US water technology provider Xylem leveraged its partnership with City Football Group by teaming up with Manchester City FC Manager Pep Guardiola and several players for a wake-up call campaign to spread awareness of the worsening wastewater crisis and to urge viewers and fans to join the brand in taking collective action ahead of the UN World Water Conference.
The campaign, developed by Brave, emerged from research which found an estimated 80% of wastewater enters the environment untreated and this mismanagement of toxic chemicals, human and medical waste is putting both people and the environment at risk.
The campaign highlights the urgency of the crisis, the need to shift in public sentiment towards taking action to protect safe water and the importance of the audience working with brands and non-profits to take collective action ahead of the UN World Water Conference.
Xylem’s campaign, developed by agency Brave, seeks to generate support for the ‘Take The Waste Out Of Water’ initiative which is hubbed around a bespoke online site on which the public can register their support for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and find information about the crisis, actions they themselves can take and a guide on the steps viewers can take to ensure global wastewater issues remain a topic of conversation in relevant markets.
Spearheaded by a film which dropped on 9 March and which was fronted by Guardiola and backed by a set of supporting social and digital media assets, the campaign supports the UN’s resolution to cut the amount of untreated wastewater released in the world by 50% by 2030.
The agency believes that there ‘is an embedded human truth at the heart of the activity – that many of us are guilty of watching global wastewater issues hit our screens daily, yet most of us don’t act on it’ and so the team chose to address this public inertia head on with a direct plea from Pep.
Thus, the central spot, directed by Courage’s Peter King, sees Pep deliver a direct wake-up call addressing the waste issues that affect everyone and questioning how close will pollution have to get before we do something about it.
‘Does wastewater have to be at your doorstep and even flooding your home, before we act?’ asks the City boss.
The film closes with a positive message of hope; prompting the audience to stop watching pollution on their screens and start using their devices for good with a simple click to show support that can help drive change for water at the UN conference.
The film and supporting content steers viewers and fans to the webpage which includes a petition sign-up mechanic, a list-building drive incentivised through a prize draw.
“To get cut-through with the audience, we need a provocative message to capture attention, a clear call to action to make it tangible, and a platform to nurture their awareness and action over time,” explained Xylem Senior Director of Global Partnerships & Branding Randolf Waters. “The campaign aims to deliver across all of this. We all need to take action on this issue, today.”
Brave Creative Director Annie Fox added: “It can be overwhelming to know how to solve problems like water pollution. We wanted to move viewers with a visually striking and emotionally charged message that would make them take notice. By showing wastewater destroying a loved home it brings a searching question for the viewer – how close does water pollution have to get before you’ll act? Then showing change can happen with a simple click.”
The campaign was created for a Xylem marketing team led by Brand Director Randolf Waters and Marketing Manager Helen Lewis by a team at Brave.
The group at the agency who worked on the campaign included Business Director Declan Garvin, Account Director Mike Roberts, Planners Michael Kates and Hugh Kupfer, Creative Director Annie Fox, Art Director Nathan Salf, Copywriter Jake Bean, Designers Lee Robins, Talveer Uppal and Alex Wastell and Graphic Designer Patrick Mccaulsky-Martin.
Production, post production and music was handled by Courage with Director Peter King and Producer Pamela Pifferri and with additional input from Eascal.
Comment
This brand-backed initiative builds on the considerable media coverage highlighting the water pollution crisis. The United Nations currently estimates that 3.2bn people will live in severely water-scarce areas by 2050.
Indeed, over the last four years, Xylem and CFG clubs Manchester City FC, Mumbai City FC and New York City FC have been educating fans on the planet’s water challenges and in February 2023 released a highlight video celebrating the renewal of the partnership which aims to ‘mobilize 100 million more people to act and to address critical water challenges in communities around the world and create a more #watersecure future for all’.
The latest initiative follows on from previous Xylem and Man City activations including 2021’s ‘Closer Than You Think’, 202’s ‘The End Of Football’ and 2019’s ‘Closer To Home’.
According to Xylem, thus far the football partnership has enabled it to reach more than 1bn people through water awareness, education and volunteerism initiatives that advance their shared mission to create a more sustainable world.
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