Water Communications Takeaways from #TeamWater 

Much of the campaign’s success relied on the strong connections and media savvy of its creators. But we think there’s a lot to learn from #TeamWater that can be applied to other outreach efforts. Here are our top takeaways:

1. Meet people where they are: From TikTok to Snapchat, and Fortnite to Roblox, #TeamWater touched corners of the digital world that advocacy content rarely reaches, and it allowed creators to tailor content for their audience’s interests rather than requiring them to follow a strict script or visual identity.*
2. Sow hope and connection: #TeamWater invited people to be part of something positive (and collective!) in a time of deep division and isolation, emphasizing that we can solve the water crisis if we come together. 
3. Keep it simple: Some might argue that #TeamWater went too simple. It didn’t address systemic causes and solutions, and was built around some sticky social math: $1 to fund clean water for a person for a year. But, if we think of crowdfunding and other online activations as on-ramps to deeper education and engagement, we can bridge from short to long-term solutions once our audience is invested. By contrast, leading with the need to reform broken systems can turn people off or fuel fatalism, especially in this time of growing grievance. Starting with a small wins helps to create a sense of progress and possibility.
4. Set audacious but achievable goals: $40M is a big goal, and #TeamWater launched promising to be the “biggest and most impactful clean water campaign in history.” That ambition feels right given the scale of our global water crisis, but you can bet the creators had secured big commitments that put the goal in reach before announcing it, and the fact that it only ran for 31 days made it easy for brands, celebrities, and online creators to get involved, knowing they weren’t signing up for months of fundraising.
5. Create space for play: Water contamination, scarcity, and access issues are heavy, and #TeamWater included videos that honored the profound human stakes, but it also included lots of playful content that people scrolling their feeds for fun would want to watch. The Water Hub has been experimenting more with edutainment, both through creator partnerships, and silly but informative videos produced in-house about beavers and harmful algae blooms.

The Water Hub team has been thinking a lot about how our movement can put these ideas into practice in partnership with YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and other creators that reach beyond the water movement’s traditional base of support. We’ve developed a concept for a “Water Creator Council” that would enable us to partner with a cohort of creators over the course of a year to elevate underreported issues, reach people poorly served by mainstream media, and make water content more accessible, engaging and culturally relevant. If you have feedback or are interested in supporting this effort, we’d love to talk!  

*This level of flexibility won’t make sense for every campaign, but it’s worth considering how much creative control you are willing to relinquish to engage media partners whose communications style is super different from yours.

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