As well as reaching more people on behalf of our clients, we use tailored marketing campaigns to inform, support and engage with more UK households and so increase our impact.
The three campaigns we ran last year focused on different aspects of our work. Love Your Home set out to demystify net zero and help people make carbon reductions at home. Find Your Feet was all about cutting carbon on the move by choosing cycling, walking or public transport as an alternative to cars. Our third campaign focused on heating, featuring a downloadable guide with expert tips on switching to greener heat.
To maximise their currency and relevance, campaigns were scheduled across the year with a nod to the shifting seasons. We used social media and digital advertising to steer audiences to our website for free, impartial advice on the campaign theme or topic.
Having set a target of reaching 1.5m people across our three campaigns, we achieved twice that number. We hoped to encourage 500,000 people to take first step actions. In fact, we had 2.4m.
Group director of marketing communications Angela Howarth says: “Although these results reflect light-touch actions, numbers are strong. Our brand is out there. Our message is cutting through.”
As the energy crisis deepens, latest campaigns will talk to people in their own language about how to cut fuel bills today, and how to take measurable steps towards lower carbon living long term. As last year, we plan to package our activity for the media as a way of amplifying our message.
Through our charitable Foundation’s partnership with the Pod, we helped deliver Switch Off Fortnight in participating schools in November, aligned with COP26. By gradually switching off appliances and measuring carbon saved, students explored the relationship between energy, environment and climate.
Steps to engage with next generation energy savers are in line with government moves to position the environment more formally within the school curriculum. Our audience is never too young. In a novel collaboration with publisher HarperCollins, we created content for ‘readers’ aged just one.
By expanding our audiences and scaling up our campaigns for clients, we can help more households across the UK save energy and money.