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‘1 for 100’ re-branding with help from the talented...

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 16:33:00 -0400

‘1 for 100’ re-branding with help from the talented Simon Walker. High-res image here.

World Water Week!

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:16:00 -0400

In recognition of World Water Week (March 19-25), here are a few water related things we’ve found interesting…

Water Footprint APP

Carry this Virtual Water digital companion anywhere and grow more conscious about how much water our everyday food and beverages really consume. If you don’t have a smart phone, they also sell a poster with same snazzy graphics as you see below.

Unicef Tap Project

Lenny Kravitz is lending his support for UNICEF’s Tap Project by encouraging restaurant patrons across the country to pay $1 or more for the tap water they usually enjoy for free during World Water Week.

Donate Your Voice

Matt Damon and Water.org encourage you to “Donate Your Voice” by granting them temporary access to your Twitter or Facebook account. Once approved, they’ll post periodic updates about their cause all this week.

A few weeks ago we got a curiously large bottle order from a...

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 17:40:00 -0400

A few weeks ago we got a curiously large bottle order from a woman here in Los Angeles named Annika. Not being ones to keep our noses out of other people’s business, we reached out to find out what she was up to!

Her response:

My family is going to stop buying all plastic bottles of water (we go through cases and cases) and use your bottles in the fridge, bedside tables, dinner table, pool house, grab a bottle for the road etc. We’re trying to make a change and send a positive message to our family and friends.

How great is that? We followed up with her again after the change:

It’s been a few weeks since you’ve switched from bottled water to reusable water bottles. What are your thoughts so far?

The switch was seamless. Empty bottles are returned to the kitchen sink, washed and refilled with delicious filtered tap water.

What’s been the biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge was finding the right bottles. A bottle that was not too big, not too small… one thatwould work on the dining table, bedside table, car cupholder etc. And most importantly, an attractive bottle!

How has the rest of your family reacted to the change?

Everyone in our family enjoys drinking the delicious bottled tap water and we all love the message that it sends to our friends. We are plastic free!

In the interest of full disclosure, Annika did request a couple replacement caps. But besides that, it sounds like the transition was pretty seamless!

New Filters

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 19:57:00 -0400

Here are a few new filters we’ve been able to create as a result of bottle sales. Thanks everyone!

Tap Water Visualizations

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 16:51:00 -0400

David Wicks is doing some beautiful work with rainfall & tap water statistics. From the man himself:

Drawing Water uses water consumption data provided by the USGS and rainfall data provided by NOAA/NWS. The data is downloaded and parsed with a series of python scripts. The prints were generated using software written on top of the Cinder framework. The interactive mapping application and controller were also built on top of Cinder.

Winter 2011 (United States) Southwest, Winter 2011

New Partnership!

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 16:50:08 -0400

We’re happy to announce that we’re partnering with TMA, a non-profit based here in L.A. to deliver BioSand filters to people in rural India. Now when you buy a bottle, you’ll be helping others to get clean water. We look forward to sharing photos and video of work done in the field.

I really dig the vehicle that’s used to transport biosand filters: It’s called a...

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 16:50:00 -0400

I really dig the vehicle that’s used to transport biosand filters: It’s called a Piaggio Ape and was invented by Corradino D’Ascanio, the creator of Vespa scooters. After WW2, Italy was in shambles so Corradino thought the vehicle would be good tool to help with the reconstruction of his country. It looks like a no-frills, very utilitarian vehicle.

Tap Water & the Decline of Social Capital

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 16:49:00 -0400

Ten years ago, Robert Putnam wrote about the decline of social capital in America (i.e. why we don’t know our neighbors, belong to many clubs, or entertain our friends with dinner parties as often as we used to).

This decline is difficult to measure but it impacts many areas of society. For example when social capital erodes in neighborhoods, people install alarm systems in their homes; an area once entrusted to the local Neighborhood Watch. We’ve shifted trust in our neighbors to private security firms even though our towns aren’t any more dangerous than they used to be (property crimes are at early 1970’s levels). People do it because it makes them feel safer. If our neighbors have become strangers, and strangers can’t be trusted, it starts to make sense. Private security companies further exacerbate the problem with ridiculous commercials to increase people’s fear.

Another measure of the decline can be seen here in L.A. where the public school system is in shambles. Only 52% of LAUSD seniors graduated last year. The PTA used to be the social glue that held students, teachers, and parents accountable but membership rates have steadily declined in recent years. It seems even the most steadfast parents who hung around while LAUSD went downhill have since opted for private schools.
Those parents were crucial to keeping the system in check. Without them, there’s no teacher/student accountability and the negative feedback loop continues.

The national decline in social capital affects how tap water is perceived as well. “How can I trust the city to provide clean water if they can’t even fix the pot holes in the street?” people say. And that mistrust is reinforced when alarmist news stories report about water quality violations. But in the span of a 2 minute news piece it’s difficult to provide sufficient context about nature of the violation.

And when violations are reported by the media, they may not even affect residents who hear about it. For example a small county in southern Florida may have had a violation that wouldn’t affect residents up in Orlando. But residents in Orlando still see the story on the news, and it leaves a negative mark on their mind about tap water.

Who is there to speak up for tap water? There’s no official brand ambassador for tap like many other organizations have. Any time a reporter writes a piece to suggest that the Catholic Church may be infallible, Bill Donohue is right there to defend it. Who does tap have, the EPA?

