The Challenge

Edelman were tasked with creating an entirely new brand positioning and creative platform for the brand to launch in 2021 that would make Deep RiverRock the favourite bottle of water across the island of Ireland. Historically, Deep RiverRock’s personality and attitude has set them apart from the competition and it was time to reclaim that by bringing the brand’s personality to life with a touch of humour and self-awareness. 

The Strategy

We know our audience feels overwhelmed & cynicism is the order of the day.  Environment & societal issues can seem unfixable and overwhelming, the resounding sentiment seems to be “what’s the point?”  

“Nice One!” is used with sarcasm to express annoyance & frustration at something not going our way.  We decided to reclaim it & take it back to what it literally means: a simple, pure expression of happiness.

To counteract the cynicism we created the most enthusiastic brand ambassador, someone who can turn any situation into a positive. This is how the Deep RiverRock Star came to life - someone for whom sarcasm is a foreign language.  

Earnest, self-assured and sincere, to say anything other than what he means is a waste of time.

As well as being on hand to show the silver linings of life’s little problems, he’s also there to show how every time you pick up a bottle of Deep RiverRock, you’re making a small positive difference - which is something to celebrate. 

The Execution

• A 30” and 20” TVC to feature two and three scenarios where our Star turns mundane frustrating moments into positives 
• A series of 6” and 10” cutdowns to engage and connect with our target audience through digital and social channels  
• DOOH / OOH assets 
• A suite of hyper real imagery for OOH and in-store use  

The campaign launched across TV, Digital and social across the Island of Ireland with budget of €470K. The launch would also see a burst of OOH activity in the form of AdBoxes and a media marketing release to inform trade and marketing media.  

The Outcome

•  The social campaign has had a reach of over 1.5 million with just over 2 million impressions received.  
• Across earned media there has been a cumulative reach of over 237K (trade and marketing).  
• Deep RiverRock has seen distribution gains and ROS growth. 
• Deep RiverRock has regained their #2 SS Value Brand position, and YTD are growing +27.5% v PY, +7ppt Vs Category & over 3 times faster than Ballygowan.