CON EDISON: A CASE STUDYUTILITIES ARE A MONOPOLY. SO, WHY ADVERTISE?
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the gate UtILItIeS aRe a MONOPOLY. SO, WhY aDVeRtISe?: a CaSe StUDY
THE GATE’S UTILITIESCLIENT:CON EDISON
Con Edison (and its Orange and Rockland subsidiary)provides energy – electric, steam and gas — to commercial
and residential (customers in the greater New York City area.)
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the gate UtILItIeS aRe a MONOPOLY. SO, WhY aDVeRtISe?: a CaSe StUDY
An industry under pressure (from new technologies), under a microscope (from regulators) and selling a vital product which
nonetheless, customers take for granted.
THEENVIRONMENTFOR UTILITIES
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the gate UtILItIeS aRe a MONOPOLY. SO, WhY aDVeRtISe?: a CaSe StUDY
THE CONTEXT
Con Edison does not get the credit it deserves. Delivering energy in its various forms to 9 million customers is an extraordinary engineering feat.
Yet, customers take them for granted. They only think of Con Edison when something does wrong, which if we
were honest with ourselves, is not often (if at all).
And when things do go wrong, for the most part, it is from events outside Con Edison’s control: Mother Nature
is not very supportive of utility companies. Remember Superstorm Sandy?
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the gate UtILItIeS aRe a MONOPOLY. SO, WhY aDVeRtISe?: a CaSe StUDY
THE CONTEXT:PART DEUX
Sure. Con Edison is a monopoly. So why advertise?
Because a positive image and high favorability ratings are critical to receiving government approval to raise rates,
upgrade their system, build more substations, etc.
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the gate UtILItIeS aRe a MONOPOLY. SO, WhY aDVeRtISe?: a CaSe StUDY
Con Edison is the most reliable utility in the world, with a 99.7% reliability rating. They invest over a billion dollars a year in their infrastructure.
CON EDISON’STRUTH
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the gate UtILItIeS aRe a MONOPOLY. SO, WhY aDVeRtISe?: a CaSe StUDY
99.7% reliable is not reliable enough.COMPANYPROMISE
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the gate UtILItIeS aRe a MONOPOLY. SO, WhY aDVeRtISe?: a CaSe StUDY
• Unite two different companies (Con Edison and Orange & Rockland) behind the same strategy, campaign and look.
• Unite multiple programs – corporate, energy education, energy conservation, diversity and community-outreach – under a single campaign.
• Build appreciation for Con Edison’s excellence.
CAMPAIGNOBJECTIVES
9CREATIVE
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the gate UtILItIeS aRe a MONOPOLY. SO, WhY aDVeRtISe?: a CaSe StUDY
The Gate developed an integrated, multilingual campaign comprising over 850 pieces of communications
across five different divisions/programs.
EVERYTHINGMATTERSCAMPAIGN
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the gate UtILItIeS aRe a MONOPOLY. SO, WhY aDVeRtISe?: a CaSe StUDY
EVERYTHINGMATTERSCAMPAIGN
• The entire layout is a grid, much like the power grid that Con Edison uses.
• The main visuals involve a photograph of Con Edison’s customers using energy in a way that is personally important to them.
• The inset visuals are a peek behind the curtain.
• A chance to see the things Con Edison does to give power to whatever’s shown in the photograph.The schematic represents the unseen blueprint for how Con Edison gets energy from A to B.
• The line drawings represent the visible technology they use to do it (via power stations, transformers, gas meters, etc.)
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UTILITIES ARE A MONOPOLY. SO, WHY ADVERTISE?: A CASE STUDY
PRINT AD
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UTILITIES ARE A MONOPOLY. SO, WHY ADVERTISE?: A CASE STUDY
PRINT AD
the gate
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UTILITIES ARE A MONOPOLY. SO, WHY ADVERTISE?: A CASE STUDY
PRINT AD
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UTILITIES ARE A MONOPOLY. SO, WHY ADVERTISE?: A CASE STUDY
PRINT AD
16GO-TO-MARKET STRATEGIES
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the gate UtILItIeS aRe a MONOPOLY. SO, WhY aDVeRtISe?: a CaSe StUDY
MEDIA:A BIPOLARAPPROACH
On the one hand, everyone in Con Edison’s service area is a customer and, therefore, a prospect.
While on the other hand, Con Edison offers very specific programs appealing to a very specific and limited group
often in a very specific and limited geography: a zip code or even to the census block within high-value communities.
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the gate UtILItIeS aRe a MONOPOLY. SO, WhY aDVeRtISe?: a CaSe StUDY
All customers:
• Used traditional and non-traditional media to build broad awareness.
Specific/high-value prospects:
• Identified their consumption habits based on behavior, geography, job title and function, seasonality and monitoring of social landscape.
• Executed media, block-by-block, to reach prospects in their local communities.
• Used a mix of digital, community papers and select OOH locations.
• Bought multi-cultural local media in order to reach non-English speaking prospects in their language.
EXECUTING A BIOLARMEDIASTRATEGY
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UTILITIES ARE A MONOPOLY. SO, WHY ADVERTISE?: A CASE STUDY
HYPER-LOCAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
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the gate UtILItIeS aRe a MONOPOLY. SO, WhY aDVeRtISe?: a CaSe StUDY
Con Edison overall:
• Awareness of key message increased substantially versus the previous campaign.
Energy Education programs:
• Click-through rates on programs designed to educate customers on energy usage are 40% above the industry average.
Energy Efficiency programs:
• Click-through rates on programs designed to get customers to take specific steps to reduce energy consumption are 50% above industry average.
RESULTS
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the gate UtILItIeS aRe a MONOPOLY. SO, WhY aDVeRtISe?: a CaSe StUDY
CONTACT
Beau FraserPresident
The Gate | New York
212 508-3450
CON EDISON: A CASE STUDYUTILITIES ARE A MONOPOLY. SO, WHY ADVERTISE?