When California Gov. Jerry Brown declared an emergency drought in the state in January, car wash owners and operators in the state had cause for alarm.
But, the International Carwash Association was able to quickly communicate to its members and provide resources for operators to use to ensure that in the face of drought restrictions, they had an opportunity to prove their efficient use of water.
“I was getting ready to send a message to ICA CEO Eric Wulf about the California drought, but they had already sent me an email with things I could do,” said Lisa Lyons, owner of Buggy Bath Car Washes in San Diego, Calif.
The day of the drought declaration, the ICA created a paid Facebook advertising effort to help spread the message of smart water use through WaterSavers member car washes. The Association was also able to utilize recent materials, including a model drought response white paper for regulators, to help members tell their story.
“Our whole goal with the program is to spread the word that car washes, especially WaterSavers washes, are responsible users of water,” said ICA Director of Marketing Matt DeWolf. “In fact, car washes typically account for less than .1 percent of a municipality’s daily water usage.”
That was the message utilized on boosted Facebook posts that reached more than 65,000 targeted people within 24 hours of the drought declaration. The ad campaigns also saw quick responses, with a 2.6 percent click through rate (CTR), which is much higher than the average CTR of .119 percent for Facebook advertising.
“It all goes back to the message,” DeWolf said. “We have a message that resonates with consumers and regulators, and when you can utilize ads that are relevant to people, they’ll take action.”
In 2013, the WaterSavers program reached the 289-member mark, representing more than 1,800 car wash locations.
Also in 2013, WaterSavers’ national public relations outreach had resulted in more than 96 million impressions and has appeared in more than 1,400 different websites. News outlets running the stories have included large market names like the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, ABC4 in Salt Lake City and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
It’s also reached more than 30 different bloggers with more than 2.8 million impressions and more than 100,000 giveaway entries. “There’s nothing more effective at driving traffic to your business than positive referrals, and that starts by getting our message out to the influential folks in those spaces,” DeWolf said.
The program also continues its work on the water regulator front, having created a model drought response white paper as well as presenting on model car wash restrictions in drought conditions at the American Water Works Association’s Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE). “It was great to be able to bring our knowledge to ACE 13,” said ICA Chief Operating Officer Claire Darmanin. “We’ve been able to follow up on that by distributing our drought response white paper to regulators to continue to show how valuable the WaterSavers program can be as a tool for them as they consider drought response plans.”
Efforts by the International Carwash Association and its WaterSavers program are geared to drive awareness of the need to wash your car in a professional car wash. Since the program’s inception in 2009, it has become the professional car wash industry’s largest and most successful consumer and water regulator outreach program — ever.
