Earlier this year, Governor Jerry Brown announced the record-breaking drought was officially over. Government-mandated restrictions were lifted, and customer penalties and overage fees were rescinded in many regions. Residents and businesses were praised for their valiant water- saving efforts throughout the five-year dry spell, and emergency drought messaging slowly, purposefully ceased.
Faced with the challenge of an altered public perception of the importance of efficient water use, agencies across the state were forced to develop innovative strategies to create relevant, engaging conservation campaigns. In Spring 2017, Hi-Desert Water District rose to the task. The District enlisted the help of CV Strategies to create the imaginative “Conservation Rocks” general outreach campaign to encourage Yucca Valley residents to continue to conserve in spite of the wettest winter in years.
The campaign’s messaging playfully melds rock stars and water savings and strategically employs radio commercials, print ads, creative website banners, and dynamic graphic designs on reusable “conservation” bags. The District deployed the ingenious “Conservation Rocks” campaign in May 2017 and the results were inspiring.
Since the campaign’s kickoff, Hi-Desert Water District has received overwhelming positive feedback from peer agencies and residents. The District also boosted customer engagement and successfully increased its visibility in the communities it serves.
The “Conservation Rocks” campaign has proven to be a useful tool in capturing the interest of a new, larger target audience, attributed to a spike of tourism in the area. The campaign has proven effective for educating vacation rental occupants as well as new property owners in Yucca Valley on the importance of using water wisely in the desert climate.
Despite an increased population and hotter summer temperatures, the District’s residential water use has remained under 70 gallons per person, per day. The campaign’s success is clearly demonstrated in recent results, and is expected to continue to inspire positive results throughout its life.
The visionary, out-of-the-box “Conservation Rocks” campaign is a prime example of an exceptional outreach and messaging effort that directly increased public engagement. In addition to increasing visibility among customers, the campaign prompted the desired change and was a key driver of measurable success. Through collaboration, imaginative design, and defying the industry communication norms, CV Strategies’ creative “Conservation Rocks” campaign resulted in positive change, tangible results, and a rocking shift in conservation behaviors.
