The situation in the country

Unlike some other parts of the world, America has plenty of drinking water. Yet, 43% of Americans are not drinking enough water, and another 7% not drinking water at all, and are opting for other beverages because of taste, marketing promises or the science being pushed to them. Drinking water is considered boring and not important. And not drinking enough water can lead to long term health issues such as increased possibility of kidney stones, deterioration rheumatism, lowering of your blood pressure and oxygen supply to the cells and brain (which is especially sensitive) to name a few.

The Technology

We wanted the technology to work in tandem with human interaction. To encourage people to drink more water we wanted to directly reward them with entertaining content. Currently the fountain is limited to 2 hours water supply after which the water tank is replaced. The success of this phase has now lead to developing potentially more fountains that could be connected to a permanent water supply.

The Drink Up fountain has been released publicly but is being enhanced and improved upon based on the technology, and content.

The marketing and communication objectives were to encourage Americans to drink more water. We learned that people were opting for other beverages because of taste, marketing promises or the science being pushed to them. We had to find a way to make water as “cool” as these other beverages and create an experience that would make drinking water top of mind. The objective was to maintain a piece of communication that did not come across as preachy, and the consumers needed something engaging and entertaining that would be memorable in a cluttered market of beverages. The Drink Up Fountain allows us to contextualize the message and also surprise people with a healthy message without making them feel board or preached at.

The fountain has been launched in New York City to start with, and over the coming months will travel

around the country to various cities and events to encourage more Americans to keep drinking water.

Drink Up has received requests to partner with events, universities, councils and fountain manufacturers to make and install more the fountains across America. The goal is to make more permanent fountains across the country and contextualize the content based on weather, location and time of day.

The fountains will also travel to events and music festivals to encourage people to drink more water.