Park&Co

How the campaign has evolved into one of the world's foremost authorities on water conservation, including the most popular website on the subject.

Hi, we're Arizonans and we're water-holics. Hard to believe in a state that's largely desert, but it's true. And it's not entirely our fault. (Denial is the first step toward recovery, right?) Until 1999, there was no such thing as a concerted effort to help curb our unwise water habits. That was the year the City of Mesa sponsored a pivotal water-use survey. It found that Arizonans knew water was a precious commodity but had little practical knowledge or motivation for saving it. "Don't tell us to save water, show us how." was a recurring survey request, and became the nucleus of our comprehensive water conservation campaign.

Funded by Arizona municipalities and created by Park&Co: "Water - Use It Wisely" was conceived and designed to show citizens how simple changes in everyday behaviors could make a huge difference in their water consumption. The campaign showed how easy saving water is with simple tips and clear benefits: "Choose a low water-use plant and save up to 550 gallons a year."

Promoted behaviors started at the most basic level with the most important water-saving device: YOU.

Each of the 100+ water-saving tips has an everyday object associated with it, like a toothbrush, a plant or a broom. And in all media, these objects were made big, bold and colorful to help users identify with simple ways to save.

In addition to traditional TV, radio and print media, WUIW has found its way onto newsletter inserts, restaurant tent cards, theater slides, airport signs, municipal trucks and water bills. School and business partnerships have been established, prompting kids to take home magnets, bookmarks, toothpaste winders and temporary tattoos designed to get wise water habits started early. Corporate sponsorships with Lowe's and Home Depot allowed the water-saving message to be seen at points-of-purchase. And to provide a shocking perspective, we built a 16-foot tall, 136-gallon water jug pyramid to represent the average amount of water used daily by every citizen in metropolitan Phoenix. All who see it are dumbfounded.

But the heart of WUIW is wateruseitwisely.com, which boasts the same colorful creative as the other media, and serves as an interactive hub for water conservation and other sustainability topics. Users can access printable water-saving tips, a landscape watering guide, games for kids, details on becoming a water partner, and countless links to information, resources, communities and products.

After just four years, WUIW had achieved an 80% market awareness penetration, and 33% of surveyed respondents said they had taken conservation actions promoted in the campaign. But that was just the beginning. WUIW has been adopted by over 400 private and public partners, both nationally and worldwide. Educators and professionals are referencing it as a proven catalyst for social change, and the United Nations has cited it in its Creative Gallery on Sustainable Communication.

In our efforts to cure water misuse in our own backyard, Park&Co has created a groundbreaking social marketing campaign that has proven itself in regional, national and international arenas. People in Arizona and around the world now have a simple, effective tool for using water much more wisely.

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