Culligan’s New Marketing Strategy

Culligan’s New Marketing Strategy

The water treatment giant just tapped a creative agency and PR firm to launch its first-ever global campaign, set to drop in early 2025. After consolidating 100+ brands under one roof and rolling out their "Water You Love" tagline, Culligan's ready to turn up the pressure on their international presence. The move comes as part of a larger brand transformation that aims to educate consumers about quality water while catching the attention of a new generation of customers. Culligan, which serves a whopping 140M consumers annually, already has hometown Chicago partnerships with the United Center and the Chicago Marathon.

Evaluating Options (Part 2)

In part 2 of Evaluating Treatment Options with Limited Information, A.O. Smith product specialist Justin Mest breaks down when to deploy the industry's heavy hitters: reverse osmosis, ion exchange, and carbon filtration. He talks about how RO shines with larger contaminants (above 200 g/mol) but isn't the cure-all many assume – it can actually create corrosion headaches if pH levels aren't managed properly. Ion exchange is a good choice too, but its effectiveness depends heavily on which ions are in the water. Carbon, the old reliable, excels at attracting organic contaminants, especially those with high logD values, but success varies based on factors like molecular weight and water solubility. Mest’s takeaway is to skip the guesswork and lean on manufacturer modeling tools to design treatment systems.

Water Guard, Inc. is Acquired

Hawkins, Inc. announced this week that they’re scoping up North Carolina-based Water Guard, Inc. in their latest expansion play. The Minnesota chemical company ($919M revenue in 2024) is getting deeper into East Coast territory, adding Water Guard's chemical distribution and equipment business to its portfolio of 61 facilities across 28 states. Water Guard, a local fixture since 1978, brings decades of community connections and customer relationships to the deal. For Hawkins CEO Patrick Hawkins, it's a strategic move that fills a geographic gap and strengthens the company's East Coast presence. No deal terms were disclosed.

Tech News

The industry had a heavy dose of innovation this week. Here's what caught our eye:

• An undergrad student at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) developed a desalination system that turns brine into fresh water with 90% efficiency

• A low-cost, portable water desalination device made from tires has been developed by Dalhousie University (Canada) researchers

• Time named Gradient’s PFAS zapper ForeverGone one of the best inventions of 2024

• WCP released their own rundown on scientific innovations in the field

What else is happening:

• WQA Podcast is back with their episode Ion Exchange Explained

• WCP writes about the future of AI in marketing in the water treatment industry

• Tower Water, a water treatment services and consulting company, writes about water treatment safeguards to put in place for heatwaves

• Waterworld USA releases their guide on microplastics in drinking water