Keystone Project

Summer Marketing Internship

Rebecca Holden

Executive Summary:

According to a study published online on June 6, 2011 by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, minorities are more likely to purchase bottled water based on beliefs such as bottled water is safer,

cleaner, better tasting, or more convenient. I feel this is an excellent opportunity for Aquasana to engage and get more involved in the community while expanding our audience by educating them on the truths about tap vs. bottled water and how it is better and greener to filter at home, given that most bottled water is filtered tap water.

Background:

Setting of Opportunity/Background: Overall, there is a lack of education regarding the safety of tap water which has lead minorities and others to choose bottled water as an alternative.

Opportunity Being Solved: Developing more of a diverse audience and educate them and our current target audience that bottled water is not the only solution to getting healthy and great tasting water.

Why the Opportunity is Important to Solve: Able to reach out to the community and build a good rapport, which gives opportunity to create a word of mouth and build curiosity that will lead to an increase interest in Aquasana and new customers.

Is Opportunity Still Unsolved? Yes, no future plans in place to target minorities. There is a lack of diversity on the website and no marketing material that appeals to the concerns of this group. Spanish marketing material is also needed to reach out to this group.

Why Opportunity is Difficult to Solve: Minority audience is stigmatically low-income; however, clean and healthy water is an important issue to these families and it’s shown in the study. It’s so important that the group surveyed reported they sacrificed other things just for bottled water. We have to be able to not only market to this audience on how our product is the best value that allows them to open their wallets back up to what they’ve been sacrificing, but also to educate them on why filtered tap water is just as safe, if not safer, than bottled water, given that in recent news most bottled water is filtered tap water.

-The Study:

Objective: To describe bottled water use and beliefs and attitudes about water among parents of children from different racial/ethnic groups.

Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Urban/suburban emergency department. Participants: Parents of children treated between September 2009 and March 2010. Main

Outcome Measures: The respondents completed a questionnaire in English or Spanish, describing their use of bottled water and tap water for their children and rating their agreement

with a series of belief statements about bottled water and tap water. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between bottled water use and beliefs and demographic characteristics with odds ratios (ORs).

Percentage of Respondants

African-AmericanWhiteLatino

Results: A total of 632 surveys were completed (35% white, 33% African American, and 32% Latino respondents).

Children Given Bottled Water

Latino & African-AmericanWhite

African American and Latino parents were more likely to give their children mostly bottled water; minority children were exclusively given bottled water 3 times more often than non-Latino white children (24% vs. 8%, P < .01).

In logistic regression analysis, the following factors were independently associated with mostly bottled water use: belief that bottled water is safer (OR, 2.4), cleaner (OR, 2.0), better tasting (OR, 2.8), or more convenient (OR, 1.7). After other factors were adjusted for, race/ethnicity, household income, and prior residence outside the United States were not associated with bottled water use.

Conclusions: Minority parents are more likely to exclusively give bottled water to their children. Disparities in bottled water use are driven largely by differences in beliefs and perceptions about water. Interventions to reduce bottled water use among minority families should be based on knowledge of the factors that are related to water use in these communities.

Author Affiliations: Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Children's Research Institute, Milwaukee.

Source: http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/archpediatrics.2011.83v1

-Bottle Water vs. Tap:

Even when bottled waters are covered by FDA's specific bottled water standards, those rules are weaker in many ways than EPA rules that apply to big city tap water. For instance, comparing those EPA regulations (for water systems which serve the majority of the U.S. population) with FDA's bottled water rules:

City tap water can have no confirmed E. coli or fecal coliform bacteria (bacteria that are indications of possible contamination by fecal matter). FDA bottled water rules include no such prohibition (a certain amount of any type of coliform bacteria is allowed in bottled water).

City tap water from surface water must be filtered and disinfected (or the water system must adopt well-defined protective measures for the source water it uses, such as control of potentially polluting activities that may affect the stream involved). In contrast, there is no federal filtration or disinfection requirements for bottled water -- the only source-water protection, filtration, or disinfection provisions for bottled water are completely delegated to state discretion, and many states have adopted no such meaningful programs.

Bottled water plants must test for coliform bacteria just once a week; big-city tap water must be tested 100 or more times a month.

Repeated high levels of bacteria (i.e., "heterotrophic-plate-count" bacteria) in tap water combined with a lack of disinfectant can trigger a violation for cities -- but not for water bottlers.

