Waterloo Sparkling Water
Context
Context
About
Watered Down: Business Challenges
Founded in 2017, and based in Austin, TX, Waterloo is committed to creating better-tasting, better-for-you sparkling waters. They are known for their bright flavors and pride themselves on clean ingredients that support a healthy, active lifestyle without added sugar (and calories, of course).
Commoditized Product Category: Sparkling water has become a low-involvement, easily substitutable purchase, making brand loyalty difficult to build.
Low Repeat Purchase Rates: Customers are willing to try Waterloo, but don’t build lasting habits, limiting customer lifetime value and brand loyalty.
Flat Market Share: Despite rapid sales growth, Waterloo holds only 5% of the sparkling water market, significantly behind category leaders like LaCroix and Bubly.
Consumer Insights
Peace of Mind: It’s the preferred choice for health conscious consumers because it gives them control over their health.
Daily Routines: Waterloo is a tasty, multi-functional treat that elevates mundane activities.
Soda Alternative: Waterloo offers empowerment through better drink choices, alleviating the guilt from drinking soda.
Untapped Moments: Customers have already built moments around drinking Waterloo, but the brandhasn’t claimed them yet.
Competitive Insights
Subjective Differentiation: Most brands compete on a subjective measure of product quality: flavor.
Noise Over Meaning: Brands are fighting for attention by trying to be the loudest brand on the shelf.
Functionality: Brands are selling functionality without the emotional connection, competing on health benefits, alone.
The White Space: A balance of flavor and function, showing up when you need it to. Waterloo already exists here but hasn’t claimed it yet.
Cultural Insight
Cultural Insight
Everyone agrees life could use a little more sparkle. The truth is that it’s already there. People reach for Waterloo in little moments everyday, but they don’t see these moments as meaningful. No other brand has helped them recognize or celebrate that feeling- we can!
warm, clean linens
fresh flowers
your best, furry friend
game night
Strategy & Campaign
Where to Play: We play in the everyday moments that already carry meaning- the ones that feel small but bring you a moment of joy. The ones that you won't see on a brand's feed because they aren’t legendary.
How to Win: We win by recognizing those moments, meeting you in the middle of them, and celebrating them with you. We give that feeling a place to land and a brand worth belonging to.
Campaign Execution: Primary Components
Email: Use email marketing to provide weekly recipes with Waterloo beverages to offer useful content. Include interesting CTA’s that drive traffic to the website. Include monthly Spotify playlists as an additional touchpoint to give consumers a sound that sparkles.
SEM & Paid Ads: Bid on high intent, low-volume keywords surrounding small wins and sparkling water. Utilize branded keywords to show up at the top of Google when consumers search for “Waterloo” or “Sparkling Water”.
Social Media: Utilize Instagram and TikTok for primary social channels, showcasing everyday moments that transforms the ordinary into something that sparkles. Encourage UGC with specific hashtags including #mysparkle, #howisparkle, and #hopecore
Website: Redesign the homepage to have a cohesive feel and improve the UX. Offer quizzes to match moments to a flavor, retail locations, list of flavors, and showcase real consumers as social proof.
real people
flavor quiz
ties moments to flavors