New spate of utility TV ads clever and fun, but integrated marketing campaigns still your best bet January 11, 2011

There’s a resurgence in television advertising for utility energy efficiency programs. In fact, 40% of utilities surveyed by Chartwell sometimes, often or almost always use TV ads to promote their most successful energy efficiency program; only 28% regularly used TV in 2008.

As we ponder TV advertising, consider these recent events or statistics:

• Advertising Age says that despite the economy and tales of consumers cutting the cord, the number of TV viewers is actually up.
• The Television Bureau of Advertising said last year that virtually every local TV advertising category witnessed improved results, as did individual top marketers, according to an article in the Media Daily News.
• The UK’s Institute of Practitioners in Advertising  Awards in November showed a renewed interest in the power of television advertising, according to an article on the TopNews website. In addition, five of the 32 awards were won by government advertisements targeting behavior modification.

It’s no wonder, then, that Chartwell’s regular survey of utility marketers points to a trend of renewed TV advertising.

With today’s spate of clever TV ads from utilities across the nation, it’s never been more fun being an industry observer. Recently, as a matter of fact, PECO won Chartwell’s Best Practices Award in Marketing for a broad campaign that includes some memorable and customer-friendly TV ads. Turning non-descript, energy guzzling appliances into animated characters filled with personality is an innovative and memorable device that has succeeded in getting the attention of PECO’s customers. But more than that, the campaign supports PECO’s marketing strategy and research, and has taken into consideration every customer type and demographic in the Philadelphia metropolitan region.

From SRP’s gallery-worthy recycled refrigerators to Georgia Power’s talented pack of dogs that can sniff out energy savings, utilities are taking to the television waves in droves with some very creative ads.

But while cute and memorable is often best communicated via television – Georgia Power’s Sniff Out Savings campaign’s heavy use of TV resulted in 25% customer recall of the tagline after just six month – TV should not be an “end-all.” Savvy utilities know that real penetration takes an integrated approach in which a host of marketing strategies and media converge with a single goal of educating and communicating with customers about energy efficiency programs.

Sniff Out Savings, for example, was ubiquitous across the Atlanta area. TV, print, newspaper, outdoor and radio ads shared the same goals: to provide customers as many tips as possible and drive traffic to the website. A microsite, which allows customers to enter into a world where four specially trained canines sniff out energy savings, provides a hands-on exploratory experience to find more energy-saving tips.

At Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE), tactics included TV ads and a television partnership that incorporated educational vignettes, news stories and online ads; radio spots, live reads and tags; print collateral; online ads including Facebook, Craig’s List, Google AdWords network and local media websites; billboard and transit advertising; press releases; direct mail; retail point of purchase; and special events. The utility also leveraged additional credible third party sources – contractors, trade allies and community organizations – to bridge the knowledge gap and build participation. As a result, BGE ended the first quarter of 2010 with nearly 580,000 program participants and annualized premise level energy savings of 144,000 megawatt hours.

The list of BGE’s energy efficiency marketing avenues and strategies seemingly go on and on. But for a marketing campaign to be effective, it has to reach decision makers and influencers at home, in their car, at work, on the road, online, and where they gather, play and socialize to create a “surround-sound” marketing effect. Various pieces of the plan need to work together to reinforce messages, build awareness and motivate participation. With successful integrated marketing campaigns, utilities should see an increase in program participation and energy savings.

I’m excited to be addressing this topic at the upcoming AESP National Conference Jan. 18 in Orlando, where I’ll be showing some of the more entertaining and creative utility energy efficiency television ads during my presentation. If you’re at the conference, please join us.