Poland Spring's Outreach Project in Maine

Having grown up and lived in Maine and consequently going to school at Bates I grew up always drinking Poland Spring. It was a Maine company and had become part of the culture here like Moxie, L.L. Bean , Moose and Lobsters.

However, over time this sort of perception has shifted to a more negative one.Poland Spring is running out of water and they are trying to acquire land and town usage rights across Maine. Have they been successful like you might think? No. They've failed miserably in opportunities to expand into Southern Maine. Most recently they were the center of some controversy over groundwater in Fryeburg, Maine.

The shift from corporate deity to corporate scum has been a slow gradual one. Most blame the shift on Poland Spring's acquisition by Nestlé back in the early 80's. This meant that issues with Poland Spring would often be checked by someone who was out of state. Also, Poland Spring was able to use it's sterling reputation to acquire water and groundwater rights in a variety of places within Maine.

How has Poland Spring dealt with this fall from Corporate Grace? Excellently. They have poured time, money and resources into Charity work, community outreach, and a variety of great programs for Maine kids.They sponsor every sports event, charity event, and every other conceivable branding opportunity. They even had an exclusive deal with Bates to supply Poland Spring Water to every event we had. Great branding...and we were a great consumer. I think I may have died had I not had an ample supply of Poland Spring in my mini-fridge.

The most recent program that I was made aware of was the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. My sister who is a substitute teacher for the town of Kittery, ME was fortunate enough to accompany a class of 5th graders on a trip (in a coach bus with flat screens) to this museum largely set up for the benefit of education/heavy Poland Spring branding.

How does Poland Spring fit into this? The kids were given complementary Poland Spring water on the bus and sponsored the coach bus and field trip. My sister reported that the Gulf of Maine Research Institute WAS educational and also a huge hit with the kids. So I'd say that was a positive return on investment for both parties.

Hitting Fifth and Sixth graders with strong branding messages is a home run in my opinion for Poland Spring. Fifth graders are able to remember their experiences accurately, will tell their friends+parents if they had a good or bad time, and usually have a small amount of disposable income. So when these kids ask what kind of bottled water they want mom or dad to purchase? The answer/goal is Poland Spring.

Brand reputation is a tricky thing...but I'd rather have a plucky fifth grader promoting my product then an old councilperson. Poland Spring has realized this and acted accordingly. I'm interested to see what other types of promotions they will be doing in the future.

tagged as Advertising, Branding, educational branding, Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Maine, poland spring, water