Clear Flow

After researching several product concepts and searching for an innovative way to improve household water filtration technology, Clear Flow co-founders Bill Warren and Gordon Lewis invented the disposable faucet filter and founded Clear Flow in January 2002. The Clear Flow water filtration system design is completely new to the industry and offers several unique benefits by virtue of its single use design. The products require no replacement filters, need no maintenance, and offer long life operation at a low per gallon cost. The compact, low profile size of the devices is also an important advantage. This disposable concept, enabled by high capacity, long life carbon technologies, is a platform that supports several ClearFlow™ products, including Clear Flow Complete™, Clear Flow Faucet Filter™, and Clear Flow Bathroom Faucet Filter™, the first ever faucet filter for the bathroom.

The Challenge

Clear Flow set out to launch the company and product line at the International Home & Housewares Show in March 2004, with the goal of securing coverage in the Wall Street Journal. In addition to the challenge of spreading the word to consumers about the company and its products, Clear Flow was faced with entering an already established market with two large, highly recognized competitors, namely Clorox’s Brita and Proctor & Gamble’s Pur.

Clear Flow turned to PAN Communications to help launch the company and product line, penetrate the media, increase consumer awareness of the products and its benefits, and ultimately increase overall sales.

The Approach

For the company launch at the International Home & Housewares Show, PAN Communications created a both hard copy and online press kits for distribution and made outreach to key reporters/editors attending the show in order to schedule media briefings, as well as introduce them to the company and product line. To attract media attention, PAN emphasized Clear Flow’s unique differentiators that set the company apart from its competitors, such as the disposable component of the faucet filters, the long lifespan, easy of use, and the one-of-a-kind bathroom faucet filter. As a result, Clear Flow garnered much interest from many publications, including the Wall Street Journal.

Following the success at the show and the initial Wall Street Journal article, PAN continued its efforts not only by following up on leads that resulted from the show, but also by hitting the industry trades and pursuing a variety of story angles, such as health, fitness, family and pregnancy, among others, in numerous long lead publications. Additionally, knowing that it is important to test a product in order to fully understand its functionality and effectiveness, PAN offered product samples for review. Maintaining the relationship and staying in touch with the Wall Street Journal reporter who previously covered Clear Flow, PAN provided her with Clear Flow products to test which resulted in a second positive Wall Street Journal hit within only six months.

The Results

After Clear Flow’s successful launch at the International Home & Housewares Show, PAN continued the steady stream of momentum with:

• Two hits in the Wall Street Journal, including a positive product review
• Family Handyman
• Detroit News
• Cleveland Plain Dealer
• Chicago-Sun Times
• Drug Store News
• HomeWorld Business
• Do-It-Yourself Retailing
• Water Well Journal
• Home Health Products

Overall, the Clear Flow coverage has helped tremendously to drive sales, translating directly into an increase in return on investment with over 200 sales calls resulting from the most recent Wall Street Journal piece and Family Handyman article alone.