Evian marketing communcation campaign essay

Amongst the many new marketing communications campaign introduced in 2009, one particularly obtained the audience’s attention worldwide and became an instant success. In July 2009, Evian launched the “ Live Young” campaign. TV commercials and magazine ads appeared, and viral videos were posted on the famous video hosting website YouTube, In just a few weeks, the “ roller babies”, who appear roller-skating and figure skating to the sound of upbeat music, caught the attention of the public.

The name Evian is well known all over the world; today, it is the world’s top ranked spring water [1]. It is even famous amongst various Hollywood celebrities who were spotted with Evian bottles. It is therefore considered high-end bottled water [2]. It all started in 1789 when Marquis de Lessert found the Cachat source, in France, and miraculously recovered from his liver and kidney problems after drinking from it. This pure water was then considered therapeutic. Several years later, in 1826 the first Evian bottle was introduced to the market and in 1878, the Medecine Academy recognized Evian water as favorable to health. To maintain its healthy aspect, bottles were sold in pharmacies between 1879 and 1950 [3]. Today still, Evian emphasizes on values such as health and purity, and the fact that all waters are not equal.

Before arriving in our bottles, the Evian water goes through a “ 22 years long process in which the original water drop gains minerals in an environment far from any possible human pollutions” as explains Michael Aidan, World Director of Evian [3]. Mineral water is the only type of water with a stable mineral composition and consequently the only type of water that is benefic to human health. The company is proud to claim its main value: the purity of its water, and its benefits on our body.

The goal of this new campaign was to inform the public of the merits of mineral water on our organism. Indeed, following the economic crisis, many consumers switched from bottled water to tap water; nowadays, consumers buy in general 22 liters less than they did in 2007 [3]. This campaign was intended to help remember that mineral water is unique and can in no way compare with tap water; mineral water has essential benefits that needed be reminded to consumers. The “ Live Young” campaign is very different to other water campaigns that were introduced before. It uniquely communicates the brand values through a creative approach that follows the ACM model; it gets the attention by surprising the audience and by the use of loud music, achieves comprehension with words, and is memorable due to its originality. The TV commercial of the “ Roller babies” is differs from other advertisements for similar products.

Most competing brands choose a serious tone when transmitting the values of their water. But Evian managed to introduce some humor; it was able to create a totally new and fun concept of mineral water. Indeed, unlike most bottled water campaigns, this campaign not only tries to concentrate on the rational aspects of the water, but it also attempts to appeal to the emotional aspect of viewers.

The use of smiling babies contributes to the emotional appeal and its uniqueness. It has been proven that children are one of the important factors that contribute to success in a marketing campaign. And when combined with humor, success is almost assured. Many campaigns and advertisements launched with the intention to differ from their competitors and to be unique often result in being irrelevant.

However, this is not the case with the “ Live Young” campaign, which gives the target audience a reason to purchase the product. In a time of crisis and budget restrictions, this campaign induces in the viewers’ minds a need for mineral water and therefore a reason to buy Evian. The “ Roller babies” advertisements effectively convey and remind the audience of Evian’s benefits on our organism, and the importance of pure mineral water. A few elements contribute to the clarity of the communication of the brand values. First, it is obvious that the use of babies as the main characters of the advertisement was adapted. Hardly anything could represent youth while still appealing to our emotional sense better than babies. Babies are the ultimate symbol of youth and purity, so it was appropriate for Evian to use them to personify the values of their water. Moreover, the tagline “ Naturally pure and mineral-balanced water supports your body’s youth” which appears in the middle of the ad, clearly explains the benefit of mineral water in a short and concise sentence which appears on our screen long enough to be fully read.

