Water-efficient camel soaks up two awards for united utilities

The animated character Gabi H2O

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A rapping water-efficient camel has helped water company United Utilities scoop two top awards.

Gabi H20 - a character devised by TV Network Nickelodeon, with backing from United Utilities and Southern Water - is the UK’s first on-air animated character dedicated to educating children about water efficiency.

Since May, an estimated 5.5 million children and 1.6 million parents have tuned into Nickelodeon, where the Gabi message has been played three times a day.

Now the campaign has picked up a UK Water Efficiency Award for Campaigns and Education and, this week (Mon Nov 12), became a Gold Winner in the Retail Utility Category at the UK Green Apple Environment Awards, which took place at the House of Commons.

United Utilities Demand Strategy Analyst Maxine Stiller said helping people be more water efficient was good for the environment and people's bills.

"We're always looking for new ways to get the message across. We've been giving away free water-saving packs and gadgets like save-a-flush devices and shower regulators for a long time, but GabiH2O has helped us reach a whole new audience. Children instinctively want to protect the environment and learn really fast. We hope we can harness pester power working for the common good. It's great to be recognised for the work we're doing," she said.

Kiaran Saunders, Vice President, Commercial Director, Nickelodeon UK, says "We are immensely proud of what we have achieved working with Gabi. GabiH2O has harnessed the medium of mass media reach to create the first unified nationwide outreach campaign dedicated to saving water, reaching millions. By partnering with Nickelodeon Gabi has ensured a nationwide audience is being exposed to water saving messages.”

The campaign went live on 14 May, running 3-5 times per day on Nickelodeon channels. The average viewing figures are 5.5 million per month, of which roughly half are kids 4-15, and 1.6 million are parents. The accompanying website has had over 174,700 visits and more than 211,300 page views, suggesting a high level of engagement with Gabi and his message.

"GabiH2O has harnessed the medium of mass media reach to create the first unified nationwide outreach campaign dedicated to saving water, reaching millions. By partnering with Nickelodeon Gabi has ensured a nationwide audience is being exposed to water saving messages.