CASE STUDY

KINETIC ENERGY CASE STUDY

kinetic energyTM

GOAL

Introduce the brand from scratch. Migrate the

consumer mindset from, “It’s not electricity I

want”, to...“It’s Kinetic Energy that I need.”

ASSIGNMENT

Develop Kinetic Energy’s corporate identity, in-

troduce the brand as belonging to the community

it serves, increase awareness and meet pre-set

goals for growing the customer base.

BACKGROUND

Kinetic Energy was a one-year-old electricity re-

seller serving the state of Texas when they came to

Vendor Inc. to help build awareness and define the

brand.

The electricity reseller market is highly competitive

in Texas, with 48 companies reselling electricity off

the electric grid. These companies do not gener-

ate electricity, nor do they repair electricity delivery

problems.

Not only is their offering a commodity, it is the ex-

act same product offered by their competitors.

Kinetic Energy competes in a marketplace where

the incumbent electricity generators (TXU, Reliant,

etc.) have boundless marketing communications re-

sources and a commanding market share.

The category leaders retain a 50% share of all cus-

tomers who have never switched, or do not intend

to switch providers. This leaves nearly 50 brands

competing for less then 50% of available market

share. This presents quite a challenge to differenti-

ate and stand out in the market.

Additionally, among the 50% share that is at play,

the category has always been driven by price and

little else.

kinetic energyIT’S ELECTRIC OUT THERE.kinetictx.com

TV

Online

Events

kinetic energyIT’S ELECTRIC OUT THERE.

Fan Page

kinetic energyIT’S ELECTRIC OUT THERE.kinetictx.com

kinetic energy

proudly presents:

WOO-OGGLING

We believe in the incredible energy that’s generated when people come together.

When people share their ideas and dreams; when they make their community a better

place, they’re creating positive “kinetic” energy. Of course, being an company called

Kinetic Energy, we want to tap into, support and even help create some of this good

community “energy.” Woo-oggling: v. - pronounced; woo-og-gl-ing: when a group

of friends splash around in various mud puddles throughout the community while

filming and then sharing said puddle-splashing on kinetictx.com. - A community is a

body that possesses tons of positive energy. Please join us at kinetictx.com to learn

more about woo-oggling and other fun, helpful and slightly silly community activities.

We’re Kinetic Energy. We’re going to be the first electric company you actually LIKE!

IT’S ELECTRIC OUT THERE.

kinetictx.com.

Print

Events

Radio

Sadly, we had one customer complaint last year. kinetic energy kinetic energy

01 02 03 060504SIGN UP NOWCOMMUNITYENERGY PLANSABOUT US GO GREEN SUPPORT

©2010 Kinetic Energy

LET’S COME TOGEThER ANd CREATE SOME ENERGY.ThErE’s a loT of powEr ouT ThErE: in EvEry TExas

communiTy; in barbEr shops, coffEE shops, churchEs

and school board mEETings. iT’s anywhErE pEoplE arE

sharing idEas, hopEs and drEams. This is ThE rEal

EnErgy of TExas. wE providE anoThEr Kind of EnErgy,

sEcond bEsT To yours. iT flows Through your lifE

rEliablE and unchanging. wE’rE a small ElEcTrical

providEr, buT wE’rE powErful; powErful bEcausE wE

cElEbraTE and arE connEcTEd To TExas communiTiEs.

wE’rE KinETic EnErgy. wE’d liKE To bE your ElEcTrical

providEr bEcausE, IT’S ELECTRIC OUT ThERE.

RESIdENTIAL COMMERCIAL

energy energykinetic

wElcomE SCOTT | my accounT | languagE | hElp

EASY SIGN UP

Dude, I Flogatillied with my girlfriend and six of her best friends yesterday and it was insane. (I’ll never look at a kazoo quite the same way.)

kinetic energy kinetic energy

Find out more ways to do good and be a bit silly at kinetictx.com

It’s electric out there.

kinetic energy kinetic energy

First comes the shower, then comes the Woo-oggling. Click here to find out more things to jump into.

It’s electric out there.

kinetic energy kinetic energy

Get green energy for the same price as conventional energy.

It’s electric out there.

kinetic energyTM

is proud to admit that we’re Texas’

Second beSt

energyWe believe in the incredible power that’s

generated when people come together. And

there’s a lot of power out there - in every

Texas community; in barber shops, coffee shops,

churches and school board meetings. It’s

anywhere and everywhere people are coming

together to share ideas, hopes and dreams.

