The Conversation in Your Head

[l'acqua a km zero, 2:07', you always wanted to learn how to read Italian, confess]

There's nothing more powerful than the conversation in your head. That's the first thing you need to remember when you set out to build interactions with others. Great brand creative connects you with that story -- and now it does it through the understanding of our social behavior.

It touches an emotional chord.

People choose bottled water because they feel safer, says an industry spokesman in response to a campaign designed to move people to tap water now being embraced by many regions in Italy (Emilia Romagna is my region). According to this study on the global bottle market by the Beverage Marketing Association, Italy is one of the European countries with the highest % bottled water consumption globally. 

More than two years ago, Charles Fishman wrote a hard hitting article in Fast Company about bottled water. His research found that (edited to insert date):

Americans spent more money last year (2006) on bottled water than on iPods or movie tickets: $15 Billion.

We buy bottled water more often for the bottle - portability - than the water - quality. And we're buying the story the water brand is telling us about its origin, super powers from vitamins and minerals, and exotic brands and bottle shapes.

Any left brained business person will tell you we buy from facts. They maintain that if you only uncover the statistics and present them in a professional and orderly way, you can convince customers to open up their wallets.

Consider this (statistics from the FC article, 2007):

• We spent more on Poland Spring, Fiji Water, Evian, Aquafina, and Dasani than we spent on iPods or movie tickets -- $16 billion
• 24% of the bottled water we buy is tap water repackaged by Coke and Pepsi
• In 2006, we each drank 28.3 gallons of bottled water -- 18 half-liter bottles a month. We drink more bottled water than milk, or coffee, or beer
• while the United States is the single biggest consumer in the world's $50 billion bottled-water market, it is the only one of the top four -- the others are Brazil, China, and Mexico--that has universally reliable tap water
• if the water we use at home cost what even cheap bottled water costs, our monthly water bills would run $9,000
• We pitch into landfills 38 billion water bottles a year -- in excess of $1 billion worth of plastic
• We're moving 1 billion bottles of water around a week -- a weekly convoy equivalent to 37,800 18-wheelers delivering water

In the article there are also many stories to support both side of the choice - bottled or tap water. What changes behavior though?

Is it these facts packaged as videos and charts, and nice brochures? Is it the stories of the people of Fiji or any other place where the water is sourced? Maybe you create a page on Facebook, a Twitter account, and start broadcasting information. Would that do it? Perhaps those of the mayor of Venice, who campaigns for tap water in tongue-in-cheek ads? What if your colleagues start bringing an aluminum refillable container to the office, would others follow?

Which strategy would connect best to a change in habits?

One more - in the context of all this data, and the stories that make it come to life, is water a commodity you can differentiate and sell? Or is it a precious gift?

© 2006-2010 Valeria Maltoni. All rights reserved.

Comments

[Laurie Creasy]

Great post! Thanks, Valeria.

[Giovanni Cerminara]

This is a consumerism logic effected by marketing companies. Italian people believes that water coming from tap has not checked, but it happens just the opposite. Current water - distributed by using waterworks and for which the italian law provide for control day by day (with standards held in check more higher than bottled water) - has not only a good quality (sometimes better than the other one) but at the same time has good characteristics.

[Robert Wheatley]

Interesting post. Thought provoking. I would offer this: as much as we might like to think differently, our brains are not fact-based, analytical decision-making machines. Rather they are "expectation creation" machines. And the expectation any consumer will be looking for is happiness now or an expectation of happiness later. Water choice or any other brand decision for that matter is an emotional thing. So the arguments for and against gain greater weight when presented in an emotional context. The more popular culture respects tap, the more acceptance is gets. But "happiness now" is the driver behind our actions.

[Emma]

Great post! The transnationals that are bottling our water have built their market by undermining support for our public tap water systems.

In the US Corporate Accountability International has been successful at getting people to change their habits through running tap water challenges on campuses, in churches and in front of supermarkets. I know it works because I was a bottled water drinker before and now I'm a tap water activist!

At a tap water challenge people take a blindfolded taste test that pits bottled water against tap water, and most people find that they can’t tell the difference. It is a great tool to expose the power of bottled water marketing and inspires people to switch back to the tap.

You can see a tap water challenge in action at minute 3:57 in this clip from the movie Flow http://bit.ly/cg4c2U

Penn and Teller's do a hilarious tap water challenge at minute 3:05.

