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Access to clean water brought to you by beer, Brita and a brand new suit


Today’s post is inspired by this super bowl ad featuring Matt Damon. The Stella Artois’ campaign with Water.org campaign where one limited edition Stella Artois chalice will provide five years of clean water to someone in the developing world. This clever campaign not only allows the beer brand to benefit underdeveloped communities worldwide, but it also allows for a significant branding opportunity for Stella Artois right in your very own kitchen. This post is dedicated to my top 3 favorite water-based campaigns and explores how philanthropy meets business:

  1. Stella Artois: Matt Damon is not joking around when it comes to clean access to water. Especially if that means a million-dollar ad buy during the super bowl. This clever campaign sought beer seekers during the super bowl that are willing to make a difference.

  2. Partner: Water.org

  3. Tagline(s): “Help the Water Crisis,” “Buy a Lady a Drink.”

  4. Tactics: Stella Artois will donate $3.13 to Water.org for every Limited-Edition Stella Artois Chalice sold in the U.S. between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018, up to 300,000 chalices.

  5. Benefit to Stella Artois: Brand awareness in homes

  1. Brita: Gold State Warriors basketball player Steve Curry is a strong advocate for this Brita filtration campaign. As schools around the nation in areas like Oakland, Baltimore and Flint have had to switch over to bottled water, advocates like Steve have partnered with schools to ensure students have access to clean, filtered water. Both Steve and Brita hope to make a lasting impact on schools worldwide.

  2. Partner: Alliance for a Healthier Generation

  3. Tagline(s): “The filtered life” “Filter for the future”

  4. Tactics: For every Longlast replacement filter or Brita System with Longlast purchased between March 25, 2018 – June 16, 2018, Brita will give $1 to schools in need of cleaner, safer drinking water, up to $500,000 total.

  5. Benefit to Brita: Positive brand association in schools, early adopters of Brita

  7. InStichu: As a champion of the clean water cause, if this clever suit lining doesn’t catch your eye, I don’t know what will. InStichu offers a choice of 8 suits with a special lining honoring the charity: water campaign. If you have not already read up on the founder’s inspiring story of why he started charity: water. You will be in for a treat! How many times can a charity brag that 100% of their proceeds go directly to the cause?

  8. Partner: charity: water

  9. Tagline: “From suits to sips”

  10. Tactics: Purchase a suit from our select charity: water fabric range with custom, limited edition lining, and InStitchu will donate $150 per suit sold from this range to supply five people with clean and safe drinking water from March 22 through April 30, 2018.

  11. Benefit to InStich: Brand awareness, increase sales in suits

Although these campaigns provide significant benefits to communities worldwide, let’s take a look at the dreaded question that all CFO’s are asking around the world: “What is the ROI?” In the case of Stella Artois, it would be pretty interesting to see where the chalices were purchased - was it in an area oversaturated with Stella Artois drinkers or was it under-served areas? When it comes to Brita - it seems like this will be a long-term game. Brita is building a generation of filter-users which could take years until these schoolkids purchase their first filter out of school. InStitchu certainly has the easiest way of measuring their impact in suit sales. They can also track where website visitors went after landing on the InStichu charity: water campaign: did these visitors buy other suits as well?

Either way, Stella, Brita and InStichu have found clever ways to promote clean access to water around the world. What other campaigns have you encountered? Which ones inspire you the most?


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