By Malcolm Poynton

Set in a fictional village ‘Soggy Bottom’, three characters - a butcher, farmer and elderly lady (Bob Trickle, Tim Sprinkle & Gladys Drizzle) – appear to innocently man their stalls at the local fete but surprisingly start a water fight aiming directly at consumers’ computer screens. In creating the Great British Water Fight campaign, SapientNitro is helping Energy Saving Trust raise awareness about the importance of saving water and energy in the real world.

What makes the campaign both unique and engaging, is that the consumer is able to map their face onto one of the characters in the video, creating a personalised soaking they can share with their friends via Facebook and Twitter. The goal is to make saving water fun while getting people thinking about their personal water and energy consumption.

As part of the campaign, consumers are asked to make a pledge to reduce their water and energy consumption on a range of everyday activities in the home and garden. This allows Energy Saving Trust to be able to track engagement and monitor the amount of potential water, energy and financial savings that consumers can achieve.

Jon McGowan, Head of Marketing and Communications, Energy Saving Trust, said “There has never been a more critical time for consumers across Britain to reduce their water and energy consumption. Although many consumers have seen a significant drop in their energy bills by reducing the amount of hot water used in the home, there is still a long way to go to change consumer behaviour. It is for this reason we have worked with SapientNitro to develop an engaging and creative campaign to make saving water and energy everyone’s responsibility.”

The Great British Water Fight is a fun way of engaging people to encourage others to do their bit and help save water. Supported by the smart tools of the new 3D energy calculator we have developed for Energy Saving Trust, this begins a truly interactive experience for customers across multiple online channels for the brand.

The campaign also includes an interactive 3D Water Energy Calculator, created by SapientNitro, which shows the potential water, energy and carbon savings that consumers can achieve through some simple water efficiency improvements. The calculator can be viewed at http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/watercalculator/flashcalculator

About the author and SapientNitro

Malcolm Poynton is Chief Creative Officer Europe at SapientNitro. For more information, visit www.sapientnitro.com.

About the Energy Saving Trust

The Energy Saving Trust is the UK's leading organisation set up to try and prevent climate change by helping everybody to cut carbon dioxide emissions – the main greenhouse gas causing climate change – from their homes and transport. The Energy Saving Trust promotes the efficient use of energy and a low carbon lifestyle. Through its network of advice centres, the organisation provides free and impartial advice to consumers on saving energy, domestic renewables and greener transport, and is beginning to include water saving and waste reduction advice in its remit. It also works with retailers, builders and industry to make sure that energy efficient products are available for people to choose. For more about the Energy Saving Trust visit http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk or call your local Energy Saving Trust advice centre for free impartial advice: 0800 512 012.

About Waterwise

Waterwise is an independent, not for profit, non-governmental organisation focused on decreasing water consumption in the UK, and building the evidence base for large scale water efficiency. Waterwise is the leading authority on water efficiency in the UK, aiming to reverse the upward trend in how much water people use at home and at work. For more information visit www.waterwise.org.uk.