Central to the creative idea was showing the reality of the water challenge, rather than telling, and demonstrating how real progress is achieved in partnership with individuals and communities.

By using the medium of Virtual Reality, we were able to transport the viewer to the source of the action, somewhere they wouldn’t ordinarily be able to visit without having to travel thousands of miles.

Set against the backdrop of Nepal’s mountainous landscape, we wanted to place the viewer directly into everyday recovery situations to create a real sense of understanding and empathy towards the unique water challenges faced by the country's hill-side communities.

The documentary launched at World Water Week in Stockholm, supported by an app, a microsite and branded cardboard headsets (August 2016).

We secured a media partnership with the Huffington Post and premiered the film in Nepal with Entertainment Editor Caroline Frost, including a virtual reality report from the field and a series of online features (Sept-Dec 2016).

We continued to promote the documentary through earned media and organic channels and applied to film festivals and awards to increase our visibility and reach.

We developed a busy events calendar, including the ‘first VR pop up cinema in a bank’ with a week-long installation at HSBC HQ (January 2017), and features at key film festivals throughout the year.

We are now planning for more events through HSBC’s network and a global paid media campaign to mark the 2nd anniversary of the Nepal earthquakes (25th April 2017).

Since its launch, the campaign has reached 5.3 million people through earned media and organic channels.

The documentary won Best VR Short Film at the Big Mini Media Festival in Long Island in November, and has been selected to be featured at eight more film festivals.

To date, 2,000+ people have watched the film as a result of 36 face-to-face events. More than 60% of attendees surveyed said they felt more positive about WaterAid and HSBC as a result of watching the documentary.

We have distributed 1,800+ Aftershock branded cardboard headsets to new audiences, and have received 6,000+ app downloads in the Apple, Play and Gear VR stores. In addition, we have had 20k+ visits to our microsite with higher than average engagement rates.

There is a further global promotional campaign planned to coincide with the 2nd anniversary of the Nepal quakes in April 2017.