Clean Rivers Coalition: Follow the Water Campaign
Campaign Background
We have held an open services contract with Multnomah County since 2021 and, in 2022, we were selected to execute two digital media campaigns for the Clean Rivers Coalition (CRC). CRC is a collaborative partnership of 60+ organizations, including nonprofits, government agencies, watershed councils, and soil and water conservation districts. Their mission is to build a bridge between clean water and healthy communities in Oregon and Southwest Washington through education and engagement. CRC also aims to connect people’s behavior to our water supply through another campaign we worked on, What’s Your Lawn Style.
Public Outreach Embodying the Voice of Water
CRC approached us to help promote their newly formed project, Follow the Water. Though they had a brand, a website, and a couple of social media channels, Follow the Water had zero exposure. No website traffic, no posts on social media, and no audience. Starting from scratch is always an exciting challenge for us—and we dove into the deep end!
Developing a Brand Voice
CRC knew they wanted to be a voice for rivers but needed clear guidelines so that anyone writing for Follow the Water could achieve the same tone. Brand voice can be hard to pin down—we may know it when we read it but struggle to define the tone, narrative, or emotional resonance. Parachute developed parameters to achieve a consistent voice across multiple platforms. Follow the Water seeks to engage the public, so we need to appeal to a wide swath of people. Thus, the voice should include a diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences, embodying hope, curiosity, and a shared love of Pacific Northwest rivers.
A Defined Audience
Of course, as a public outreach campaign, CRC wanted to reach as many people as possible. This goal may sound straightforward and even easy, but it’s actually deceptively difficult! Attempting to target anyone and everyone can lead to vague “universal” messages that fail to engage the diverse audiences of our region. Through discussions on strategy and reach, we were able to pinpoint core audiences for Follow the Water. And by defining these audiences, we could develop content in response to their unique interests.
From a Drop to an Ocean of Content
In the first few months, we worked closely with CRC to understand the topics and stories they wanted to share. We collaborated on content, with CRC sharing ideas and suggestions, Parachute writing and rewriting, and feedback back and forth. This was an important first step in understanding what fit on their channels and what did not. This process also helped refine CRC’s own understanding of the project as a large group with varying opinions. Now Parachute runs the show and draws from an accumulated ocean of content!
Building a Social Media Ecosystem
After nailing down content and defining our client’s core audiences, Parachute set to work to build a social media ecosystem and attract a following. We gathered evergreen and timely posts in a social media calendar, developed key categories for our posts, found images and stock, and created graphics based on their brand. We meet internally on a regular basis to make sure posts match each platform and our intended audiences.
Follow the Water has already gained a large following on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, even with a relatively small budget compared to our other campaign with CRC.
Campaign Results (So Far)
With minimal advertising, we were able to create an organic digital presence that continues to grow. In the first year, Follow the Water reached over one million people, the website had 55,000 visit, and social media gained 2,000 followers. We expect these numbers to increase year over year as Follow the Water becomes an established voice in the Pacific Northwest.
Increasing awareness of our connection to rivers and water’s role in our lives is hugely gratifying work, and we’re proud to be using our skills for the health of our environment.
