Why Evian now devotes 80% of its marketing budget to digital media
Evian is banking on Snapchat, Instagram and influencer marketing to take advantage.
It’s a departure for the brand, which focused on making its water “pure”, said Olivia Sanchez, vice president of marketing for Evian’s parent company, Danone Waters. “We have evolved into lifestyle moments: Evian is served in events, restaurants and high-end hotels,” she said. “A water bottle is an extension of who you are and what you talk about.”
Evian in the US now spends 80% of its advertising budget on digital, especially on social media and search, which Sanchez says are most profitable for reaching the coveted set of millennials who are more likely to reach water than soda. “We’re trying to move away from traditional marketing channels,” she said.
Snapchat and Instagram are the two platforms that interest Evian the most at the moment. For example, in its “Live Young” campaign this summer, Evian added Snapcodes to the packaging of millions of Evian bottles. When customers scanned the code, they were directed to a branded Snapchat lens that allowed them to dance in a baby jumpsuit. About 27.3 million people in the United States, or 42% of Snapchat users, have tried this branded filter, Sanchez said. Today, to access this brand filter, people have to play a mobile game that Evian developed, where they run through a maze and grab bottles of Evian by swiping left and right. When they earn 1000 points, they will unlock the Snapchat lens.
In the United States, bottled water is estimated to be worth $18 billion this year, and that figure will rise to around $24 billion, according to research firm Mintel. In the competitive water category, Evian’s competitors are not only other bottled water brands, but also water filters and portable refillable bottles.
“I think Snapchat is a competitive platform if your goal is to reach a targeted market,” Sanchez said. “I wouldn’t say Snapchat’s reach is more expensive than other platforms because it’s extremely interactive and has very engaged users.”
Sanchez, however, said Evian has no plans to test Snapchat’s new 3D augmented reality lenses anytime soon.
On Instagram, by contrast, Evian typically uses Stories to livestream its own events and sponsored events like the US Open, as well as partnerships with fashion influencers on the platform. For example, Evian recently worked with lifestyle influencer Chiara Ferragni – who has over 11 million Instagram followers – on limited edition Evian bottles: 750 milliliter glass bottles and 500 milliliter plastic bottles that feature Ferragni’s eyelash iconography, star patterns and illustrations inspired by the Evian logo. And a limited-edition 330-milliliter glass bottle is also exclusive to the water bar at the Colette concept store in Paris, where Evian hosted a party to launch its limited-edition bottles. Sanchez declined to disclose how many limited-edition bottles Evian distributes, but she said those bottles are available in more than 30 countries around the world.
Sanchez believes fashion is a natural bond for Evian as the brand of water is served backstage when models prepare for their shows and in high-end restaurants. The idea is to make the water you drink represent something. “Water expresses who you are, just like fashion,” she said.
From a product development perspective, Evian will not introduce water with flavors or functional benefits, although functional drinks are a growing trend in the United States, according to Sanchez.
“These functional claims will eventually make people question them,” she said. “At the end of the day, the level of minerality and purity of water still matters most, so I think water with functional benefits is a trend that will eventually fade.”