Imagine if Coke had a health violation at one of their bottling plants but no spokesperson provided context or clarification about the incident. And when they rectified the problem a few days later, they didn’t send out a press release. It would never happen.

There’s no spokesperson to defend tap. The only thing that keeps people loyal to it is a vague sense of community loyalty that’s a remnant of bygone era, when a clean water source was crucial to the success of a town. Nowadays most people don’t know where their tap water comes from so they don’t feel obliged to keep tabs on it. For this reason they’re much more susceptible to accusatory advertising from private bottlers.

As we’ve seen with the Neighborhood Watch and PTA, it’s become easier for people to outsource their trust to a private entity (private bottlers) than it is to hold their local water utility accountable.

We want to restore than sense of community.

Bob's Shoes

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 14:26:00 -0500

It baffles me how ideas like this ever see the light of day. Did no one raise their hand during the brainstorm session to say how bad an idea it was? Or worse yet, did everyone think it was brilliant?

Charity Water Is Brilliant In How They Structured Themselves

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 21:08:00 -0400

I just watched this video about how Charity Water was founded. Scott Harrison recognized a common problem that most charities face. People HATE donating if they think their money will be spent on operational costs of the charity. They want their dollar to go directly to the cause. Because of this, Harrison structured the charity into two parts. 100% of the consumer facing fundraising efforts go directly to toward helping people. If you buy merch from the site, all of the money goes toward building wells. Of course they still need to pay the rent each month. But that money comes from private donors and sponsorship deals. Those are entities who have a longer attention span than the average donor so they can be taken aside and told exactly how their money will be spent within the walls of the organization.

Screen shot from the video It’s simple but so smart. UNICEF, I hope you’re taking notes.

Tap Is Terrific Process

Wed, 26 May 2010 01:00:00 -0400

When we approached Seb Lester about designing a bottle, we told him the design should feel vintage - like this old pepsi logo:

He came back to us with these lovely sketches. All of them we’re pretty swell but the top right one was the best fit.

Next we played around with stylizing the type. We considered adding moisture droplets on the letters like you see below, but eventually decided that a simple one color treatment was best.

A few more small tweaks…

And the final version!

How Much Is Enough?

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 02:00:00 -0400

Seth Godin had an insightful blog post the other day about the nature of donating money to non-profits:

The reporter tells you, I’m going to show you a video of the meat you’re going to eat for dinner being slaughtered. You avert your eyes. Or the fundraiser says I’m going to tell you about easily avoidable suffering in the developing world. Avert your eyes…

Therein lies the problem for most charities - the framework they use to talk about themselves is too negative and it doesn’t include a feedback loop for the giver. How much should I donate the ASPCA? $5? $500? I have no idea how much money is sufficient so I avert my eyes.

The ASPCA’s response is to run more of those Sarah McLachlan ads, thinking they can bombard us into giving. It’s a depressing, expensive, and ineffective solution.

This is why Tom’s shoes works so well. Buying shoes is a positive experience. And I know that one pair of shoes will benefit one child. You can’t get more concrete feedback than that. The Girl Scouts do a decent job too. It’s not clear where in the organization my money is going but I do get delicious minty-flavored feedback when I donate.

Children's Safe Drinking Water

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 01:52:00 -0500

The previous post got me thinking about companies that are successfully in synch with a social cause. Pur’s Children’s Safe Drinking Water* campaign is a good example. Pur and Dr. Greg Allgood created these packets that transform bacteria and disease ridden water into drinking water. Pur makes water filters and CSDW’s packets filter water also. Pur and Dr. Allgood’s interests are perfectly aligned. *Full disclosure: I’ve worked for the agency that created the Pur site, that’s why this example is top of mind.

From Altruistic to Annoying

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 01:52:00 -0500

On New Year’s Eve I met a woman who was irritated with Tom’s Shoes. “Whenever I go to the shoe store” she said, “the clerk grabs my arm and says ‘If you buy this pair of shoes, Tom’s will donate a pair to a child in need!’ ” She was half joking but she was definitely annoyed. Part of Tom’s success depends on people spreading the word about the company since they don’t advertise. Unfortunately for my shoe loving friend, that means being preached to each time she goes shoe shopping. To her, the company’s message is starting to become “Hey look at us! We’re giving shoes to poor kids, aren’t we great!”. Cause driven companies walk a fine line between altruism and boastfulness. Tom’s gets it right most of the time (above example excluded) because their company was founded with noble intentions. The message feels authentic and people give them the benefit of the doubt. I think deep down my friend realizes it’s the shoe salesmen who is to blame for her annoyance and not Tom’s Shoes. I don’t think that that shoe salesmen would bother me nearly as much Tide’s Loads of Hope campaign does. Some videos: I can see the segment producer now. “Mam please stand here, in front of the logo. Ok, now tell us about the devastation your family has gone through and then explain how Tide has helped out!” Tide’s logo is plastered over everything. If Tide were a person, he’d ring a bell each time he placed $20 in the collection plate at church. It’s a difficult balance. On one hand they want to let people know about the helpful service they’re providing. But by creating a campaign around the service and advertising it on TV, it feels too tacky and self serving. You may say that when someone washes their clothes at these Tide locations each party is getting something valuable from the exchange. The people get clean clothes and Tide gets a commercial that’s good for their brand. I think the bottom line is that Tide is trying to bring itself into a conversation that isn’t in sync its product line. When natural disaster happens nobody things of Tide. But in order to from something that is practically a commodity (soap) It doesn’t feel authentic.