Investigastoro promotes the public water

by Eleonora Anello

Can a beaver and a small house help to promote the consumption of public water? Yes, if the house is a "House of Water" and the beaver is, in fact, a comic used to communicate with the public, starting with the youngest.

This is the experience of Alpignano (province of Turin, Piedmont) where last September 18th was inaugurated the "House of the Water", a covered structure which provides drinking water -natural and sparkling- from the city aqueduct managed by SAP, joint venture with majority public that handles this valuable resource both for domestic and commercial, industrial and agricultural usages.

To accompany the launch of the "House of the Water" was also conducted a specific communication campaign, just based on the aforementioned character (named "Investigastoro" as beaver-investigator and expert in the field always looking for good water to drink) and includes several actions: the involvement of traditional media to Web 2.0, from the billboards to the direct contact with users-consumers.
Significant used the claim: “Aiutare l’ambiente risparmiando? Facile come bere un bicchiere d’acqua” ("Help the environment saving? Easy as drinking a glass of water").

Objective of the initiative, in addition to promoting the domestic use of water from the aqueduct, it is also the reduction of the waste and the emissions of CO2 arising from the purchase of bottled water, especially in plastics.

We spoke with Raffaele Barrina, President of SAP and leading proponent of the initiative.

Why did you choose to install a Home of the Water? It is the right tool for promoting public water?
«We started from the observation that there are several clichés about the drinking water, mostly created by advertisements disclosed from the mineral waters on the market. We have tried to debunk them: it is not true, for example, that the water you buy at the supermarket is better, as regards taste and safety, in relation to water public. The House of Water is there to prove it. In addition, to cater to those who consume fizzy water (and avoid alibi), we chose to install a tap "with bubbles" while, to ensure good quality of our product, we distribute water that comes directly from one of the pipelines 'aqueduct and then by a continuous stream taken at 2 meters deep. The all -including then the House of the Water- therefore has a promotional function, dare I say "of marketing" for the product "Public Water"».

Around the inauguration of the House of the Water you have created a communication campaign also based on a cartoon character: Investigastoro. Why have you made this choice?
«Among the targets of our initiative we have privileged young people, the adults of tomorrow. We have so decided to focus especially on the primary school and Investigastoro is the star of a compelling comic: wants to know more about the quality and provenance of the water of the aqueduct. So, with scientific method, before he documented and verification on the ground and then draws his conclusions, which are obviously in favor of “water of the mayor “ consumption. We tried to involve as much as possible the students with the intent of educating them to a critical and responsible consumption: with their teachers have also interpreted the comic story, a tool that lends itself well to this type of activity».

How are the citizens? Have you other campaigns in mind for the future?
«Very good. The data also confirm to us: just a week after the inauguration we switched to deliver from 400 to 600 liters of sparkling water a day and, according to our estimates, we should stabilize around 800. Also the gruop who formed on Facebook has given good feedback, soon we will establish a blog on the SAP’s site in which citizens can speak about their experiences because we think that a comment made by a friend is much more reliable and convincing than a "formal" message taught by an institution. Besides, I noted with pleasure that the House of Water is becoming a real meeting place: some people now go there every day! This means that people have understood the message conveyed by the campaign, they realized that with their actions that costs nothing we earn them and the environment. In a few months, to December, we will consider whether to launch a new campaign to convince people to use glass containers rather than plastic ones. For now we leave them time to organize».