Pulsing music filled the New York City highline, as sweating bodies danced to the beat of the towering speakers at 7 in the morning. Unlike most dance parties and raves, Daybreaker begins at dawn and promotes hydration and day-long happiness. The parties have been popping up all around major cities throughout the country, and eventually the world, which is exactly why Aquafina teamed up to sponsor the water-friendly fun.

Daybreaker Dance Floor
Daybreakers flood the dance floor and party at the break of dawn. Photo courtesy of Branch Grebe

Just moments before the music cascaded through the open room, the dance floor was carpeted with yoga mats and barefooted downward facing dogs. Men and women bent, stretched, and breathed deep in the first hour of the breaking dawn. At the foot of each mat stood an Aquafina bottle, encouraging sips between each ohm and inhale. The event is just one of the many ways PepsiCo’s Aquafina is positioning itself in the mind of its consumers, in order to associate activity with their brand of hydration among a myriad of beverage choices. It’s a marketing technique intended to present products to different target audiences — this one being a healthy and active consumer.

“I feel like there a lot of people at this event who are highly health conscious, so they normally drink a lot of water,” Daybreaker attendee Jess Grippo, who is a dancer with a health coach certification, told Medical Daily. “It’s very important to drink water. I drink it as much as possible. The event is great exercise, it provides good feelings. I think dancing is one of the best things you can do for your health.”

Daybreaker Yoga
Aquafina sponsors Daybreaker yoga class before the dance party. Photo courtesy of Branch Grebe

PepsiCo is focusing in on their water brand Aquafina with sniper-like precision, as consumer demand shifts away from soda and sugar-sweetened beverages. Bottled water is making a huge splash in the beverage industry, sending soda competitors out of game. For the first time in seven years, the company is launching an Aquafina campaign called “For Happy Bodies,” fully equipped with a seven-week broadcast spot launched through radio, social media, sales, and out-of-home advertising.

By sponsoring the event, Aquafina fits Daybreaker’s vibes as it aims to marry dance and rehydration in the consumer’s eyes. It follows the same theme as their new advertisements, which features dancing street-goers as they drink down a bottle of Aquafina. Allocating millions into advertising bottled water is a step into fulfilling the consumers’ healthier nuance demands.

Aquafina Yoga
Aquafina lines the yoga mats during Daybreaker event. Photo courtesy of Branch Grebe

Hydration Nation: Water Takes Over the Beverage Industry

This year marked a decade of decline for soda, while bottled water continues to rise in popularity. America’s bottled water consumption has increased by 7.3 percent since 2013 — the fastest growth rate since 2006, according to Beverage Marketing. In 2014, people drank 10.87 billion gallons of bottled water. During that same year, soda consumption decreased one percent to 12.76 billion gallons. Although soda’s sales hover just above water’s, the consumption of soda is at its lowest level since 1986 and the numbers keep on dropping. Beverage Marketing predicts the amount of bottled water consumed in the United Sates could surpass soda by 2017.

PepsiCo is increasingly investing stock into their water portfolio in an effort to follow the demands of consumers, who are progressively choosing water as their main drink of choice, letting diet soda sales to continually decline. Diet Pepsi and Diet Mountain Dew — PepsiCo’s two largest diet sodas — fell 5.2 and three percent in volume sales last year.

Their entire market share dropped, and they’re not the only one. Industry leader Coke declined overall, yet two drinks kept both companies afloat. Coke’s Dasani water and PepsiCo’s Aquafina water brand both carried the companies' volume growth. Knowing the numbers, it shouldn’t surprise consumers to find PepsiCo showing its loyalty to its Aquafina brand by investing millions in campaign and production.

In the last few years, PepsiCo tried to find a middle ground by experimenting with flavored sparkling water targeted toward teen consumers. Aquafina’s FlavorSplash line has dominated most of the company’s ad budget, but the product with names like “Color Me Kiwi” and “Berry On” failed to produce profit. The company has since stripped the label to look more like regular Aquafina bottled water, and charged their efforts toward their “For Happy Bodies” campaign, linking health with their brand in the minds of consumers nationwide.

Aquafina Sponorship
Aquafina hydration station 'For Happy Bodies' campaign. Photo courtesy of Branch Grebe