WaterAid

#TweetTaps

An award-winning solution that uses Twitter to strengthen relations between WaterAid and charitable donors, to drive repeat donations and impact lives for the better.

Role: Concepting. UX.

THE BRIEF

#PoweredByTweets was an annual competition that invited teams to submit ideas that made the world better using Twitter.

I partnered with NOW Agency to submit an entry for their client, WaterAid. WaterAid provide access to clean water and sanitation in the world's poorest communities. Their work relies on fundraising, yet they struggle to convert one-time donors into repeat donors.

So we asked ourselves: How could Twitter build stronger bonds between WaterAid donors and the communities they support?

THE SOLUTION

WaterAid’s research showed that people who feel closer to a cause are more likely to remain a long-term donor and increase their donation.

Additionally, quick internal research revealed very few charity givers knew how their money was spent.

As a social tool, Twitter had the potential to connect donors to the actual communities where their money was being spent. We wanted the communities to own this relationship, but asking local people to tweet felt cliched. Instead, we took inspiration from the Mars Curiosity Rover.

#TWEETTAPS

Our solution to build bonds between WaterAid donors and the communities their money supported? Tweeting water pumps, which we called #TweetTaps.

Individual water pumps would get an automated Twitter account. When signing up, donors could choose a #TweetTap to support. They would then receive an auto-generated weekly tweet from their #TweetTap informing them how much clean water it had pumped that week.

And to increase social sharing, we’d install a GoPro to send ‘Pump Postcards’ to break down barriers between donors and the villages where their money was making an impact.

User journey, from initial donation to ongoing relationship with WaterAid #TweetTap.

RESULTS

Our entry finished second.

As a finalist, WaterAid received £20,000 worth of media to spend on Twitter.

But best of all, #TweetTaps was brought to life as an interactive exhibit at the London Design Festival, where the public could “pump to tweet” and experience the idea for themselves.

Credits

AGENCY

NOW Agency
London, UK
2015

ROLE

Concepting
UX

PUMP IT UP

Kate Waters
Perry Nightingale
Melissa Robertson
Dave Tolly

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