Online Campaign

For customers of this national utility, paperless billing and payment should be an easy choice. There is no simpler or faster or environmentally responsible way to pay your bill. The problem, however, is that too many customers still resist the change, whether because benefits seem vague, e-payments seem risky or endless appeals to e-consciousness have created "green fatigue." For Sequel, the question was simple: How could we break down resistance and inertia and begin to increase customer buy-in?

Solution

Based on consumer research, we sought to change the conversation — to move past the tired enviro-messaging of most paperless-billing campaign efforts to focus on issues people care about most in their everyday lives. Under the creative platform of less is more, we developed a series of online spot and banner ads emphasizing a range of personal benefits, from greater convenience and timesavings to a calmer, less cluttered, stress-free life. A new interactive module was also launched that made advantages clear and customer sign-up simple, while dispelling common misperceptions, including the idea that paperless is less secure. Finally, we developed a fresh approach to the issue of environmental sustainability, casting aside the usual messages and abstract statistics. Instead, we drew a visceral connection between responsible action and emotional reward, including a sense of achievement and community with thousands, even millions, of like-minded consumers.

Results

Although the campaign has only just begun, National Grid is already seeing a 15 percent increase in open rates for the email campaign. Marketers and executives from across the company are excited about preliminary feedback, and we have begun to explore extending the campaign to new media, environments and promotional touch points.