Today is World Water Day: Use WOM to change the world

Nearly one billion people live without access to life’s most basic need: clean, safe drinking water. At charity: water, we’re out to solve this huge problem. Quickly. And we’re aiming to do so with word of mouth marketing and the power of birthdays.

At charity: water we do a few things differently. Here’s a look at our core brand values that drive word of mouth:

  • We use 100% of every donation to directly fund clean water projects.
  • We mark every water project we build with GPS and photos to help donors see their impact.
  • We’re trying to build an epic brand through design, storytelling, and web tools.

Much of our growth (in just 5 years we’ve given over 2.5 million people access to clean water) comes from a simple word of mouth concept: have people “give up” a birthday and ask for donations instead of gifts. What started in 2006 with a single birthday party has since inspired thousands of people to give up their birthdays for clean water.

The beauty of this approach isn’t just that it has driven millions of dollars in donations, but that each and every birthday campaign is a word of mouth campaign for the water crisis. Think for a minute about the 10 people you’d ask to donate on your birthday: I guarantee that’s the 10 people you influence most in the world.

We’re aiming to make this World Water Day all about birthdays. Visit http://charitywater.org/birthdays now to pledge your next birthday for clean water and to share that pledge with the world.

About Paull Young

Paull is a member of the executive leadership team at charity: water, a non-profit providing clean and safe drinking water to people in the developing world.

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