In many parts of the world, showering accounts for over 25% of water use at home. Research conducted by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has suggested that up to 30 percent of shower water is wasted, and trends indicate that people are taking longer showers.

The problem was that even though there are plenty of advertising warning us of the water crisis, none reminds us to take action at the right time and place.

As a body wash product, Protex naturally sits in the shower where the wastage occurs and where no medium is readily available to remind consumers. The opportunity was to turn the product itself into a key touch point, to deliver a smart and timely conservation message that is activated by the very water being wasted.

The solution was Protex Water Saving Labels.

The packaging was printed with a special hydrochromic ink and appears all white, but when exposed to water, a message reveals itself to remind us to turn off the tap while we soap. This was accompanied by a water fact that aims to contextualise our over-consumption. The first batch of the products were sold as Special Edition packaging in conjunction with World Water Day.

Strong in-store communication covered the 3 key shopping phases – Destination, Impulse and Transition – to ensure the message was re-enforced throughout the path to purchase.

The special edition bottles were offered to shoppers as a buy one, get free one promotion to incentivize purchase on World Water Day (March 22) and drive maximum awareness.

The campaign was launched in Thailand on World Water Day 2016. The first batch of the special edition sold out and a second batch of mass production is in progress to pipeline for a June activation.

The positive take-up of the Special Edition body wash has prompted Colgate-Palmolive to evaluate scaling up the project to a full regional rollout later in 2016.

Protex Water Saving Labels has proven to be successful extension of the Colgate-Palmolive sustainability plan and adds the critical component of driving behavior change and helping consumers care for the world around them.