Award category

Marketing

Year released

2025

The ‘Inspire to Save’ campaign spans five years and features highly visible activities such as billboards, digital display, paid social, radio and streaming ads, and community events along with consistent branding and effective communication across two utility territories. The campaign leverages partnerships with diverse enterprises and community organizations to effectively reach customers and overcome barriers to reaching specific customer groups. Over the course of the campaign, messaging has evolved from asking customers what they would do with the money they save in our “Treat Yourself with Energy Savings” ads to encouraging customers to “Warm up to Energy Savings” in 2022-2023 and “Find Comfort in Savings” in 2024. The ‘Inspire to Save’ campaign has successfully improved customer engagement and trust in energy efficiency programs, setting a scalable model for future initiatives.

Award category

Marketing

Year released

2024

Consumers Energy is a reliable, affordable and sustainable electric and natural gas energy provider that serves 6.6 million customers in 68 counties of Michigan. The Consumers Energy Residential Online Store is an online shopping platform where customers can purchase and get instant rebates on energy-efficient products. Research shows that consumers tend to buy from brands that they know and trust. The need for a general awareness campaign was identified when a Consumers Energy customer panel indicated that only about 30% of customers surveyed had heard about the Online Store. In response to this, Consumers Energy launched a multi-channel awareness campaign in 2022 to help support the need to increase customer awareness of the online marketplace and the energy efficiency opportunities presented there. This campaign helped contribute to a highly successful Q4, with over 19,000 products sold through the Online Store, a 134% overachievement of the planned goal.

Award category

Marketing

Year released

2023

The goal of the partnership between Ameren Illinois and the Peoria Guild of Black Artists (PGOBA) is to provide resources and energy efficiency education to Black communities in the Ameren Illinois service territory in an accessible and relatable manner to show that energy efficiency is for everyone. In 2020, Ameren Illinois met with members of PGOBA to launch a new approach to marketing and outreach to Ameren Illinois customers. With a budget in 2022 of $125,000, PGOBA and Ameren Illinois are executing artwork and dynamic visuals that will help humanize Ameren Illinois Energy Efficiency Program offerings. In addition, Ameren Illinois has collaborated with PGOBA to provide feedback and insight into various Program processes and verbiage to help identify ways to improve upon utilizing different ways to communicate to the diverse customer base.

Award category

Marketing

Year released

2022

With COVID-19 cancelling in-person outreach, the Nicor Gas Energy Efficiency Program pivoted its strategy to ensure that income-eligible customers were reached. We recognized that low-income customers needed assistance with basic needs, such as groceries and toiletries, before making energy efficiency a priority. Collaborating with several local suppliers, we delivered basic needs care packages to low-income, food-insecure customers. We wanted to empathize with them and support them as more than just a utility. The care packages, which included educational inserts on energy efficiency, increased customer interest in the program immediately. Helping to fulfill our customers’ basic needs eliminated the credibility issues typically overcome through in-person outreach. We built positive relationships with customers who had never participated in the program and launched their energy efficiency journey.

Award category

Marketing

Year released

2021

Focus on Energy is Wisconsin utilities’ statewide energy efficiency and renewable resource program funded by the state’s investor-owned energy utilities and participating municipal and electric cooperative utilities. The Program works with eligible Wisconsin residents and businesses to install cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, empowering them to make smart energy decisions with enduring economic benefits. Focus on Energy information, resources and financial incentives help implement projects that otherwise would not be completed. Its efforts help Wisconsin residents and businesses manage rising energy costs, promote in-state economic development, protect our environment, and control Wisconsin’s growing demand for electricity and natural gas. For more information, call 800.762.7077 or visit www.focusonenergy.com.

Award category

Marketing

Year released

2020

The Nicor Gas Energy Efficiency Program developed the “Unexpected Love Story” campaign to take their customers on a relatable energy efficiency journey while promoting furnace rebates. Research identified that more than half of the territories’ residential customers have been in their current home for 10 to 20 years, aligning with the average furnace lifecycle. The campaign, told through weekly social media posts, a bill insert, billboards and digital ads, highlighted a woman and the familiar experience of a turbulent relationship – but with an energy efficiency twist. Her relationship is with her old, battle-worn furnace.

The Unexpected Love Story campaign is an innovative comic strip-type love story, highlighting the reliability and cost-saving benefits of upgrading to an energy-efficient furnace. The campaign resulted in an 8.3% increase in furnace rebate participation, an 81% increase in Find a Contractor tool visits, a 298% increase in sessions driven from digital ad clicks, and a 102% increase in website visits from Facebook. Through this effort, they were able to educate customers about the importance of having safe, efficient equipment in a unique way.

Award category

Marketing

Year released

2019

Focus on Energy® developed the “Wisconsin Is In” campaign to specifically highlight energy efficiency initiatives in rural communities throughout the state of Wisconsin. A 2016 study by the Focus on Energy Program Administrator found that rural areas were underserved, in some areas by more than 50 percent, in comparison to urban communities regarding incentives, technical resources and services, and other Focus on Energy program benefits. In an effort to improve rural customer inclusion and increase the demand for and implementation of energy efficient measures, Focus on Energy partnered with Brand Cool (now Verdant), a marketing agency that specializes in energy efficiency marketing research and development, to form the “Wisconsin Is In” campaign that launched in January 2018.

Award category

Marketing

Year released

2018

In the Vectren Energy Efficiency Program’s school campaign, our outreach team played the role of energy guidance counselors to support school maintenance staff and contractors. Our goal was to boost therm savings over a six month period in rural and urban areas. During the campaign, schools generated nine times more therm savings than the previous six months, and continued delivering increased results into the next year. Our campaign’s successes are attributed to the upfront investment in in-house market research, tailored messaging for each school, and the informed, engaged, in-person support provided by the counselors. This support helped schools find the best energy-saving solutions, led to more informed decisions, and caused average savings per application to increase three times versus the previous year.

Award category

Marketing

Year released

2018

Ameren Illinois delivers energy to 1.2 million electric and 816,000 natural gas customers in Illinois, and our mission is to meet their energy needs in a safe, reliable, efficient and environmentally responsible manner. Our service area covers more than 1,200 communities and 43,700 square miles. Since 2008, the Ameren Illinois energy efficiency programs have helped our customers save over $850 million in energy costs, providing an economic boost to residents and businesses throughout central and southern Illinois.  Over the next several years, the company will invest in a groundbreaking initiative to provide energy-saving benefits to more moderate- and low income customers.  In addition, Ameren Illinois has committed to help develop new companies and create new local job opportunities in the energy efficiency arena across downstate Illinois.