Creating a Hearts-and-Minds PR Campaign on a Budget By Chris Hogan, IBWA Vice President of Communications
When four tractor trailers turned the corner onto East Isham Avenue and headed down a slight hill toward Iglesia Emmanuel Church and an awaiting gaggle of press, it was a noteworthy highlight in a public affairs campaign reminding people about the important role bottled water plays every day in healthy hydration. The trucks were delivering the equivalent of more than 100,000 16.9-ounce bottles of bottled water to the residents of East Porterville, California, a town that has literally run dry. In addition to being a spiritual home for many of the town’s residents, Iglesia Emmanuel Church is also the de facto headquarters for all local drought-related services, including bottled water distribution, portable showers, and the Tulare County Drought Resource Center, which has set up in church’s parking lot. That fact that this event even took place was the result of an innovative 30
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campaign launched by IBWA to counter a false and misleading narrative that was being discussed in the media: that bottled water was partly to blame for the late 2015 California drought. The campaign, Hydrate California, evolved from the work of industry experts and California legwork. It was a fresh and creative take on a hearts-and-minds PR campaign. The East Porterville donation, one component of this landmark effort, was executed through a partnership of IBWA members and staff, Sacramento-based public relations firm 3.14, California Assembly Member Devon Mathis, and Tulare County Office of Emergency Services.
Staying Flexible and Moving Fast When first charged by its board of directors to develop and launch an effort to get the facts about bottled water in front of California consumers, IBWA had very little time to ramp up such a
program. In fact, we really did not know what the campaign should look like, and we had a very small budget with which to pull it together. As the concept of Hydrate California came together, two points remained front and center: everything we say has to be backed up by facts, and we seek to inform and educate, not attack. IBWA had to move quickly to create and stand up the campaign, while simultaneously engaging with California regulators (who were debating water use issues) and media outlets (that were pumping out error-filled stories about bottled water, rainfall, and aquifers). While IBWA staff handled traditional media relations, the 3.14 team established a baseline of who the Hydrate California campaign was trying to reach and what it was seeking to accomplish. A limited budget, small staff, and narrowly defined messages dictated the type of campaign: online, consumer-focused,