Affinity Water, the UK’s largest water-only supplier, needed a campaign that would not only raise awareness about water conservation but also make people do something about it in their daily lives.
We created Keep Life Flowing, a brand platform that turns a utility into an emotional connection, showing how saving water helps keep the things we love in life running smoothly.
How do we reduce the daily water consumption of 3.9m customers from 154 litres to 110 litres per person by 2050?
With the pressures of climate change, population growth, and seasonal droughts, Affinity Water needed to inspire action – encouraging communities to value and protect water before scarcity becomes a crisis.
We were tasked with developing a campaign that would make everyday households care about saving water in the same way they do about electricity, drive measurable behaviour change and build trust in Affinity Water as a responsible steward of the resource.
Bringing Water-Saving Closer to Home
We reframed the conversation around water, moving away from abstract environmental statistics and focusing on the everyday human experience.
The insight was simple but powerful: water is the quiet hero of our daily lives. From morning coffee to kids’ bath time – it plays a vital, but unrecognised, role in the moments we care most about.
Our strategy centred on:
Humanising the Issue Making the value of water tangible by linking it to familiar, relatable moments rather than distant consequences.
Driving Behavioural Change Increasing motivation and identifying the easiest, most achievable actions for people to adopt, ensuring water reduction felt manageable and rewarding.
Building Local Trust Positioning Affinity Water as a visible, active partner in the communities it serves, not just a utility provider.
Designing for Multi-channel Reach Ensuring the message appeared in the right context for different audience segments, from busy parents to environmentally minded early adopters.
From Guilt to Gain
The creative idea, Keep Life Flowing, frames conservation not as sacrifice, but as a way to protect life’s pleasures. It’s about reminding people that every small action they take helps keep the moments they care about flowing for years to come.
From catch-ups over tea, to washing your pride and joy, weekend football and mid-summer swims. We brought the campaign to life through a hero TVC supported by a wide-ranging collection of vignettes, proudly celebrating British life with a subtle hint of humour, and all culturally-contextualised to spark conversation, increase motivation and lower barriers to action.
But Keep Life Flowing is more than a campaign line, it's a call to action. We used the campaign to drive meanigful and measurable behaviour change by:
Increasing Awareness Using emotive storytelling in hero films, photography, and broadcast assets to make the value of water visible in everyday life.
Making It Easy Providing simple, actionable tips through digital content, interactive tools, and social challenges designed to fit seamlessly into existing routines.
Prompting at the Right Time Placing messages where and when people are most likely to act – on water bills, stickers for around the house, hourglasss timers for in the shower, and on local OOH sites in high-footfall community spots.
By combining emotion with practicality, the idea became the backbone of every asset, ensuring people not only understood the message but also felt motivated and equipped to change their behaviour.
From idea to live in 6 weeks.
We owned end-to-end delivery, from creative concept to final broadcast – handling all production, post-production, and activation rollouts.
The entire campaign was conceived, shot, and launched within just six weeks, working with a crew of over 40 people across six locations.
This tight turnaround demanded precision planning, agile decision-making, and close collaboration between creative, production, and client teams to ensure nothing compromised on quality or impact.
Film & Photography
A series of short vignettes capturing authentic moments where water plays a silent but essential role.
Outdoor & Print
Bold, optimistic visuals that celebrated water’s role in life rather than leaning on fear-based messaging.
Digital & Social
Tips, challenges, and interactive tools showing users how small changes add up.
Community Engagement
Partnerships with local councils, schools, and sports clubs to extend reach and relevance.
Highly Visible & Deeply Embedded
The campaign met audiences where they were already spending time, ensuring Keep Life Flowing was both highly visible and deeply embedded in the daily lives of the audience.
The multi-channel strategy included:
Targeted Digital Out-of-Home Placing ads in high-footfall, hyper-localised areas.
VOD & Broadcast Reaching households at scale with emotive hero films.
Digital & Social Media Including Meta, YouTube, and programmatic placements via AdGen.
Customer Touch-points From water bills to the Affinity Water website, making the campaign unavoidable and actionable.
By connecting water to life’s joyful, everyday moments, we made conservation emotionally rewarding.
Rather than lecturing, Keep Life Flowing invited people to be part of something positive, local, and lasting. Within the first 4 weeks the campaing delivered:
+10m views (low lift media spend)
98% completion rate
2x industry benchmark CTR
-50% CPA (compared to previous campaign)
25% of total market share of voice
- Measurable reduction in water usage
– Positive media coverage framing Affinity Water as a leader in responsible resource management
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