Contemporary Business 14th Edition by Louis Boone, David Kurtz

تمرين 33

The Tap Projectn Recently, Esquire magazine challenged David Droga, the founder of the Droga5 advertising firm, to prove that his creative thinking deserved the magazine's "Best and Brightest" award. After seeing a documentary about New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Droga started thinking about how many people don't have access to clean, safe drinking water-which most Americans take for granted. When he was served the typical free glass of tap water at a New York City restaurant, he got the inspiration for his next advertising campaign. Droga remembers thinking, "We have to make people aware of the luxury we have and help others who don't have it." He presented his idea to UNICEF, and the Tap Project was born.Approximately 900 million people around the world-about half of them children-lack safe, accessible drinking water. UNICEF and the Tap Project hope to cut that number in half by 2015. Every day, 4,100 children under age 5 die of water-borne diseases.During the UN's World Water Week, top restaurants in New York City asked their patrons to donate one dollar or more for a glass of tap water. Since then, the Tap Project has raised almost $1.5 million in the United States. All donations go to UNICEF's water, sanitation, and hygiene programs. One dollar allows UNICEF to provide safe drinking water to one child for 40 days. Funds raised in 2010 went primarily to Haiti, the Central African Republic, Guatemala, Togo, and Vietnam. Caryl Stein, the president and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, noted, "In Haiti alone, less than 60 percent of people had access to safe water even before the earthquake."Leading advertising agencies in the United States have participated in the Tap Project. Casanova Pendrill Publicidad, which aims at the Hispanic market, won the top prize in Advertising Age's Non-Traditional/Guerrilla Marketing category. In its "Agua Sucia" ("dirty water") campaign, the firm bottled dirty water as if it were mineral water and sold the bottles for $1 from vending machines on New York City streets. "Customers" could choose from such "flavors" as cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, and dysentery. The agency's slogan was, "You'd never drink dirty water, the rest of the world shouldn't have to, either."In succeeding years, the Tap Project spread to other U.S. cities and advertising agencies. In a recent year, 21 agencies produced advertisements that ran in 19 cities, in addition to efforts nationwide and on the Internet. For the most recent World Water Week, the Tap Project changed its focus. More than 1,000 restaurants participated, but volunteers also hosted 250 other fund-raising events around the country. The campaign established a presence on Facebook and Twitter as well as an online radio station. However, only five cities-Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, and Washington, DC-and eight advertising agencies were involved. Ryu Mizuno, the director of marketing at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, said the Tap Project was "maturing as a brand" and that the fund preferred "doing a few things in a great way instead of being all over the map." Some observers claim that such changes are typical of nontraditional marketing campaigns, especially those where ad agencies have
volunteered their services. Another difference from the first years is that the Tap Project's very success has spawned other water charities, all vying for donations and volunteers. The earthquake in Haiti also had an impact. However, UNICEF planned to grow the campaign again in 2011. Mr. Mizuno said, "Agencies that participated in the past and didn't participate this year are staying in touch with us."
-What types of nontraditional marketing does the Tap Project engage in?