Alko is a Finnish authority who prevents alcohol abuse in Finland.

The brief was to come up with an impactful approach that would inspire all Finnish adults to observe their drinking habits and encourage moderate drinking.

Alcohol use has always been prohibited, demonized and criticized – in propaganda, movies and marketing communication. Alko decided to break the old conventions and spread alcohol awareness in an inspiring and encouraging way – in a way that would completely change the way Alko approaches the issue.

To remind Finns to drink moderately, Alko brought a new drink to the table.

This year, Alko launched its own water brand called Välivesi (“The In-Between Water”) – and it was sold only in liquor stores.

The In-Between Water is a literal translation from a common Finnish word “välivesi” – “väli” meaning in-between, and “vesi” meaning water. The word is generally used to remind someone to have a glass of water between alcoholic beverages. Basically, that’s Alko’s key message coded inside the witty little word.

As there’s no better place to get people to think about their drinking habits than the point of sale in a liquor store, the In-Between Waters were sold exclusively in liquor stores. To highlight Alko’s key message even more, the products were shelved in between of alcoholic beverages.

To persuade someone to have less of something they like (alcohol) is more difficult than persuading to have more of something they like (water). Alko chose the latter.

The launch had two target groups: Finnish adults and all the media outlets of the country. For both, the message had to be catchy, concise and unexpected.

Because the Finnish word “välivesi” is already used to Alko’s advantage, the company decided to take ownership of it.

The product itself was the key message – and all Finnish liquor stores became its messengers.

A successful PR launch is a lot about timing. The product launch was scheduled to the beginning of summer, and summer is often flooded with all sorts of beverages launches. Alko needed to be first.

The press releases were sent in May, a full month before the actual products would hit the shelves. All the main news outlets and local papers across Finland were contacted.

At first, many media outlets thought the In-Between Water was a joke, which worked for Alko’s advantage and only increased the heated discussion around the product.

Soon after, in June, Finnish liquor stores one by one took the In-Between Water to their selection.

The In-Between Water became a social phenomenon: Finns made taste tests, bottle cap challenges – even a song – and started reminding each other to drink water between alcoholic beverages.

The In-Between Water was the third most discussed product of 2019 in Finland (only behind Beyond Meat’s arrival to Finland and Samsung’s new smartphone release).

The In-Between Water got 51 media hits in Finland and was covered in all ten of the largest national newspapers, TV and radio channels.

With earned media, the product reached 29,395,076 Finns – over 5 times Finland’s population. Earned media value was €271,905.

The In-Between Water rose the sales of the whole non-alcoholic category in liquor stores by 587%. Demand was so high, liquor stores had to order more to keep up with it.

The In-Between Water changed the way Alko approaches alcohol abuse awareness completely.