OWater: Creating Fans and Increasing Brand Loyalty through Social Media and Product Labeling

This case study focuses on OWater, a maker of electrolyte-enhanced, low-calorie flavored sports water. Positioned as a healthier alternative to brightly-colored, artificially flavored sports drinks such as Gatorade, OWater, like Mimoco (as discussed in a previous blog post) also takes advantage of social media to increase brand recognition and customer loyalty.

With Facebook pages dedicated to each flavor of water, consumers can join that flavor’s “group”, declare themselves as fans and post that status on their personal pages, consequently sharing their enthusiasm for the brand with their entire network of friends. The pages also offer links to news articles about the company, podcasts with founder Tom First (who also created Nantucket Nectars) and discussion groups where OWater enthusiasts can get to know one another, talk about common interests, and offer suggestions to the company. These pages benefit both consumers and OWater in two major ways:

• Group members’ profiles automatically update whenever new activities are posted to the flavor pages. This automation not only creates a great outlet for OWater to easily publicize news and events to their biggest fans, it also provides a constant stream of opportunities for fans to reconnect with the brand and each other, cementing their loyalty.
• By belonging to a dedicated community, OWater fans operate in a “safe” space where they can more openly express their desires (or criticisms) for the brand, flavors, packaging and other critical elements—this is valuable market insight for OWater, even if the sample sizes are not statistically valid. Knowing that OWater employees read discussion group posts further assures fans that their opinions matter, and will be seriously considered by the company.

Who’s That on the Label? Could it be You?

User groups and product pages on Facebook are only the beginning for OWater. As Tom First explains, “We’re about to roll out a product line with 110 different athletes on all of the labels. Most are not professional athletes, but they are passionate about their sport and they all love OWater—we have a yoga aficionado from Denver, a ballet dancer from Boston, a trainer from New York who trains a lot of pop stars, a few really accomplished snowboarders and the last American to reach the summit of K2. I’m even on the lime/lemon and peach/mango labels for swimming!” Most of these athletes are not paid for their endorsements (although a few are, like Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury); in fact, many first became known to OWater when they wrote to the company to praise its product line. To bring an even more intimate view into the lives of these “inspirational athletes”, short biographies of each athlete and links to his or her personal Facebook page are prominently displayed on OWater’s website. The ultimate effect of this campaign is to recognize the commitment of the broader community of everyday athletes—while also bringing attention to the great-tasting, natural, electrolyte-enhanced water beverage that hydrates their workouts.

Emotional Laddering and Values-driven Branding

By linking OWater with the passion and drive of everyday athletes, consumers are placed at the highest rung of what Young and Rubicam calls “emotional laddering”, a hierarchical system by which consumers relate to the product—in this case, it might be an identity-driven statement of value, like “OWater makes me a better athlete”. Descending “rungs” of the ladder could be demonstrated by the following:
* Consumer Benefit (OWater helps me feel more comfortable after a workout)
* Product Benefit (OWater quenches my thirst)
* Product Feature (OWater provides hydration)
* Attribute (OWater is enriched, flavored water)


Overall, the more values-driven a brand’s positioning becomes, the higher the likelihood that a consumer will become (and remain) loyal to the brand. Tying in this values-based messaging to online communities like the OWater flavor pages on Facebook, as well as through sampling at road races and other sporting events seamlessly completes the feedback loop—athletes (and wannabe-athletes) who view OWater as a key driver of their performance receive positive reinforcement of that message from like-minded fans. In turn, they become more passionate about the brand, evangelize it to their broader network, and if they are lucky, even potentially find themselves on an OWater label.

What This Means for the Marketing “Big Picture”

If your company manufactures consumer products, you can bet that somewhere on the Internet, customers are talking about it. Blogging about it. Reviewing it. Twittering and creating Facebook pages about it. Possibly even writing song parodies about it-- while wearing a chicken costume. And the fact is, unless they’re breaking the law with slanderous claims, your company can’t control what they say.

But you can be part of the dialogue. Even something as simple as providing a forum where fans and critics alike can discuss and learn about your products goes a long way toward building customer loyalty. As Tom First says, “In this economy, there’s not a lot of forgiveness out there. You have to be efficient with everything you do. Whether it’s getting everything out of your team, or every dollar you can out of your marketing spend; it’s really challenging to find that balance.”

When used correctly, social networking can turn your customers into advocates, touting your product to millions with the kind of authenticity no advertising agency can match. Even better, it will cost pennies on the dollar, and the ROI can be enormous—what could be more efficient than that?