TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD

Tapping into Texas identity.

For Texas, water is the defining challenge of our time. With unprecedented population growth, sustained drought and aging infrastructure, demand for our water is outpacing our supply.

That’s why Texas dedicated $20B to be spent on water projects over the next 20 years and earmarked $2M annually to create a statewide water awareness campaign, a first in Texas history. This multi-year campaign is from the Texas Water Development Board, the state agency planning the future of water in Texas, and was developed in partnership with Texas Water Foundation, one of the state’s leading water nonprofits. Its goal is to inspire Texans to care about their water and the infrastructure it takes to get it to them. But that isn’t something most Texans have ever really had to think about.

A statewide survey revealed only 5% of Texans know where their water comes from and less than 1% could answer basic questions about their water use. Texans’ water sources and the systems that deliver it to their faucets are largely invisible. Texas water didn’t just need a campaign. It needed an identity. This Is Texas Water is a way to brand the state’s water and show how it’s connected to everything Texans love about Texas.

SERVICES

Blitz

Audience Research

Campaign Strategy

Visual Identity

Film

Social

OOH

Activation

Website

INTRODUCING TEXANS TO THEIR WATER

The campaign centers around an anthem video that spans a single day in Texas and celebrates the many ways Texans all across the state interact with water, from the epic to the everyday. Featuring the song “You’ll Lose A Good Thing” by Texas blues legend Barbara Lynn, the video shows how water is connected to all the good things about living in Texas – giving it an identity and elevating it from a generic commodity to a treasured resource.

OFFERING TEXANS A DEEP DIVE

The water people care about the most is their own. And a statewide survey revealed that 95% of Texans actually know very little about theirs. So to help educate Texans and help them feel like they have a stake in the state’s water challenges, the website features a zip code lookup function. Visitors can enter their zip to see where their water comes from as well as their water supply and demand projections for the next 50 years — bringing their own local water situation into focus like never before.

PARTNERING WITH ICONIC TEXAS BRANDS

The campaign seeks to brand Texas’ water so that it becomes more visible and more beloved. A key strategy for doing that was to align with brands that are already beloved in Texas. This included featuring iconic Texas brands throughout the campaign such as Whataburger, YETI, both the University of Texas and Texas A&M University, and an in-store brand activation with Rudy’s where their single-use water cups were replaced with special reusable collectible cups from This Is Texas Water.

PEOPLE

Creating a campaign for a state as big as Texas requires a big collaborative effort. This Is Texas Water was developed with both leadership teams from Texas Water Development Board, the state agency behind the campaign and responsible for water planning in Texas, and the Texas Water Foundation, one of the state’s leading water nonprofits. And bringing it to life required the talents and expertise of a group of companies across multiple disciplines from behavioral science to film production — including Shepherd, Glide, VAL Health, Board of Directors and Editorial Board.