Following is this year's winner in PR News CSR Award category of Green PR Campaign.
Edelman and Brita for BritaFilterForGood: Better Waste, Less Waste 2007-2008
Due to its anti-environmental impact, many American consumers as of late have experienced severe guilt pangs when it comes to plastic water bottles. So strong was the remorse that The Clorox Company, which makes Brita water filters and Nalgene, a manufacturer of reusable beverage containers, launched the FilterForGood campaign, aimed at weaning people off throwaway bottles.
ANSWERING THE PUBLIC CALL
During the summer of 2007, public criticism of bottled water’s effect on the environment was rising to a crescendo. This gave the FilterForGood campaign additional impetus in its quest to carry out its objective. Based on an online pledge and a FilterForGood reusable bottle made by Nalgene, the initiative gave green consumers looking for alternatives to bottled water an easy way to give it up without sacrificing taste or style.
AN INSPIRATION TO OTHERS
The campaign resulted in a double-digit percent jump in Brita product sales. Also, combo packs of Brita filtration systems with FilterForGood bottles were sold to major retailers.
Clorox, began internal green initiatives with all brands and all U.S. offices. The FilterForGood campaign and its positive message became a regular mention in bottled water stories in the country’s top media outlets. Brita and Edelman brought the campaign even further into mainstream America with a synergistic integration with NBC’s popular reality show, The Biggest Loser.
APPEALING TO CONSUMERS’ ENVIRONMENTAL NEEDS
Working on the FilterForGood initiative brought home several key lessons. For Georgeanna Smith, senior account executive for Edelman, they were the following:
- “Find the key item missing from an ongoing media story and provide a solution. In this case, the part missing from all bottled water stories was an easy alternative, like Brita filtered water and a reusable bottle.”
- “Consumers are increasingly interested in helping the environment and brands that give back. Demonstrating how a brand is good for its users and others can take brand loyalty to a new level.”