That’s the real energy of Texas. We provide

another kind of energy, second best to “yours.”

t flows through your life, reliable and unchanging.

We’re a small electrical provider, but we’re

powerful. Powerful because we celebrate and

are connected to Texas communities. Let’s come

together and create some energy. We’re Kinetic

Energy and we’d like to be your electric provider.

www.KineticTx.com

PUCT REP Certification No. 10138

It’S eLectrIc oUt tHere!

Get green energy for the same price as conventional energy.

kinetic energy kinetic energy

It’s electric out there.

If you’re going to Obdowl in your neighbor’s front yard, for goodness sake, do it loudly.

kinetic energy kinetic energy

It’s electric out there.

THE CHALLENGES

Create a brand out of a company that had little his-

tory or heritage.

Breathe life into a brand that had an unsophisticat-

ed voice and a presence that was at best misunder-

stood.

Operate in an environment where consumers dislike

electricity providers more than cable companies.

Prepare for market conditions where Kinetic would

not be the price leader (after spending much of

2009 as the price leader), nor would they utilize

gimmick pricing.

Leverage the company’s commitment to be a

positive force in the communities it serves.

Do it all with very few marketing dollars.

THE IDEA

Conventional marketing in this category talks at,

not with, consumers. Old utilities speak down to

everyone from their long-held position atop the

mountain. They celebrate what they do for their

customers, and use fear to keep people locked into

their products at a significant premium.

Both Vendor Inc. and Kinetic knew that to suc-

ceed in this environment, Kinetic could not accept

these conventions, much less follow them. Instead,

we needed to identify the strongest opportunity

for Kinetic to VEER from convention. The insight:

While we sell electricity, and that is important, it is

actually the second most powerful source of en-

ergy to our customers. The most powerful source is

the energy created by Texas communities and the

people that live in them.

Kinetic Energy set out to give customers credit

and celebrate the energy they create in their own

communities. This energy is what fuels friendships,

business and new ideas that keep alive old tradi-

tions. It is the fuel for the bottomless source of

optimism that makes Texas great.

We summarized this idea simply, but powerfully,

with this platform: Kinetic Energy

It’s Electric Out There

This idea was the foundation for creating a dialog

with customers, speaking “with” them as opposed

to “at” them. More importantly, it positioned Kinetic

in a place where they could belong to, and partici-

pate in, the communities they serve.

We believed it was possible for Kinetic to become

the first electric company that people actually liked.

THE CAMPAIGN

The launch was a fully integrated multi-channel

campaign designed to flow from the community up,

as opposed to from a media channel down.

Kinetic targeted select events, sponsorships and

opportunities that allowed them to not only cele-

brate, but also participate in the communities they

serve in a meaningful way. It’s a crucial difference

in behavior that is in direct contrast to talking “at”

people. This approach to media was responsible for

Kinetic beginning to Belong in the state of Texas.

Here’s how it worked. When Kinetic would engage

in a community event, they would choose the ap-

propriate media assets as part of their involvement.

TV commercials utilized a troupe of puppets that

promoted fun activities for members of the com-

munity to do together, then share their participation

in the social space. DJ endorsements, outdoor, print

and digital efforts were used to tap into other ex-

isting communities to promote participation in the

event at hand.

THE RESULTS

Given the dollar limitations, the campaign was

flighted with two significant efforts. One was in

spring, the other in fall. Early results have been sig-

nificant both in driving business and in establishing

the type of brand Kinetic Energy wants to represent

in the marketplace.

At the end of its first year in market, Kinetic Energy

was tied for first in customer service in the category.

In one short year, people liked them and welcomed

them into their lives at a pace that equaled or bet-

tered every single electricity provider in the state.

The residential customer base increased 18%. The

increase was achieved despite the reality that Ki-

netic Energy was rarely the price leader in the cat-

egory. This is a significant point given Kinetic’s size

and share of voice; prior to Kinetic’s entrance into

the marketplace, price had been the sole driver for

new customers and switchers for years. kinetic energyTM

This is but a brief sampling of our work.

Please contact us to see and learn more.

Tom Hollerbach

tom.hollerbach@vendorinc.com

512.474.8363