Most cities using surface water have had to test for Cryptosporidium or Giardia, two common water pathogens that can cause diarrhea and other intestinal problems (or more serious problems in vulnerable people), yet bottled water companies don't have to do this.

City tap water must meet standards for certain important toxic or cancer-causing chemicals such as phthalate (a chemical that can leach from plastic, including plastic bottles); some in the industry persuaded FDA to exempt bottled water from regulations regarding these chemicals.

Any violation of tap-water standards is grounds for enforcement -- but bottled water in violation of standards can still be sold if it is labeled as "containing excessive chemicals" or "excessive bacteria" (unless FDA finds it "adulterated," a term not specifically defined).

Cities generally must test at least once a quarter for many chemical contaminants. Water bottlers generally must test only annually.

Cities must have their water tested by government-certified labs; such certified testing is not required for bottlers.

Tap water test results and notices of violations must be reported to state or federal officials. There is no mandatory reporting for water bottlers.

City water system operators must be certified and trained to ensure that they know how to safely treat and deliver water -- not so for bottlers.

City water systems must issue annual "right-to-know" reports telling consumers what is in their water; as detailed in this report, bottlers successfully killed such a requirement for bottled water.

Source: http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/exesum.asp

Under FDA's bottled water regulations, bottled water is not required to be any safer than tap water. In fact, the chemical pollution standards are identical, with the sole exception of lead, for which FDA limits are stricter than the EPA limits. Moreover, the current microbiological standards are weaker for bottled water compared to tap water.

When it comes to bottled water, FDA largely takes a hands-off approach. As stated on the FDA website, "bottled water plants generally are assigned low priority for inspection".

Current FDA regulation of microbiological contaminants in bottled water do not even specify which microorganisms should be tested or what levels of source water contamination will make it unfit for bottling.

Bottlers are obligated to list on the label the type of bottled water and, for bottled water sourced from a public water system; the label must disclose that fact. However, this requirement can be circumvented by using water that has been "purified", "deionized" or "distilled", bottlers are free from legal obligation to disclose the tap water origin of their product.

Source: http://www.ewg.org/BottledWater/Bottled-Water-Quality-Investigation/Is-FDA-Able-to-Ensure-Bottled-Water-Quality

-Public Opinion of the Study:

"Interestingly enough, the study states that minorities have greater concerns about their community's water supply and that this contributes to their purchasing bottled water. It also states that whites in the study, on average earned twice the income of the minorities. Is it rational to think that the whites in the study live in better equipped communities and therefore do not have the same concerns? I'm just saying... I drink tap... I use bottled for convenience only..."

Source: http://drday.blackamericaweb.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1342:whats-safer-to-drink-bottled-water-or-tap&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50

“In regards to recommending that we drink tap water instead...that may be okay in certain parts of the U.S. but for example Southern California tap water has to be filtered, and bottled water is a necessity. (Bottom line tap water is dirty, and or is recycled for watering outdoors.)”

Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20070043-10391704.html#comments

“Reminds me of Tobacco executives telling us cigarettes are safe (http://nyt i.ms/g3uqa d ). Your product is Plastic Bottles they are a plague on the earth and human kind. People wake up and smell the coffee there’s nothing healthy, pure or safe about having a chunk of plastic hanging from your face for convenience. Get a refillable reusable water bottle and use it send a message to nestle and other bottlers that you’re quitting cold turkey. $28.98 for 15 gallons from Nestle Waters HOD or 14490 gallons of water from the tap for the same price! Grow your wallet not bottlers.”

“The vast majority of tap water in America is safe. People need to drink it. The solution to the problem in your second line of evidence is education. I’m not sure why people aren’t getting the message (or do they understand tap water is safe, but chose to purchase bottled water anyway?). 99% of poorer families do not need to buy bottled water.”

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-h-gleick/another-cost-of-bottled-w_b_873974.html

Water is a big issue in many communities. Water filters often cost a lot - but they cost less than a bottled water habit.

Having spent many years in water treatment (both municipal, and a few commercial bottling facilities) I have a couple of observations:1. Bottled water facilities are not under the same legal scrutiny as municipal plants--you "take your chances"

2. You want your tap water to have a FAINT trace of chlorine (if there is no detectable chlorine odor, it is likely that the residual chlorine from the plant has been used up by bacteria in the line on the way to your house (or dispersed through agitation or exposure to air) either way not good--if it is not there, it is not protecting you.

