Case Study--Nongfu Spring

The theme of my case study was on the most famous bottled water company

Nongfu Spring in China, known for its sweet yet natural bottled spring water.

In 2016, Nongfu Spring's revenue reached around 12.69 billion and occupied

25% of market shares in China. Also, it became the third-largest enterprise worldwide. I chose Nongfu Spring to understand what underpins its huge success in

China among a sea of bottled water companies. From my report I have concluded that Nongfu Spring’s success can be attributed to the following reasons:

First, Nongfu Spring’s message of “health and nature” is widely conveyed through the packaging and advertisements of its products, promising consumers that the bottled water they offer is naturally sourced, has no pollution and contains healthy minerals. This is done through adding local features and elements of the natural environment in China to its product's packaging and advertisements to attract consumers, while also incorporating slogans such as "Nongfu Spring, a tad bit sweet" and "Nongfu Spring does not produce water. It only transports nature."

The examples of Nongfu Spring product's packaging

Second, Nongfu Spring’s advertisements successfully apply storytelling marketing to attract customers by further spreading its message of “health and nature”. One example utilized persona-focused storytelling, where Nongfu Spring uses an employee in one famous advertisement to introduce their water source Changbai Mountain. From taking water samples to testing the water quality in the laboratory, this advertisement illustrates the importance of water quality to audiences. It makes the audience fully realize the process of testing water and Nongfu Spring's emphasis on water quality.

The example of Nongfu Sping's storytelling advertisement

Additionally, I constructed an infographic to illustrate Nongfu Spring's core values, data on water sales, and the various elements of its packaging and creative advertisements, which include the example of persona-focused storytelling mentioned above and an example of transmedia storytelling. This simple infographic shows how Nongfu Spring is one of the largest companies worldwide and the reasons that aided that success, including its message and marketing strategies.

Infographic