Techno-Marketing

Water: In Marketing, In Technology, and All Around Us

Today is Blog Action Day 2010, and the focus this year is on Water. Water is something that touches virtually every aspect of our lives; it takes up 70% (approximately) of our bodies, and yet, for those of us who live in North America, it would be lucky to take up a fraction of our day-to-day thoughts.

Marketing to a Generation of Connected Consumers

According to Blog Action Day, “Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of diseases and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war,” and yet many of us barely think twice when we take a sip of water. So how do we raise awareness and make sure that clean water doesn’t become a scarce resource? Virtual Water has attempted to target tech-savy generation Y’s with its new iPhone app that breaks down how much water goes into making the products we use every day. It is available for $0.99 on Apple’s App Store, and is a highly polished, visual way of measuring one’s footprint on the world’s clean water supply. It would be nice if the app could be available for free (whether through sponsorship or some other means), as it would reach a larger audience, but at $0.99 it is still very affordable for such a high quality app.

Since the completion of the Seymour-Capilano Filtration Plant, we now have some of the best drinking water in the entire world. However, many consumers still buy bottled water due to the ingrained perception that bottled water is “good” and tap water is “bad.” Not only is this water no better than tap water, but its production requires 17 million barrels of oil per year. Furthermore, 86% of the plastic bottles that hold it are still not recycled (you can read more at Change.org).

The Seymour-Capilano Filtration Plant “uses the world’s largest ultraviolet disinfection facility” and has put sustainability at the forefront of its construction. Since its opening in May 2010, Vancouverites have one more reason to say no to bottled water, and do their part in protecting the world’s shrinking supply of clean water.