EPCOR’s “Glass of the Sask” campaign the toast of Edmonton

A creative campaign to create buzz about the tap water in Edmonton, Alberta, will be honored at the upcoming 2024 Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE24) presented by the American Water Works Association (AWWA) in Anaheim, California. 

EPCOR Utilities Inc., which provides drinking water services to the Canadian community, will receive AWWA’s Public Communications Achievement Award for its successful promotion to increase public awareness about Edmonton’s drinking water source – the North Saskatchewan River. EPCOR also won the People’s Choice Taste Test at ACE19. 

EPCOR partnered with more than 20 local restaurants that serve tap water. The restaurants were provided with “Glass of the Sask” branded carafes and coasters to serve tap water and pique customer interest.

“It has sparked many a conversation with the ‘front of house’ serving staff in these places,” said Martin Kennedy, EPCOR’s director of sustainability and external relations. “They’re asking if you’d like some water and they’re bringing it, and then it triggers a conversation about it.”

The “Glass of the Sask” idea was sparked by data from AWWA’s Public Perceptions of Tap Water survey that indicates that consumers who recall receiving a recent communication from their water utilities are more than three times as likely to report their water’s safety has improved. 

Because Edmonton, known as “The Festival City,” has more than 60 festivals on its annual calendar. EPCOR also provided branded hydration stations at some of the events, allowing attendees to fill their reusable water bottles with refreshing “Sask” tap water.

“I’ll say living in a more northern community, we pack a lot into our summers. We’re enormously proud of our local events and festivals,” Kennedy said. 

Bringing a branded hydration station caught the attention of festival goers at more than a dozen events, including the Edmonton Fringe Festival and Heritage Days. “It is a little more engaging than just a water truck,” Kennedy added. “Our staff would engage with them to tell their tap water’s story. That was really special.”

EPCOR supported these in-person efforts through social media and news coverage, generating more than 80,000 direct engagements such as likes, comments and shares.

EPCOR builds, owns and operates electrical, natural gas and water transmission and distribution networks, water and wastewater treatment facilities, and sanitary and stormwater systems in Canada and the United States.