Case Study: Callaway Blue Spring Water – Consumer Product (CPG)
Callaway Blue Spring Water, a Callaway Enterprises consumer bottled water company, engaged Eberly & Collard Public Relations for consumer product launch services and ongoing integrated marketing management to address and encroach upon the highly competitive bottled water segment, first, in the Southeast, and then select Designated Market Areas in the United States. Armed with the knowledge that more than 95 percent of Americans have purchased bottled water but can be fickle with water brand loyalty, Eberly & Collard Public Relations’ marketing strategy was based on the creative cornerstone that the bottled water product category is the country’s non-alcoholic drink of choice and outsells soda by volume year over year.
Yet, while our client’s natural water spring runs deep, so did and do their marketing challenges. Knowing that we specialize in consumer products PR, they asked Eberly & Collard Public Relations to launch and grow a brand new drinking water brand in what is one of the most prolific and crowded consumer product sectors known to personkind.
Our consumer PR agency market researchers wasted no time and immediately set out to conduct and examine analysis of the bottled water industry to uncover essential insights and guide the process of brainstorming campaign creative as well as conceptualize, develop and deploy solid and clear brand messaging to satisfy any thirst.
By studying the three top-selling bottled water brands, we unearthed need-to-know data and information in terms of competitive consumer brand perceptions, consumption rates and regions, and marketing and advertising implications. This knowledge platform was the springboard for diving headfirst into regional and select national digital marketing and public relations.
How we got there:
The market research led to our consumer product marketing team conceptualizing brand and product launch strategies, multi-layered marketing campaigns and product information dissemination through a new “Captured at the Source” brand foundation. We maximized integrated marketing dominance on a communication platform that celebrated and promoted Callaway Blue Spring Water being sourced directly from a spring that bubbles up from a quartzite rock bed over 100 feet below the water’s surface.
We built into every messaging, advertising and public relations opportunity the benefits of buying and drinking water that is naturally filtered of minerals and contaminants through the spring’s quartzite rock. Comparing our client’s naturally filtered bottled water with other brands’ products that often require various and other tiers of filtering, we started flooding the Southeast regional market with the health-inspiring benefits Callaway Blue provides and at much less cost for consumers.
Being a top consumer products public relations and marketing agency, Eberly & Collard Public Relations worked to announce and then position Callaway Blue as a naturally filtered and healthy alternative compared to other water brands. This involved additional research, creative ideation, brand standards, product packages design consultation, transit advertising concepts, Point-of-Purchase branding concepts, press releases management, traditional advertising campaigns, online and digital marketing content, email campaigns, and educating consumers through public relations and brand activations about the water’s advantages and competitive price.
Forming Consumer Awareness through Content Marketing, Graphic Design Concepts and Brand Activations…
Our Atlanta team spearheaded integrated marketing programs and generated consumer awareness for the brand with a media relations campaign that landed content in consumer, lifestyle and parenting national media as well as mainstream local and regional media outlets. Marketing focuses were later concentrated in a series of roll-outs in key DMAs via parts of the country.
While an active website enhancement and search engine optimization (SEO) plan drove consumers to the website, simultaneously, public relations-focused brand activations at retail, golf courses, designer showhouse, airports, area symphony orchestra, and other public locations boosted consumer brand awareness that quickly converted to amplified brand name recognition and overall brand equity.
Meanwhile, our concepts for product packaging and brand-savvy signage and imagery for delivery transportation vehicles further whetted consumers’ appetites to learn more. The signage and delivery vehicle advertising were then used as part of key brand activations for consumer products cognizance.
Though, not stopping there, we also deployed strategic outreach to businesses, office buildings, healthcare facilities, sports stadiums, movie theaters, and other high-foot-traffic businesses and venues to promote the brand’s water delivery service, resulting in new business-to-business connections that were the first of their kind for the brand and produced delivery sales interest from numerous new targeted commercial audiences. The results of our consumer products public relations campaigns produced a loyal customer following that led to Callaway Blue being one of the top-selling water brands in its market.
Notable KPI's Achieved
The Results:
– Provided consumer product goods market research, brainstorming of concepts and PR-focused consultation for product packaging, logos, online presence and brand standards.
– Consulted to enhance marketing collateral and sales assets by 73 percent over originals, including at-retail Point-of-Purchase signage, product display concepts, grocery store shopping cart advertising signs, and transportation branding and advertising for delivery vehicles.
– Launched brand activation research such as conceptualized at-retail water taste test and samples PR program for retail giants of consideration: Publix, QuikTrip, Piggly Wiggly and Winn-Dixie; secured “official bottled water sponsor” position with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Designers’ Showhouse; vetted water-of-choice opportunities with Masters Tournament golf championship research; and others.
– Increased press release, business feature article and product spotlight editorial/media placements by 100 percent; earned editorial coverage for brand and products in major regional and specific national consumer media outlets through consumer goods public relations.
– Managed on-demand print and digital advertising campaigns, including 28-42 percent negotiated advertising discounts or value-added ad space bonuses, to launch the brand, promote consumer product options, and build demand generation for consumer sales and distribution channel partners.
– Supplemented a marketing contacts database by 78 percent to include airports, office buildings, private and public businesses, chambers of commerce, golf courses, healthcare facilities, public and consumer events, and other organizations to help promote home and business water service delivery.
– Shortened DMA product launch timeline by 3.5 months through accelerated marketing communications planning, and streamlined “customer buying journey” (from brand awareness to brand acceptance to the onset of brand loyalty) within first 9 months.
