The encyclopedia · Marketing & Brand · Marketing decision · 2014–2015
Aqua Carpatica got Romanians to test their own water for nitrates
Aqua Carpatica gave away a nitrate-detecting paper strip so buyers could test any water, making its purity claim verifiable by customers themselves.
Aqua Carpatica
the move
Aqua Carpatica sold bottled water positioned on the lowest nitrate content in Romania, but consumers had no way to compare: most Romanian water sources did not disclose nitrate levels at all.
With agency Cohn & Jansen JWT it created the Purity Test, a small paper strip that changes colour when it detects nitrates. Around 1.2 million strips were distributed through supermarkets and direct mail, and a dedicated website collected the results on a public map.
People tested their own tap water and wells and shared the findings, so the campaign spread without paid amplification. The Facebook community grew to about a million fans, and the effort put a real health issue in front of the country.
The brand framed its whole position around the public's right to know what they drink, which made a niche product claim into a cause people could join.
why it works
- Nitrate content is an abstract, invisible claim that most consumers cannot check.
- A colour-changing test strip converts an unseen risk into something anyone can see.
- Posting results on a shared map let the public generate the proof for the brand.
- Positioning as a fight for the right to know gave customers a reason beyond water.
what transfers
When your claim is hard to prove, give the customer the tool to prove it; letting people test the whole category makes your honesty the differentiator.
what came after
The campaign produced a 40% sales increase for Aqua Carpatica and grew its Facebook community to roughly one million fans. It won the Grand Effie, a Gold Effie in Non-Alcoholic Beverages and a Bronze Effie in Brand Experience at the 2015 Effie Awards Romania. People also reported discovering that their own wells were contaminated, which the team called its biggest outcome.
references
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