Program Goal

There are few resources more precious to us than our fresh water supply. But we all recognize that in some areas, pollution is a real issue. A 2006 survey we conducted indicated 50% of area residents believe industry is the biggest polluter, when in reality, 80% of the remaining water quality impacts are from what is called nonpoint source pollution – mainly stormwater runoff. Our goal was to help ordinary citizens understand the power of simple behavior changes to make significant improvements to water quality.

The Approach

The creative team at Sigma Marketing worked with internationally-renowned illustrator David Cowles to develop Larry, the prototypical everyman who personified the H20 Hero – an everyday hero who serves as the model for the ordinary citizen who can understand and take action to prevent water pollution in our region.

Initially, we expected to have Larry help us go straight for the end goal of behavior change – to get people to do things like:

• Stop washing their cars where the soapy water ends up in storm drains
• Be sure to pick up after their pets to avoid waste in storm drains
• Limit unnecessary lawn chemicals

But the research showed us we have a step to take first – many people aren’t aware that the water going into storm drains goes directly into our area’s waterways. If people don’t understand this “plumbing,” we can’t motivate them to modify their backyard behavior.

Thanks to our generous media bank partners, we have access to television advertising time. Given the very broad target audience we needed to reach, the team created a spot focused on helping people understand the plumbing and the behaviors that impact water quality.

The TV spot drives people to a website where they can learn more about water quality in our region and what they can do to protect it. This highly interactive website won Sigma and the Water Education Collaborative a 2008 Best of the Web Award.

Outcomes (as of 2009)

• The H20 Hero has been featured in well over a quarter million dollars in local advertising
• H20 Hero.org has had an average of 1,100 unique visitors per month since February of 2008 – that’s 17,600 potential heroes
• In the last year, 800 people have participated in H20 Hero events like storm drain marking and coastal cleanups
• 50 H20 Hero Pet Waste stations and signs have been installed in parks and along trails and roadways
• A stormwater quality exhibit is planned for 2010 at the Rochester Museum & Science Center, where the H20 Hero will help educate hundreds of thousands of museum visitors
• A follow up market research study shows some progress on educating consumers about the plumbing, and the team is committed to continuing this important work

Volunteer Team

SIGMA Marketing Group	Creative Development
Dave Cowles Illustrations	Design
BRX Global Research	Benchmarking Study
Harris Interactive	Message Testing
Butler/Till Media Services	Media Buying
Crystal Pix	Video editing
MarketHOLD Productions	Audio recording, editing
Jeremy Gallant	Animation
Finger Lakes Community College	Music Recording
Presto Largo	Music, lyrics
Dave Kyle	Voiceover Talent
Alison Cowles	Vocals
Tom Hanney	Vocals
Chris Van Campen	Vocals
Bruce Lish	Vocals