to further prevent the water crisis.

• Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth – this can save 6 litres of water per minute.
• Place a cistern displacement device in your toilet cistern to reduce the volume of water used in each flush. You can get one of these from your water provider.
• Take a shorter shower. Shower can use anything between 6 and 45 litres per minute.
• Always use full loads in your washing machine and dishwasher – this cuts out unnecessary washes in between.
• Fix a dripping tap. A dripping tap can waste 15 litres of water a day, or 5,500 litres of water a year.
• Install a water butt to your drainpipe and use the water collected to water your plants, clean your car and wash your windows.
• Water your garden with a watering can rather than a hosepipe. A hosepipe uses 1,000 litres of water an hour. Mulching your plants (with bark chippings, heavy compost or straw) and watering in the early morning and late afternoon will reduce evaporation and also save water.
• Fill a jug with tap water and place this in your fridge. This will mean you do not have to leave the cold tap running for the water to run cold before you fill your glass.
• Install a water meter. When you're paying your utility provider for exactly how much water you use, laid out in an itemised bill, there's an incentive to waste less of the stuff.
• Invest in water-efficient goods when you need to replace household products. You can now buy water-efficient shower heads, taps, toilets, washing machines, dishwashers and many other water-saving products. 

But why do we need to do all of this when we have plenty of water here in the UK?

Using less water actually means you are:

• Reducing energy use. Cleaning waste water (or 'grey water', as it's called) is an energy-intensive process; so is heating the hot water that comes out of your taps.
• Saving money. If you're on a water meter, these tips above could save you a bob or two.