3. If like most of us you do not like the taste of chlorine, pick up one of those pitchers with a charcoal filter--it will knock out the chlorine and particulates from the line and your plumbing. The filters cost, but for the 10-20 dollars a month they are quoting here, you can replace your pitcher-filter 2-3 times during the month. You get the best of both worlds: the chlorine keeps bacteria down on the way to your house, and you eliminate it just prior to drinking the water.

Source: http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/time/20110608/hl_time/httphealthlandtimecom20110607studytheperilsofaheavybottledwaterhabitxidrssfullhealthsciyahoo

“Two major problems with this article - first, perhaps the reason minorities’ drink more bottled water could be that they have more reason to fear that tap water would be less safe. Not all tap water comes from the same source, or is held to the same standards. Is it possible that minorities, who disproportionately live in low-income areas, actually have less safe tap water?”

“I was deployed with the National Guard to help with Katrina. One of the main things we were distributing was bottled water. We stored it outside, and the water in some of the bottles would turn green. We started a program to check each lot of water arriving in the state. It was amazing how many contaminates we found during the testing, and how many lots of water we had to refuse. Tap water may not always taste the best, but it rarely is unhealthy.”

“As a teacher for more than three decades, we have to do a better job educating African Americans and other people of color families and children about health, food, water, and environmental quality. We must undo this miseducation and misconception about bottled water being safer than tap water with facts and counter the millions of dollars spent "hooking" folks on bottled water.”

Source: http://healthland.time.com/2011/06/07/study-the-perils-of-a-heavy-bottled-water-habit/

“…these facts have no racial boundaries that the only reason people buy expensive tap water in a bottle is because it is marketed that way, in order to sell a product and become rich off the poor and unknowing.”

Source: http://health.newsvine.com/_news/2011/06/08/6808927-minorities-more-likely-to-drink-bottled-water

What We’re Missing Out On:

Timeframe Mosaic® Types Aquasana ConsumerView Index

Pre July 2010 Asian Achievers 1.599355424 0.628345736 254.5343005Pre July 2010 Soulful Spenders 1.105851546 1.378918163 80.19703965Pre July 2010 Latin Flair 0.817806426 1.042273861 78.46367985Pre July 2010 Hispanic Harmony 0.559975828 1.33117406 42.06631163

2011 Asian Achievers 1.69447454 0.628345736 269.67232262011 Soulful Spenders 0.940411701 1.378918163 68.199239532011 Latin Flair 0.819068256 1.042273861 78.584744962011 Hispanic Harmony 0.641386782 1.33117406 48.18203731

-Facebook Audience:

-2010 Census:

Situation Analysis:

Our current target audience is the “Proactive Nurturer”. They’re already filtering and choose bottled water as a healthy alternative to juice or soda. While we do not want to malign bottled water, we do want our current target audience and our potential audience (minorities) to realize that it’s less costly and greener to filter and bottle your own at home and that city water is regulated more strictly than bottled waters and that Aquasana is the best tasting, healthiest alternative.

While incorporating bottled water into your lifestyle is not a bad choice, choosing to decrease plastic waste by decreasing bottled water consumption is a better one. If parents are educated that filtered tap water, just as a lot of bottled waters are, at home is the best, cheapest alternative to getting great tasting, healthy water with the bonus of being green, then their kids will learn this as well.

In a survey conducted with 3rd and 5th grade students, most students expressed positive attitudes about recycling. Students whose survey responses indicated a high level of knowledge about what could

be recycled were 37 percent more likely to claim to recycle regularly than those students that scored low on the knowledge portion of the survey. If children with more knowledge of recycling recycle more, it’s just as important to teach them early on ways to decrease waste that end up in landfills.

Source: http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4888/

In reference to the results of the study, minority families will benefit most from filtering at home, particularly cost wise, but our current target audience will also benefit from the same information.

-Competitor Comparison

Two of our competitors are strongly green focused: Brita and PUR. Brita is marketing for the reduction in plastic waste with their “Filter For Good” campaign. PUR also is green-focused, but they are more focused on clean, healthy water, especially for children. PUR, in alliance with the Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program, has helped educate people on the importance of clean water and distributed PUR water purification packets. This alliance, however, is focused on providing clean water to under-developed areas.

This opportunity allows Aquasana to be involved in both the community and the environment.

Core Opportunity:

To increase presence in the community and to partner with a non-profit to develop a community outreach program that educates our current target audience and our potential audience about how filtering tap water saves money, the environment and that purchasing an Aquasana water filter provides the best tasting, healthiest water at the best value while allowing Aquasana to be involved in the community and build a reputable rapport with our audiences.

