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| What's a good name for a creative energy ad company? |
12-05-2003
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When Creativenergy founders Eric Tulin, a veteran adman, and John Kearney, a former Connecticut Natural Gas sales executive, were looking for an interesting niche for their new marketing communications firm, they came up with clean energy. They like the challenge, Tulin told RT yesterday from his office in Bristol, Conn (www.creativenergy.biz), and figure renewable and alternative energy have a lot of growth potential in deregulated markets worldwide.
The firm just signed up Rentricity, a company developing technologies that tap the energy in various man-made processes such as excess pressure in water mains, and retail power marketer New York Energy, active in the upstate New York C&I market.
The company's working too on the SmartPower campaign to get Massachusetts Electric customers to sign up for its GreenUp renewable energy program. The campaign, being tested now in the Worcester market, is to be rolled out throughout the Northeast.
The firm is coming up with marketing communications tools like websites and PR programs for wind power development around the Northeast. That's an interesting mix of b2b (business-to-business) and b2c (business-to-consumer) projects in an area that's been a tough sell on the b2c side. "You can't sell [renewable energy] conventionally," Tulin told us, at least to consumers. It needs a longer educational process than the typical utility bill insert or mailer. That's because Tulin has found a "tremendous disconnect" in consumer perceptions of renewable power.
One problem is the term "green energy" that can evoke a "real aversion" in some people, Tulin noted. Why? Many people were turned off by the stridency of some environmental groups in the 1970s who oversold fears that we would be choked by our own garbage and other dire consequences, Tulin replied. Others think buying green power means someone is going to install a windmill in their backyards, just as perfectly intelligent people once thought changing gas suppliers meant a backhoe would tear up the lawn. Other misconceptions include the reliability of renewable power and fears that the lights will dim or they'll have to change the way they live, Tulin warned. Risk-averse utilities too often confuse potential green-power customers by including long disclaimers that customers are buying offsets, green tags or renewable energy certificates and that the power delivered might not be the green stuff they paid extra for, Tulin explained. That confuses potential customers about renewable power's value.
Utilities may have strong regulatory incentives to push green power programs, Tulin added, but little economic incentive. That kind of confusion is gone on the b2b side, Tulin explained. The technology has advanced enough that yesterday's "this may save you money" is now "this will save you money and here's how much." What's in a name? "Renewable" and "sustainable" are easier to sell than "green," Tulin noted, but the most appealing message these days is community health benefits or the national security angle of lowering reliance on foreign oil. Consumers want a "legitimate product and ... real value," Tulin said. "If you can assure them of both, you can motivate them. For successful marketers, the job ahead is to educate consumers and give them a reason to believe." It would help too if the industry decided on one term and stuck with it, Tulin advised. |
This story was originally published in Restructuring Today on December 5, 2003. Redistributed with permission from GHI LLC. For more information, please call 1-800-486-8201, visit www.restructuringtoday.com or write to daily@restructuringtoday.com.
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