LIFEWTR: #ArtByAWoman

51% of today’s visual artists are women, yet their work makes up less than 5% of permanent collections.

This jarring disparity felt by women artists inspired action from LIFEWTR, a brand who believes “art is as essential to life as water.” They began by showcasing new works from “Women in Art” on 20 million LIFEWTR bottles.

Then they created “new galleries” for women by turning media spaces into an “Open Gallery”, featuring #ArtByAWoman. They launched in Lincoln Center, NYC, with a 60-foot gallery wall. This live event painted a world where half of the world’s art “went missing”— revealing a live show and work from emerging female artists.

Next, they shared the event film to raise visibility and invited everyone to share #ArtByAWoman. Thousands of artworks were shared on social, so they turned @LIFEWTR (Instagram) into a digital Open Gallery.

Finally, they transformed some of the most high profile OOH spaces (Times Square, World Trade Center, Wrigley Field) into an Open Gallery of #ArtByAWoman.

Result
Open Gallery surpassed all expectations and drove the outcomes of increased awareness and conversation around the issue. #ArtByAWomen was mentioned around 8,000 times on Instagram and Twitter during the campaign period. The hashtag that was virtually unused before the start has become a true ‘Open Gallery’ for celebrating women’s art. The hashtag is still used dozens of times per day, with the current total number of women’s artworks reaching over 17,000, creating a thriving conversation. The video and social content sparked an exchange of ideas and debate, where people supported the movement from others who disagreed about the impact.

#ArtByAWoman drove results for LIFEWTR, helping prove that a brand can drive both purpose and business objectives. The campaign contributed to one of the most massive increases in brand awareness for LIFEWTR in 2017, 3% overall and 9% amongst millennials. In its first year alone, LIFEWTR became a $200MM brand – the fastest growing water brand in the category.

Credits
Advertising Agency: R/GA, Chicago, USA

This campaign is about:
Experiential campaign, Non-Alcoholic Drinks, LIFEWTR, #ArtByAWoman, Outdoor campaign, OOH, Artist