BFY, Eco-Friendly Opps: Waterdrop expands into the US, launches first US campaign (Score 67)

Sales Lead: Waterdrop, a quickly-growing Austrian hydration brand, recently launched in the US and rolled out its first national campaign.

• The campaign takes a stand against beverages that harm consumers' health and the environment.
• The company will likely:
  • Launch more US work
  • Pursue US influencers (it hired a DM for this purpose; read more below)
  • Keep ramping up national TV spend
  • Return to higher digital spend
  • Seek new agency partners as it continues prioritizing US growth
• Target demographic: 
  • Specifically, better-for-you and eco-conscious consumers

​​​​​​​Recent leadership shifts:

• This expansion comes not long after Waterdrop named Agueda Trujillo as the head of its US marketing in August 2022.
  • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Trujillo joined the company in August 2020 as a CM.
• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Waterdrop also recently appointed US influencer relations manager Kathleen Schreiber (September 2022) and junior brand activation manager Patrick Weindorfer (January 2023).

Additional recent news:

• In January 2023, Waterdrop landed an agency funding round that raised an undisclosed sum.

Additional spending insights:

• Broadcast insights (TV ad creative spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • YTD spend: Waterdrop made its first foray into national US TV commercials earlier in 2023 and has thus far allocated around $6.4k on the channel. 
  • 2023 ad programming: Its 2023 commercials have targeted tennis enthusiasts watching the 2023 Miami Open Tennis and Center Court.
• Digital and social insights (digital ad spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • YTD spend: So far this year, the company has spent approximately $373.1k on digital ads, a huge decrease from the approximately $2.2m spent by this point last year.
  • YTD data: Waterdrop has earned ~50.5m digital impressions, 56% via Facebook ads and 44% via Instagram ads.
  • Last year: In 2022, the company spent roughly $4.6m on this channel, 24% more than the roughly $3.7m spent in 2021.

Additional agency insights:

• Opportunity: Get in touch soon to see if Waterdrop conducts agency reviews as it continues expanding in the US.
  • ​​​​​​​Communications/PR hires are especially likely considering the company is focused on raising brand awareness.
• Current agency roster:
  • ​​​​​​​No current US-based agency relationships yet confirmed

Insight Sources: Funding insights by Crunchbase; broadcast insights estimated by iSpot; digital spend insights estimated by Pathmatics.