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Market Transformation: Three Lessons on Sustainability, Brand Building, and The Power of Communities

Posted by Ashley Nicholls on September 23, 2016 at 9:30 AM
We spend a lot of time writing, and talking, and thinking about energy, demand response, C&I audiences, and helping energy companies and utilities get customer-centric and undergo digital transformation.
 
But today, we're not going to talk about energy. 
 
Today we're going to talk about eggs.
 
And kindness.
 
And new moms. 
 
And condoms. 
 
Yes, I said condoms.
 
Buckle up.

KSV has doubled down on energy, b2b, connected consumer and sustainability marketing. And along the way we've gotten the opportunity do some incredible and inspiring work for some awesome brands. 
 
To create market transformation, build brands, and change the way people think.
 
And over our four decades in business, we've stacked up quite a few lessons.
 
1. Business Growth through Kindness
 
Situation: In a world of factory farms, what can you do if you’re actually doing things differently, but not enough people know about you? Nellie’s Organic Eggs felt that it had just about tapped out its target market that was already aware of the producer, and it needed to grow brand recognition in order to increase sales. And for consumers who make purchase decisions based on their desire to do what’s right for the world, how could we expose the ways that Nellie’s was different, and why that mattered?
 

Solution: KSV created a campaign that hinged upon a strong concept that got at the heart of what mattered to consumers. Together with Nellie’s, we selected four test markets and created a campaign that was driven by social media, pre-roll video, out of home and targeted digital.



Results: 30% above rich media engagement benchmark. 20% above video completion benchmark. Increased market share and sales in test markets.

2. Unite New Moms to Create a Movement

Situation: New moms are in the center of an overwhelming swirl of decisions. Whether it’s car seats, diapers, or breastfeeding vs. bottle feeding, in the beginning it can feel like every single decision is representative of who you are as a parent and your love for your child. Seventh Generation wanted to help new moms navigate these decisions with resources that made life easier.

Solution: Connect new moms to a community of others who are facing the same choices, and help everyone save money. KSV developed Seventh Generation Nation, a community of moms who shared a passion for family health and safety. A partnership with WebMD helped educate moms about the benefit of non-toxic products. A multichannel campaign fueled the community and increased followers.

Results: Tens of thousands of moms connected to the community. Membership grew at 10% or more each month.

3. Making Sex Sustainable

Situation: Sustain Condoms is America’s first sustainable condom product created for women. Sustain, introduced by Jeffrey Hollender, founder of Seventh Generation, has three simple principles:

  • Create a sustainable product
  • Enhance women’s reproductive health options
  • Do business with total transparency
Our challenge was twofold. We needed to introduce a sustainable condom to a market unaware of the health risks associated with condoms and focus on women. Fifty percent of condom buyers are women, yet none of the major condom companies are focused on them.
 
Solution: Understand what motivates women. Understand their challenges and barriers when it comes to buying condoms, to making choices for themselves about their reproductive health. Understand what it's like to stand in line at a grocery store or pharmacy as a woman with a box of condoms in your basket. And then create an identity and packaging that changes that whole experience. 
 


 

Results: KSV developed the logo, packaging, and tagline. Distribution goals exceeded by 30%. Sales exceeded initial projections. Oh yeah, and we got written about in Bloomberg Businessweek, who praised the packaging. You can check that out here: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-11/sustain-condoms-vegan-latex-from-hollender-father-daughter-team

And what lessons are in here for energy companies?

1. Stand for something.

2. Be bold.

3. Move people.

And what do you know, that just happens to be the KSV Creative Philosophy.

Want to hear more about taking creative risks? Check out our KSV Brief on Hyper-Targeting for residential energy efficiency in Brooklyn.  

 

 

Topics: Customer-Centric Marketing, Utility Communications, Data and Analytics, Digital Transformation and User Experience, Innovation, Marketing Strategy and Best Practices

EnergyWire

EnergyWire is KSV’s weekly insight into the consumer mindset when it comes to energy. It’s an honest conversation on the reality of their perceptions and motivations, and how energy services companies can use this insight to successfully engage customers.

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