Article

Stuart Sankey
Stuart Sankey 14 December 2015
Categories Content, Social Media

FMCG: How Did Buxton Water Use Twitter So Effectively?

When conducting a mini-review of which FMCG brands are using Social Media to good effect, we came across this gem of a campaign from Buxton Water.

When conducting a mini-review of which FMCG brands are using Social Media to good effect, we came across this gem of a campaign from Buxton Water.

 

Buxton Water is natural mineral water made by nature in the Peak District. Rainfall from over 5,000 years ago is forced up through 1,500 metres of British bedrock to emerge crisp and delicious at St Ann’s Spring and is bottled at source. In 2015, Buxton Water was the Official Water Provider of the Virgin Money London Marathon.

 

Campaign Objective

The campaign objective was to leverage the brand’s proposition “Naturally Pumped Up” and to engage and enthuse spectators and participants at London Marathon.

 

Sponsorship Activation

Buxton used Twitter as the sole communications channel to amplify the campaign that included press, outdoor and experiential activities. Three weeks before the marathon they created and promoted a hashtag #withyoualltheway and using a lead generation card a select few runners were invited to ‘Run With a Loved One’.  This was an opportunity for the chosen few to run 80 metres of the race with someone who had supported them throughout their training. This was a first because non-runners had never before been allowed onto the course on race day.

 

On race day Buxton Water booked the promoted trend on Twitter and guaranteed that all the content being captured by a team of photographers and writers was given greatest possible reach and exposure. The content created by the team included image and multi-image Tweets, animated GIFs, and video.

 

Supporters were encouraged to tweet their messages of support and race photos and to use the hashtag #withyoualltheway. Buxton Water also used Twitter’s geo-targeting to target supporters at a much more local level. 

 

Canada Water Takeover

The most innovative element of the brand activation was the temporary renaming of Canada Water Underground and Overground station. For 24 hours the station was renamed Buxton Water as you can see from the photos below.

This was the first time this had ever been done and undoubtedly contributed to the excellent campaign results.

 

Campaign Results
The With You All the Way Campaign generated a potential reach on Twitter of 31.6 million impressions with an engagement rate (4.34%) of three times the category benchmark. The #withyoualltheway hashtag was used over 3000 times. According to a Nielsen Brand Effect Study those who saw the campaign were more likely to agree that ‘Buxton replenishes with vitality’.

 

Full credit to Buxton Water and their agency Brand Rapport. One of the better campaigns we’ve seen this year.\


This blog was first published on Pioneering Digital Promotions, which gives FMCG & retail marketers insight and tips to make their campaigns more effective.

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