ThermWise
Dominion Energy
Dominion Energy uses their “ThermWise” campaign to encourage customers to sign up for a Home Energy Plan to conserve energy. Exactly how often are agencies asked to help a company convince consumers to use less of their product? For us, it’s been more than ten years. And counting.
The Problem
ThermWise has a long-standing spokesperson, Therm. Each year, the recurring challenge has been to keep the same spokesperson and message fresh and relevant to natural gas users. We’ve also had to address the changing landscape of energy decision-makers as it shifted from mostly men to a split between men and women.
The Solution
Our research showed that women have taken much more control over energy decisions in the home. So we sent Dominion Energy Home Energy Plan experts to local, recognizable talents’ homes (talent from stations skewing highest with females). We then built custom-targeting audiences for Pandora, Facebook, OTT and Connected TV campaigns, programmatic display, paid search and more. On top of that, we utilized relationships with TV stations to have “Therm” appear on various local morning news and personality shows. Energy plans were then provided to the on-air talent so each influencer could experience it for himself or herself and educate their listeners and viewers. This was complemented by a robust media campaign touting the benefits of being energy efficient.
The Results
It’s working. Home Energy Plans are scheduled for 3+ weeks out, engagement on the ads is through the roof—over-indexing by 86%. More importantly, people are learning how to save money on their gas bills. Our annual results survey showed the following:
7 in 10 people are aware of the ThermWise campaign
Half of Utah residents are aware of specific rebates offered through the ThermWise program
Half of Utah residents try to save money on their gas bill by implementing measures in their home
1 in 4 plan on bringing Dominion Energy into their home this year for a Home Energy Plan to see what they can save on their gas bills
More than $160,000 in added value negotiated with media partners