One Year Later: Reflecting on Maria, Anticipating Florence

Posted by Shaina Kaye on September 13, 2018 at 11:07 AM

As the first anniversary of Hurricane Maria’s aftermath approaches, the United States is bracing itself for yet another dangerous hurricane season. As we write this, Hurricane Florence is making its way to the Carolina coast.

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Topics: Customer-Centric Marketing, Utility Communications, Innovation, Energy Efficiency, Research, Clean Energy, Marketing Strategy and Best Practices, Climate and Social Justice

KSV Future of Energy Series: Offshore Wind is Picking Up Speed

Posted by Harrison Grubbs on September 6, 2018 at 10:00 AM

A decade ago, wind energy mostly meant giant investments, ugly legal battles and major public opposition. As recently as 3 years ago, we saw proposals in many states—good proposals by respected companies—being tossed out. Lack of public support combined with weak political legs dragged the highly visible CapeWind project through the dirt from its initial approvals in 2005, to 2017, when it was finally shut down and deemed defunct.

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Topics: Customer-Centric Marketing, Utility Communications, Innovation, Energy Efficiency, Research, Clean Energy, Marketing Strategy and Best Practices

Uber, Lyft and How Holistic Thinking Can Transform an Industry

Posted by Harrison Grubbs on August 23, 2018 at 11:00 AM

The utility of the future is a hot topic for our clients in the energy space. What will it look like? Who will be steering the ship and who will be struggling to stay afloat? Transportation is a major part of that conversation, and no companies have upended the transportation industry more than Uber and Lyft. The American dream of automotive independence is being challenged in many cities where it is cheaper to use ride sharing than it is to own a car: New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Los Angeles.

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Topics: Customer-Centric Marketing, Utility Communications, Innovation, Energy Efficiency, Research, Clean Energy, Branding and Brand Value, Marketing Strategy and Best Practices

Make Realtors Your New Best Friend

Posted by Harrison Grubbs on August 9, 2018 at 11:00 AM

Curious about the intersection of real estate and energy efficiency? So were we. We wanted to know, how much is energy efficiency worth to buyers? And do people put it on the “must have” side of the list when looking at real estate options?

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Topics: Customer-Centric Marketing, Utility Communications, Energy Efficiency, Smart Technology

Lessons for Energy Marketers from Coca-Cola and Bud Light

Posted by Harrison Grubbs on July 27, 2018 at 9:06 AM

We’ve written, and you’ve read, and then we’ve written again, and you’ve read again, about personalization. You must personalize your marketing. OK, you get it, but you ask, how? and why? and am I doing it right?

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KSV Voices of Industry: Words of Wisdom from a Multicultural Marketing Maven

Posted by Ann Hoogenboom on July 12, 2018 at 9:00 AM

Sarah Lattimer Irvin is, simply put, a multicultural marketing rock star.

Walking into the Metrics Marketing office, Sarah greets me with a big smile and an inviting tone that authentically welcomes me to her award-winning advertising shop. As CEO of Metrics Marketing, formerly Lattimer Communications, she leads her business with a cool, calm sensibility and has curated a team of brilliantly talented brand consultants.

If you’ve been following EnergyWire recently, you know we’ve been busy researching and writing about multicultural marketing. KSV and Metrics Marketing are part of a network called MAGNET Energy. We are a group of ad agencies that believe we are stronger together than we are alone. “Sarah and her team have over 20 years’ experience working in multicultural marketing. Who better to collaborate with on our research?” 

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Deadly and Dangerous: How the Heatwave Could Help Shift Consumer Perception

Posted by Tucker Wright on July 6, 2018 at 9:00 AM

This week over 60 million Americans across the Northeast faced heat warnings or advisories from the National Weather Service as record temperatures swept the region. News headlines called the weather “deadly” and “dangerous”, while experts gave consumers advice on how to keep safe.

The heat was so intense for so long that seniors were evacuated from their homes, homeless shelters were closed, community cooling centers were set up, and health officials warned that playground equipment could burn children.

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Customers are Asking for Authenticity

Posted by Ann Hoogenboom on June 22, 2018 at 9:30 AM

New Video on How Energy Marketers Can and Should Respond.

Authenticity is in. For marketers, it’s one of the most important demands consumers have of companies. People want to be able to connect to the people and stories portrayed in the advertisements they see. Authenticity dictates the success of the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry—think Coca-Cola, Procter and Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever—across food, home care items and basically any other product that enters the home.

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New Customer Video Reveals "Hard-to-Reach" as a Misnomer

Posted by Ann Hoogenboom on June 8, 2018 at 9:30 AM

In recent weeks, we’ve written about our research on Hispanic customers. Internally, we’ve labeled this as our “hard-to-reach” work. Throughout the energy industry (and many others), this is a common label used to refer to a group of people who have historically shown lower levels of engagement with programs, services, and/or products.

However, through this research focus, we realized that labeling an entire group of people “hard to reach” is simply wrong.

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AESP in Atlanta: What You Should Know

Posted by Ann Hoogenboom on June 1, 2018 at 9:30 AM
Last week, the KSV team flew south to Atlanta to meet up with our friends in the energy world at AESP’s (Association of Energy Services Professionals) Spring Conference. We met new people, reconnected with familiar faces, and came away with some great new ideas. Luckily, we are all about sharing. So, if you weren’t able to attend, here’s what you should know.
 
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