National Grid
Amidst economic challenges like inflation and rising living costs, households are grappling with unpaid bills. Recognizing a pressing need to support their utility customers, National Grid stepped in to help.
Having already developed a robust energy assessment program, National Grid’s income-eligible branch—which helped subsidize necessary energy-efficiency replacements or repairs—needed amplification across Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island. To ensure that customers were aware of available assistance (and, in some cases, that it came free of charge) National Grid sought our help to reach those who needed it most.
Our initial focus was on reaching the qualified low- and moderate-income customers who were most likely to benefit from the available discount rates, payment plans and forgiveness programs. And that began with education. Using geo-targeting to identify the region’s most eligible customers, our campaign focused on one clear message: Energy efficiency programs, including no-cost home energy assessments and weatherization, were both accessible and available. We also highlighted that, if issues were identified in their weatherization walkthrough, National Grid was ready to subsidize replacement or repair costs through rebate programs. That included everyone from single-family homeowners to landlords whose tenants met the income qualifications.
National Grid promised no-cost energy-saving products like LED lightbulbs and triple-pane windows to advanced power strips and weather-stripping to foster initial goodwill with customers. We built on that by communicating directly with National Grid’s income-eligible customers, urging them to apply and helping as needed. In fact, it was the crux of our campaign: “We’re here to help.”
We allocated 20% of our budget to target Spanish-speaking customers to ensure maximum outreach. And we designed specific creative icons for everything that National Grid offered—from weatherization programs and more time to pay, to budget planning and consumer advocates. Placing these ads in neighborhood laundromats, convenience stores and bus stops seamlessly integrated them into the community and established National Grid as a reliable source of support.
With renewed support, National Grid customers sought out program information. And with media in-market from 2021 to 2023, the program generated:
Hey! Our name is pronounced Mōw-rrr, like this thing I’m pushing.