Smart Grid Social Marketing by a Community Advocate: Stuff Your Utility Company Doesn't Say
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Presentation by Blue Planet Foundation at 2014 Behavior, Energy, and Climate Change Conference; Dec. 8, 2014
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Smart Grid Social Marketing by a Community Advocate: Stuff Your Utility Company Doesn't Say
- 1. Behavior, Energy, and Climate Change Conference Dec. 7–10, 2014 Washington, DC
- 3. What is the key to success for customer engagement in smart meter deployments? CONSUMER TRUST.
- 5. Blue Planet brochures Design content and messaging that is consistent, but distinct from the utility’s. Hawaiian Electric brochure
- 7. Earned Media
- 8. “Miso Smart Makes a Speedy Delivery”
- 9. 1. Language/culture barriers 2. Access to secured buildings during canvasing 3. Skepticism about utility’s intentions 4. Lack of interest CHALLENGES
- 10. WHAT WORKED • People listened because we were a recognized third party. • Face-to-face interaction encouraged trust. • Images and illustrations help communicate visually. • Participation by other third parties at the coffee hours allowed customers to get multiple perspectives.
- 11. Less than .5% deferral rate!
- 13. Catharine Lo Communications Director (808) 782-3733 catharine@blueplanetfoundation.org
Notes de l'éditeur
- At the beginning of 2014, Hawaiian Electric was getting ready to install the first round of smart meters in 5,200 homes across the island of Oahu. They called this their “Initial Phase”—and their purpose was to test technologies and strategies in four diverse communities before they installed smart meters in the rest of their service areas, which they’re planning to do by 2018.
- HECO (which is how Hawaiian Electric is known locally) was bracing themselves for the backlash that had taken place on the neighbor island of Kaua‘i—where opposition to smart meters was so powerful that 10% of the customers there—3,000 out of 30,000—had opted out. News travels fast along the coconut wireless and the Internet, and HECO wanted to avoid a similar fate. So they approached our nonprofit, the Blue Planet Foundation.
- Blue Planet’s mission is to clear the path for clean energy. Our work focuses on policy advocacy and public awareness. Over the years, we’ve partnered with schools and community groups across the state, and we’ve built a reputation as a trusted source. HECO came to us for help because what’s proven to be true in smart meter deployments across the country, time and again, is that the key to success for customer engagement is CONSUMER TRUST.
- How did we help? Our campaign included three main components: The first was door-to-door canvassing. We talked to residents and left information in the form of brochures and door hangers. The second was participating in open houses that HECO had organized in each community. And the third was developing independent messaging about the benefits of smart grid.
- This messaging piece is what I wanted to highlight today. Here at the bottom is HECO’s brochure. It says, somewhat ominously, “Smart grid technology is coming.” On the top are Blue Planet’s brochures. You can see they’re quite different! We made a point to include big graphics and avoid technical and corporate jargon as much as possible.
- One thing I try to do to make sure we’re differentiating our identity from the utility’s is to test their logo on our materials and vice versa. If it makes sense—that is, if our logos are interchangeable (for example, if the language we’re using is exactly the same)—then I know the content is not distinct enough. That’s what I use for our litmus test.
- Back to our smart grid campaign… Besides the brochures we made, we also tapped other messaging channels: We took advantage of earned media and also wrote op-eds and letters to the editor. We handed out Miso Smart calendars that prompted customers to regularly check their energy use on the Web portal. We created a webpage and shared information through social media. And we created a short animation featuring one of our Blue Planeteers superheroes, a character called Miso Smart, to explain how smart grid works. Here’s a brief clip.
- Every superhero encounters challenges along the way. Here were some of ours: First, Oahu is a multicultural place, and there were language barriers at a few homes. Second, during canvassing, we had trouble getting into secured buildings. Fortunately, we were able to talk to the building managers who let us in, but this is something that could have been addressed prior to the actual canvassing day. Third, Hawaii has the highest electricity rates in the country, and they keep going up. So many folks were concerned that this is yet another way for the utility to make money. And fourth, lack of interest. Many people didn’t seem to care—they just wanted to know whether they would be billed extra and if they needed to be home during the installation.
- What are the things that worked? We found that people listened to us because we were a third party with a trusted name—and although our message was unique, it was also consistent with HECO’s. Second, face-to-face interaction allowed residents to ask questions and express their concerns, reflecting what’s regarded as good customer service. Third, we didn’t force people to read a lot of text to get an idea of how a modern grid would work. And fourth, participation by other third parties at the open houses allowed customers to get more information and multiple perspectives.
- The outcome of this campaign was highly successful. At last count, less than 30 homes out of 5,200 had requested deferred installation. That’s a rate of less than .5%. And with a few seconds left, here are some final thoughts from our friend Miso Smart…
- Thank you! Please feel free to contact me with any questions or if you’d like to learn more about our campaign.