Energy Trust Of Oregon Issues Marketing RFP

Energy Trust of Oregon has issued an RFP for a marketing effectiveness study for two campaigns – My Home and My Business.

Energy Trust is an independent nonprofit organization, selected and overseen by the Oregon Public Utility Commission, to lead Oregon ratepayers in benefiting from saving energy and generating renewable energy. Our services, cash incentives, and solutions have helped participating customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural and Cascade Natural Gas save over $1.3 billion on their energy bills. In 2015, Energy Trust launched two large, cross-sector marketing campaigns: My Home, which targeted single-family homeowners, and My Business, which promoted energy-efficient lighting to business decision-makers.

My Home:

The My Home advertising campaign was developed and launched in 2015 to promote the full range of energy improvement opportunities for homeowners; this campaign served all the residential sector programs – New Homes, Products, Existing Homes, and Solar. The campaign included TV, radio, and online ads designed to drive customers directly to trade allies or retailers to make energy improvements. The campaign also included a microsite (www.energytrust.org/myhome).

At the fall 2015 launch, the microsite provided visitors the opportunity to see the 30 second TV ad again and “learn more” about residential incentives. In spring 2016 (March 16, 2016 through April 30, 2016), over 36,000 customers visited the microsite. In 2015 and 2016, the 30 second TV spot content was consistent. Keeping the same content for the TV spot allows it to be used for a few years. The campaign was refreshed in 2016 by updating the microsite to promote different specific measures for each flight of TV ads. In spring 2016 the measure was windows; in fall 2016 the measure was water heating.

My Business:

The My Business campaign, launched in 2015, was developed as an overall business- to-business campaign focused on lighting – the one measure that is accessible by virtually every customer. The idea of the campaign was to reach a larger group of smaller customers who might respond to a more retail approach to energy efficiency and to drive them to get a bid directly from a contractor. This differs from our traditional approach to business marketing, which is very high-touch and sales-oriented. The campaign also sought to engage trade allies in marketing Energy Trust’s programs more directly – specifically, to market to smaller customers who are typically more expensive to reach through standard program design.

The timing was designed to “seize the day” – running while LEDs are both affordable and still perceived as a cool, emerging technology. We aligned the graphic treatment for the My Business campaign with the My Home campaign (described above) as a way to support the overall Energy Trust brand.

The My Business campaign ran for two flights statewide and included TV, radio, online, and print ads. Pacific Power co-branded the television spot for six weeks in 2015 and four weeks in 2016. The call to action was to a microsite (www.energytrust.org/mybusiness) which included information about lighting, customer success stories, and an off ramp to our other commercial/industrial program offers. The microsite was redesigned in 2016 to match the creative treatment for the TV spot.

Research Objectives

Through the study, Energy Trust seeks answers to the following questions:

• Have the campaign creative concepts for the two campaigns been successful in engaging end-use customers into contacting Energy Trust trade allies or making consumer purchases to participate in programs?
• Has the consistency in creative approach between My Home and My Business build brand awareness for Energy Trust and does that brand awareness translate into a higher likelihood for program participation?
• Have the My Home / My Business microsites been successful in holding customer attention and leading them to take the desired action? (For My Business, contacting a trade ally, and for My Home, installing the measure by contacting a Trade Ally or making a retail purchase)

Energy Trust plans to do similar campaigns in the future, and is interested in:

• What evaluative methodologies are best to measure customer engagement with the My Home and My Business campaigns, including advertising and microsites, and, moving forward, how should we evaluate customer behaviors/actions that lead to actual program participation?
• What metrics are most important to establish a baseline for measuring customer engagement impact and, based on past 2015 and 2016 performance, what are reasonable goals for these two campaigns?

Proposal due November 30, 2016 to:
Energy Trust of Oregon
Susan Jowaiszas, Sr. Marketing Manager
421 SW Oak St., Suite 300
Portland, OR 97204
503.546.3624