evian®, the number one global premium water brand*, first came to the U.S. more than 40 years ago. Over time, the brand became famous for its iconic advertising, and unique source in the French Alps. While evian is proud of its 200-year-old heritage, in 2018, the brand set an objective to shift consumer perception of evian with new brand storytelling bringing Americans closer to the brand's home in the heart of the French Alps. As the premium water category continues to grow with an increasing number of new purified brands, this offered evian an opportunity to focus on its unique provenance story highlighting the people and the place that differentiate it from all other water brands. Only evian comes from such a distinctive place, so they decided to partner with VICE to help bring the story to life for Americans in a way they had never seen before.
evian natural spring water comes from the heart of the French Alps, a unique geological site in the world. For more than 15 years, evian travels through underground glacial rocks, where it is enriched with naturally occurring electrolytes and minerals. While many Americans know that evian is from France, many don't know the full story and the real people and real place behind this iconic water brand.
To tell evian's story in a way that came off as authentic, rich and unfiltered, the brand partnered with VICE, a leader and credible voice to millennials, aiming to build cultural relevancy among the brand's younger audience. The New York Times called VICE "millennial whisperers," which is not surprising, given 1 in 3 millennials visit and engage with VICE.
Partnering with VICE, the brand developed, This is Evian, a piece of storytelling content that takes viewers on a mini adventure through the quirky town of Évian-les-Bains to meet the real people that surround, make and drink the world's number one premium water brand. On this ride, viewers meet: a local historian, a hydrogeologist, some water aerobics enthusiasts, a bunch of friendly cows, a less-than-perfect tattoo artist, and some water fountain pilgrims. These people, the natural beauty of the surrounding area, and evian's dedication to quality encapsulates what makes evian so special.
For Americans, this shared a story – and a place – they had never seen before.
This is Evian included one long-form video, a :30 second trailer for pre-roll and three :15 second cuts for social. With these different pieces of content, the brand activated on VICE.com, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
The campaign ran on VICE media from March 20 through May 21, 2018, with evian amplification for six weeks.
This is Evian exceeded all expectations: impressions (35.2m vs. 10m target), views (7.02m vs. 3.7m target) and engagement (40% higher engagement vs. CPG benchmark).
Impressions
Total impressions 35.2m vs. 10m target
Best performing branded content on VICE.com for the length of the campaign!
Partner page garnered over 160k page views, exceeding KPI by 200%
Social cut-downs driving to long form content exceeding KPI 133%
YouTube Trueview content performed extremely well, touting 1.49MM+ impressions and 577+ video views. VCRs were 20%+ above VICE benchmark
95% positive sentiment with users showing true appreciation for the aesthetics
Views
7.0m vs. 3.7m target across VICE, YouTube, and paid social
All metrics surpassed evian paid social KPIs: click through rate (0.042%), engagement rate (FB 10.24% vs. 5.66% benchmark, IG 13.25% vs.8.73% benchmark) and view through rate (12.46% vs. 9.25% benchmark)
Engagement
31% of people watched the video to completion (vs. average of 20%) indicating very strong engagement and liking
High positive sentiment at 95% vs. 88% VICE's YouTube positive sentiment benchmark
Achieved high efficiencies with only paying when a viewer didn't skip resulting in very cost effective average CPV of $0.03
The brand also conducted a Google brand lift study, exceeding benchmarks for ad recall (+116.9% vs. benchmark 35%), brand consideration (+22.7% vs. benchmark 4%) and branded search (+3,212% vs. benchmark 1,000%)
*GlobalData, evian, Leading Global Premium Non-Carbonated Mineral Water Official Brand Certification, 2018