It is inspiring to learn that Italians are also working to protect water from commodification.

[RM - InBoundmarketingpr]

Great post that really makes you think about what all the billions of plastic bottles are doing to our environment. It takes anywhere from 450 - 1000 years before these plastics begin to biodegrade. The data is staggering & mind blowing. These figures, from an environmental point of view, should invoke plenty of *emotion* from those of us who tote these portables bottles with us on a daily basis.

Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing.

RMSorg

[Cassie Rice]

I think that an effective way to change people's opinions about bottled water is through some type of scare tactic. Someone would have to find some legitimate facts showing that tap water is better than bottled water. People, nowadays, are so set on the idea that bottled water is healthier that they need to hear how it's not healthier to get them to change. Although, a strategy emphasizing decreased cost might work too.

I honestly don't think that bringing an aluminum bottle to work would be effective because those people would just fill up their aluminum bottle with the big bottled water jugs in the office or at home, which defeats the purpose.

Something that is also interesting though is that in other countries, people are accustomed to drinking tap water. For example, I went to Israel a couple years ago and stayed with an Israeli Family - they didn't even think about drinking bottled water. Everyone over there just drinks tap water.

[Tom Asaker]

Great post Valeria.

Which strategy would connect best to a change in habits?

Bottled water (or any product) is originally chosen by the consumer based on a complex bundle of value components; e.g. performance (expectations of taste); financial (price); time (convenience factor); physical (safety); aesthetics (package design, product "story"); etc.

To get people to break with a habit, a more compelling bundle of value must be offered to satisfy the "happy now" and "happy life" desires mentioned by Robert.

That bundle of value should include the aforementioned components of performance, safety, story, etc., but also higher level social value components like acceptance and reputation. For example, take a look at Texas' "Don't Mess with Texas" anti-littering campaign from the 80s.

Ultimately, as Emma points out, changing habits requires behavior change -- and not simply communication (ask any smoker or obese individual). "Doing" allows people to persuade themselves by rationalizing the new behavior (through "the conversation in their heads.")

[Crafty Green poet]

Great post and the video is very effective. I work in an office managed by an ethical prolerty company and we all drink water from the tap, in glasses.

I've recently bought a metal reusable bottle to avoid buying plastic bottled water for train journeys etc.

People need to see that it is possible to do things differently, clients who come to our office may notice the tap water and change things at their office, people who see me with my metal bottle on the train may change their behiaviour. But how to make it a mass movement away from bottled water is more difficult

[Giorgio Venturi]

You must to tell where come from the video. Who are the autor...just few word.
LaVoceRomagnola

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Laurie - thank you.

@Giovanni - perception is reality, right?

@Robert - what you present is also one of the reasons why life streaming is popular. What we know and do, now. Steve Jobs does a great job of presenting that in his product roll outs. That's why they're so successful.

@Emma - water is a precious gift. Education, information, and connection and positive reinforcements are all very good ways to promote responsible use of our natural resources. Thank you for the link to the clip.

@RSorg - thank you for stopping by.

@Cassie - people don't quit smoking even though there is plenty of evidence of what happens to your body and those of the people you expose to second hand smoke. Ditto for those who need to watch their weight for heart conditions, and so on. Developing good habits is more likely when there is societal pressure or example around you.

@Tom - great point on "acceptance and reputation", which is the reason why celebrity endorsements are so popular. Changing habits is experiential, as you point out.

@Crafty Green poet - one at a time, that's usually how change happens. Keep up the great effort!

@Giorgio - thank you for the comment. Well I did say this is my region in the post. Did not recall information about the author on YouTube. Was that you?

[Giovanni Cerminara]

Yes I think so...Perception, unfortunately, and sells are a good example...such as this video!!! Great post...

[Jamie Favreau]

I am guilty of buying bottled water but it is totally for the portability of it. Plus, I recycle the plastic so I am not contributing to the landfills.

What perception of a product will do though. I have never purchased the "high end" water.

[Milos Solujic]

Great post Valeria. There are some very bad examples of taking 'precious gift' and turning it to commodity. In Peru, for example it happened that foreign company bought springs from government and then sell water around the world and to local inhabitants for very nigh price for them.
Some facts presented here: http://kuvaton.com/kuvei/facts_about_bottled_water.jpg, don't know about it's validity.