Those who frequently eat at Squatters restaurant in Salt Lake City might have noticed a change on March 23. Rising above the typical restaurant dining experience was an unusual phrase repeated excitedly by servers: “that table just bought water.”

“The restaurant servers developed their own in-house competition to see who could sell the most glasses of water,” said Bradley Public Relations agency manager Jeff DuBois, who was at Squatters for a media interview about the fundraiser.

Their efforts have paid off so far, reflecting the success of a statewide campaign run by BYU communications students. On March 22 alone, Squatters restaurant collected $150 in water sales at its airport location. And other participating restaurants, like Sammy’s at 27 North 100 West in Provo, have reported collections, too.

But it is not just restaurant servers who have been getting excited about selling water. Students and professors alike at BYU’s Ad Lab and Bradley Public Relations agency have become water enthusiasts as they have worked together to promote UNICEF’s Tap Project, a national fundraising effort to provide clean drinking water for children in 90 countries.

The Utah Tap Project team has promoted the cause on a statewide scale, furthering the idea that a $1 donation can provide 40 days of clean drinking water for a child. With 36 participating restaurants, “Best TV Spot” and “Best of Show” awards from the on-campus advertising awards show, and nearly 100 people involved in coordinating the project, the enthusiasm has been contagious.

“When Professor DuBois announced [the project] initially, I was so excited,” said Elizabeth Jenkins, Utah Tap Project public relations coordinator. “I went up to him and said, ‘Hey, I want to get in on this.’”

“These are the kinds of projects that students get most excited about, where their efforts can directly affect lives and communities,” DuBois said.

Excitement sparked the moment BYU Ad Lab Manager Jeff Sheets learned about the larger expansion of UNICEF’s 2007 Tap Project at a conference in Cannes, France. Having already been aware of the project, Sheets said he was impressed by David Droga’s (of Droga5 Ad Agency, Manhattan) idea of branding something that had never been branded before: i.e., water. He knew that BYU needed to get involved in the ad campaign that had earned Droga5 a Titanium Lion at Cannes in 2007 and a 2008 Creativity Award from Creativity-online.com

Before long, Sheets convinced Stevan Miller, UNICEF’s director of corporate outreach and a former BYU student that BYU’s Ad Lab and Bradley Public Relations agency could work among Saatchi and Saatchi, Droga5, and other renowned agencies to effectively promote the Tap Project. Much to Sheets delight, BYU was invited to organize and carry out the campaign in Utah.

“For BYU to take a name next to the best, it solidifies that our students are among the best in the industry and every bit as creative,” Sheets said. “We’ve even been told we’re the best.

Students demonstrated their creativity throughout the campaign planning from last September to World Water Week (March 22-28). The Utah Tap Project team needed to communicate the project’s message while adding the state’s personality to messaging, as required by UNICEF.

BYU’s participants fulfilled this requirement with the slogan “Here’s to Life: Finally, something we can all drink to,” reflecting the importance of water as a natural resource. In other words, it is a toast to the water we normally don’t see as residents in a dry state like Utah, said Skylar Stevenson, Utah Tap city coordinator and president of the BYU UNICEF club.

Additionally, creativity showed through the project’s graphics, use of local talent, and community coordination. Posters and fliers depicted water droplets shaping Utah’s mountains, and local artists were asked to submit works for use in the campaign. Students even solicited local musicians to compose reflective music that could be used in promotional radio announcements and other media outlets. Also, outreach extended to Utah Valley University’s Service Council.

“The campaign gave every student the opportunity to do something,” Sheets said.

“The thousands of hours volunteered, level of commitment and combined efforts are astounding,” Stevenson said.

Embarking on a statewide campaign did not come without its challenges, however. Sheets said recruiting restaurants was a challenge for students, partly because of the large number of chains with lengthy approval processes. In addition, some restaurants were hesitant to add complexity to their business in a time of economic upheaval.

Likewise, the timeline of approval from UNICEF proved to be a minor setback, pushing restaurant recruitment to one month before water sales were to take place during World Water Week.

Despite these challenges, Sheets said the beauty of the campaign shown through.

“When you look at social causes, it’s easy to be overwhelmed and say, ‘I cannot save the world,’ but the Utah Tap Project offers a clear hope and easy plan to show that even the smallest action of donating $1 to provide clean water helps,” Sheets said. “It [the project] was our first attempt [at the statewide campaign], and we were happy to be a catalyst … and happy with the outcome.

The beauty of the campaign also showed its ability to provide students a hands-on experience. DuBois explained that since the campaign had tremendous amounts of potential for mass media coverage, it allowed students to build skill sets and portfolios through development of media materials and media contact in general. The students were the ones on the phone with reporters, DuBois said.

With over $100,000 in donated media for advertising and coverage from ABC 4, FOX 13, KSL, KTVX, KUTV, the New York Times, the Deseret News, the Provo Daily Herald, and the Salt Lake Tribune, students got to see their efforts pay off.

“It [participating in projects like this] furthers their [students'] confidence that they know what to do to create messages that can impact society,” Jeff Sheets said. “It’s nothing short of remarkable that BYU students are doing what they’re doing.

And the level of coordination and cooperation between UNICEF, the participating restaurants, volunteers, and students is nothing short of remarkable, too. Sheets said he hopes to get involved with the Tap Project again in the future.

“Despite political and ideological differences, our goal will always be to unite and come together on social causes,” Sheets said. “This is something we can agree on-finally, something we can drink to.”