Goals: - To get involved in and educate the community by partnering with a non-profit.- Using an Aquasana water filter is the best, healthiest and most cost-effective alternative to

drinking straight tap and/or bottled water.

Objectives:

1. Audience: Recreational TeamsBehavior: Accept our sponsorship of team.%/#: Sponsor 1-2 recreational teams.Time: September 2011-March 2012

2. Audience: Green-focused, non-profits. Behavior: Desire to work with Aquasana in order to reach out to the community about decreasing plastic waste by purchasing an Aquasana filter.%/#: Partner with one non-profit.Time: January 2012-March 2012

3. Audience: Minority families. Behavior: To decrease bottled water consumption by purchasing an Aquasana filter to provide healthy, great tasting water to their families. Time: TBD

4. Audience: “Proactive Nurturers”. Behavior: To decrease bottled water consumption and to upgrade their current filtering method to Aquasana.Time: TBD

Key Publics and Messages:

1. Green-focused, non-profit: - Aquasana promotes a healthy and green lifestyle by decreasing plastic waste by offering

consumers the best and healthiest alternative to bottled water purchases. o Aquasana filters strip out more than 99% of the chlorine, lead, herbicides,

pesticides, industrial solvents and cysts found in tap water while preserving its healthiest elements, which include calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium.

o Winner of Health Magazine's "Healthiest Product" award for 2010.o NSF 42 & 53 certified.o Filter cartridges last six months (unlike most other competitors whose last 2-3

months) or 500 gallons with a cost of 10 cents a gallon.2. Minority Families:

- Bottled waters are regulated by the FDA's specific bottled water standards; those rules are weaker in many ways than EPA’s regulation of city tap water.

o Cities generally must test at least once a quarter for many chemical contaminants. Water bottlers generally must test only annually.

o City tap water can have no confirmed E. coli or fecal coliform bacteria. FDA bottled water rules include no such prohibition (a certain amount of any type of coliform bacteria is allowed in bottled water).

o Any violation of tap-water standards is grounds for enforcement, but bottled water in violation of standards can still be sold if properly labeled.

o Bottlers are obligated to list on the label the type of bottled water and, for bottled water sourced from a public water system; the label must disclose that fact. However, this requirement can be circumvented by using water that has been "purified", "deionized" or "distilled"; bottlers are free from legal obligation to disclose the tap water origin of their product.

- Aquasana offers consumers the best and healthiest alternative to straight tap and bottled water purchases.

o Aquasana filters strip out more than 99% of the chlorine, lead, herbicides, pesticides, industrial solvents and cysts found in tap water while preserving its healthiest elements, which include calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium.

o Filter cartridges last six months, unlike other competitors whose last 2-3 months, or 500 gallons with a cost of 10 cents a gallon.

3. “Proactive Nurturer”- Aquasana promotes a healthy and green lifestyle by decreasing plastic waste by offering

consumers the best and healthiest alternative to bottled water purchases. o Aquasana filters strip out more than 99% of the chlorine, lead, herbicides,

pesticides, industrial solvents and cysts found in tap water while preserving its healthiest elements, which include calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium.

o Winner of Health Magazine's "Healthiest Product" award for 2010.o NSF 42 & 53 certified.o Filter cartridges last six months (unlike most other competitors whose last 2-3

months) or 500 gallons with a cost of 10 cents a gallon.- It’s important to educate your children on how to not only recycle, but ways they can

decrease waste that end up in landfills, especially plastic. o Filtering tap water from home instead of buying bottled water is the best way to

demonstrate how to reduce plastic waste and to get great tasting water.o Reducing waste in addition to recycling helps fight against global warming by

eliminating landfill gasses such as nitrous oxide, which is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

Strategies and Tactics:

1. Passive Marketing- Use more minority images on website.- Create a mirror-image website in Spanish. - Translate current press kit to Spanish.

2. Partner with/sponsor a local non-profit.- Partner with a green-focused, local non-profit and organize a community

outreach/education campaign that disseminates information on how tap water is safe and how to decrease plastic waste, including filtering at home with an Aquasana drinking water filter.

3. Sponsor/Partner local rec teams or non-profit rec teams by providing Aquasana filtered water at recreational games for the athletes and parents. - Research teams in need of sponsorship.- Determine which sport(s) and which team(s) will expose us to our targeted audiences.

Ensure good turn-outs at games.