Activating Millennials Through Safe Water
By Molly Steinkrauss, Associate Marketing Director of Public Relations, Digital and Media for Clorox Bleach
If you asked a millennial to describe bleach, words that may be mentioned include whitening, strong and chemical. In fact, many people may be unaware of bleach’s role outside the laundry room.
As millennials start to take on new responsibilities – marriage, kids, home ownership – we knew it was important to change their perception of bleach as a powerful solution for their cleaning and laundry needs. We needed to connect with them on a higher level with an issue that took place outside of their home – safe drinking water.
Earlier this year we continued our mission to provide safe drinking water to rural communities in Peru with the Clorox Safe Water Project. For more than 100 years, bleach has played a crucial role in everything from infection control to disaster relief, and it was important to share these stories with this socially-minded group of young consumers who, like Clorox, also want to make a positive impact on the world.
To activate millennials to personally take action around safe water, we partnered with Pivot TV, a media company that focuses on entertainment that sparks conversation, inspires change and illuminates issues through engaging content. They team with social sector organizations, non-profits and corporations like Clorox that are committed to creating an open forum for discussion and education, all while offering specific ways for audience members to get involved.
The partnership extended from TV vignettes from SXSW Eco to TakePart.org content on the issue of unsafe drinking water globally, and provided background on bleach’s role in water disinfection. Most importantly, we gave Pivot consumers a way to make an impact themselves. By simply tweeting #safewaterproject, consumers triggered Clorox to make a $1 donation to The Safe Water Project – enough money to provide safe water to one person in Peru for three months!
What we’ve been most proud of about this partnership has been the ability to activate a powerful group to stand behind the issue of safe water. Nearly 90 percent of millennials polled said this effort has increased their familiarity with the issue of unsafe drinking water, and 80 percent were motivated to get involved and help with the issue. The results reiterate this passion to make change, with more than $10,000 raised through the Twitter donations.
While we’ve always been proud of the cause efforts we do as a company, it’s been even more rewarding getting others interested and giving them a way to give make a difference.
To support this initiative and help raise awareness about the importance of safe water, tweet to#SafeWaterProject or #ProyectoAguaSegura by June 30th, 2015. For each tweet, Clorox will donate $1, up to $20,000. Your tweet will provide safe water to one Peruvian for nearly four months.
