Success Stories

Starting in 2017, Danone Waters – a division of one of France’s major food and beverage groups – partnered with Pico on a massive, multifaceted campaign, Project Volvican, to activate its Volvic water brand in the key Asian markets of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.

The brief

The client’s brand activation aims would require a multi-year effort to build and maintain the desired momentum. Ultimately, the project was to strongly link Volvic with sport, convey a Volvic ‘spirit’ to consumers, and drive sales during peak summer months.

Pico’s strategy to achieve these goals evolved from the unique qualities of the product itself. As the team noted, Volvic originates from Auvergne, a region of France known for its volcanoes, the source of the product’s natural strength and purity. The campaign was to be an experiential journey through multiple touchpoints including public relations, retail promotions, brand partnerships, social media, influencer engagements, and event sponsorship and activations.

Creative execution

Building on Volvic’s volcanic origins, the team created a brand story based on the power of the inner being. The line ‘Find your volcano’ became the spearhead in a series of brand ‘storytelling drives’ across the markets which included partnering with brands and individuals with a shared vision. Highlights included brand ambassador You Sheng’s participation in the 25km trail of Volvic Volcanic Experience, and as Official Water Partner, sponsorship of the Under Armour’s Test of Will Singapore and PUMA Night Run in Singapore and Taiwan.

Volvic’s association with these widely covered events was amplified with in-store promotions at Puma retail locations and partnership with True Fitness gyms. The Pico team also used the events as a basis of a social media contest which invited participants to ‘join the movement’ and ‘be a Volvican’.

Also joining the ranks of Volvic ambassadors were influencers such as Angela Lee (MMA World Champion from Singapore), Daniel Lau (rooftop Instagrammer and personal trainer from Hong Kong) and other athletes. Their presence as ‘Volvicans’ at sporting events successfully raised the brand’s profile at a local and regional level.

Complementing the campaign to embed Volvic into the sports and fitness sphere was an extensive online strategy aimed at both creating a viral phenomenon and building a vigorous community around the brand. The latter entailed the creation of platforms on which individuals could share experiences and stories, as well as content created for Volvic’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Notably, this included an adventurous feature story on Taiwanese actor Chris Wang’s journey to the Volvic source in Auvergne Volcanoes Regional Nature Park.