Amreen Papar, Corporate Communications Manager, Communications StrategyPuget Sound Energy"The Reputation ad campaign strategy is all about leading with the heart. We wanted a campaign that could make customers feel good about having PSE as their energy partner. We feel very lucky to be able to link arms with our partners at Hydrogen, who approached this work with perspective, gusto and wild creativity. This work has helped pull our brand closer to its community—not by selling or persuading, but by relating.”ProblemYou really only think about your power company for two reasons: your bill comes in the mail or your power goes out. Puget Sound Energy came to us to try to change that. They wanted to show their customers that PSE has more to offer than just keeping the lights on. Video, Social, Outdoor, TransitSolutionMost times awareness advertising is about bringing the brand forward, but to help solve PSE’s unique challenge, we did the opposite- we gave the brand the opportunity to take a step into the background and let the people they serve and the moments they power come forward. We used real people, not actors, to bring these endearing moments to life, and focused all our energy on making things feel as true-to-life as possible.
Well, almost all of our energy. To make sure the brand got its moment to shine, we offered a new twist on their 150+ year old diamond logo—we used it as an ownable design element that framed our moments and tied a unifying bow on all of our campaign assets, across channels. When used this way, the diamond breaks out of the traditional role of a logo and becomes a keyhole for the viewer to enter into our most intimate stories.
Our integrated suite of video, OOH, social, and digital placements give PSE the humanity, warmth, and authenticity it needs to make a lasting impact on their customers.
ResultsUnsurprisingly, when presented with advertising that felt real, people felt real feelings. And took real action. Our ads were viewed 81 million times, but more importantly 46% more people than average actually finished watching them. That’s a 48% increase from last year.
The numbers backed up our hypothesis. By being real, PSE reached more people that cared more about their content than ever before.
But that’s just the metrics. The real truth about whether or not our campaign was a hit came from an unlikely place: “I am a retired physician with no marketing experience whatsoever, I’ve never commented on an ad before (in print). But yours was brief, engaging, uplifting, timely, and good. Exceptionally so, in my opinion. I thought it would be nice to share this note up the “chain” of those responsible.”
So at the end of the day the best way for PSE to make the loudest impact possible was to be quiet and do it one person, one situation, and one relatable moment at a time.