Also, when exposed to this tagline, the background sound of water droplets resounding reminds the stillness and purity that can be encountered in the source of Evian. This same tagline is probably the element that prompts the audience to respond to the advertisement by changing its perception about the brand since it clearly indicates Evian’s values. Of course, the babies also contribute to this communication of value, as we just explained, but one could have difficulties understanding the link between those “ Roller babies” and the value if not told. But thanks to the tagline, whoever was previously unaware of the benefits of Evian and in what ways it differentiate from competitors, knows after seeing this ad that Evian is all about reinvigorating our body, and providing us with the essential elements to keep our body young. Someone who perceived Evian simply as another bottled water brand, then knows that Evian is different and deeply contributes to maintaining a healthy body. This tagline changes the audience’s perceptions because it introduces the idea that Evian is not just water, not just something that we drink all day long without even thinking about it, but it is also a nutritive product essential to our body’s well-functioning and youth. Since nowadays, preserving our body and fighting against any signs of aging is one of the main concerns for both women and men (products such as anti-wrinkle creams appear with high frequency on TV or magazines), the emphasize the advertisement puts on youth could motivate the audience to purchase the product. In terms of awareness, it is clear that through this campaign, Evian was not looking to increase its brand awareness.

This was not Evian’s main issue considering the fact that it is already a well-established brand, and that it is ranked #1 Worldwide [1]. The key achievement Evian is aiming for with this campaign is the awareness of the brand benefits and advantages over competitors: Evian wants to raise awareness of its brand values. Considering the fact that the ad was viewed about 94 million times since now, that 95% of viewers saw it at least twice, and that the campaign attained the record of the most web-viewed advertisement since the history of Internet according to the Guiness Book Record [3], it is obvious that Evian attained the value awareness they were aiming for. And thanks to the humoristic and refreshing aspect, as well as the incredible creativity of this ad, it achieved a high level of recall. Furthermore, Michael Aidan claims that the featuring of a memorable and mythic music track, a “ Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugarhill Gang remix, which was the first hip hop song to be aired on radio, contributed to reinforcing the emergence of the campaign [3]. Along with the optimism of the “ Roller babies” and their energy, the music plays a great part in the memorability of the ad. This campaign achieved the rational effects it was hoping for. It generated awareness of the values and benefits of Evian’s mineral water, and effectively informed consumers.

It also succeeded on the emotional effects since it got consumers to associate the optimism and originality of the ad with Evian, and therefore like the brand. In other words, the advertisement managed to excel in the two layers of influence; the mind effect by establishing a presence in the consumer’s mind, as well as the heart effect by creating an emotional bond with the consumer. It significantly impacted the audience’s perception of the diverse dimensions of the brand such as its pureness and its benefits on our well being and this translated in a better perception of the price/quality equivalent of the product. In addition to that, it also contributed to Evian’s marketplace success. Indeed, thanks to the remarkable buzz that this campaign created, it had a considerable impact on a large target market. The choice of music even made the ad appealing to younger consumers that Evian was not particularly targeting.

Following this campaign, Evian sales volume significantly ameliorated [3]. To conclude, the Evian “ Live Young” campaign was an instant hit all over the World. It is one of the most memorable as well as one of the best marketing communication campaigns of 2009.

It effectively communicates the brand’s values in a creative way. Its success reflects in the shift in the audience’s perceptions and image of the brand [3] which was what the brand was endeavor to achieve, as well as in an increase in sales. It became such a phenomenon that on social networking sites such as Facebook, fan pages for the Evian babies were created [4], and that other viral videos were introduced on the Internet including the making of the advertisement and the casting of the “ Roller babies”. [5]References[1] Evian(r) natural spring water infuses ‘ live young(tm)’ spirit into the 2009 new york city wine & food festival. (2009, October 7). Retrieved from http://www.

prnewswire. com/news-releases/evianr-natural-spring-water-infuses-live-youngtm-spirit-into-the-2009-new-york-city-wine–food-festival-63664402. html[2] Segal, David. (2005, January 25). Bottled buzz. Retrieved from http://www.

washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/articles/A34036-2005Jan24. html[3] Evian, un leader face à la crise. (n.

d.). Retrieved from http://www. laposte. fr/lehub/La-synthese-de-l-Atelier[4] http://www. facebook. com/evianliveyoung[5] http://www. evian. com/babies/#/landing/home