EnergyWire

Heading into the holiday season, KSV was tasked with developing a campaign unlike any other for its most-important client: Mother Earth. 

Topics: innovation, B Corporation, climate change, content marketing, creativity, inspiration, sustainability, EnergyWire, Creative, storytelling

If you’ve lived and worked through 2020, then the phrase “future-proofing” may sound like the biggest oxymoron of them all. If 2020 taught us anything, it is that plans change. Pivots are necessary. And planning for the future can sometimes mean planning to keep your business’s doors open for just one more day. Who has time to future-proof their business for next year when they’re just trying to survive 2020?

Topics: Customer Engagement, future of energy, innovation, customer centric, B Corporation, climate change, content marketing, creativity, inspiration, brand value, sustainability, EnergyWire, Creative, D2C, in the news, storytelling, brand building

Happy almost Thanksgiving! As we inch another day closer to a holiday season unlike any other,  the team at KSV can’t help but reflect on all that we have to be grateful for. Even in a year where so much has been turned upside down, we find ourselves finishing each day with gratitude for what has remained the same: inspiring clients, innovative colleagues and a community dedicated to creating a better future. 

As we prepare for a 2020-style Thanksgiving, we’d like to share a few stories bringing us an extra dose of inspiration this week, in the hopes that they do the same for all of you:

Brands Are Using Black Friday Boycotts to Highlight Sustainability Initiatives: Although several brands will spend Black Friday and the weeks after touting promotions and deep discounts, several others are switching things up this year, using the high-profile moment as an opportunity to highlight ongoing sustainability initiatives. For brands like Freitag, this means shining a spotlight on their newly launched bag swap platform, which allows customers to exchange backpacks and messenger bags with other customers as a way to encourage a second-life for a high quality product while also reducing waste.

This is Our Chance to Reclaim Cities From Cars: One positive thing that came out of the COVID-19 pandemic? A more bikeable, walkable and cleaner urban America. Reimagining public spaces has consistently been a part of the conversation around how urban areas rebuild in the wake of the virus. This article takes it a step further, painting a hopeful picture for the future of cities.

25 US Cities Land on CDP ‘A List:’ In spite of both the havoc wrought by the coronavirus and little-to-no support at the federal level, several cities in the US were recognized by the CDP for making progress toward their climate action goals. Progress from cities like Cleveland, OH and San Antonio, TX highlight just how, in the absence of national guidance, impactful and important state and municipal level initiatives toward carbon emissions reductions and the adoption of clean energy technologies can be in ensuring a better, brighter and cleaner future.

Oreo’s Proud Parent ad is a moving, resonant reminder that a loving world, no matter how complicated, starts with a loving home. 

Topics: innovation, Shopping Experience, round up, clean energy, climate change, content marketing, creativity, inspiration, brand value, sustainability, EnergyWire, Creative, D2C, in the news, storytelling, brand building, holiday season

We kicked off this three-part series a few weeks back, diving into the importance of brands approaching the 2020 holiday season with a clear focus on reality. We then turned our attention to the value of flexibility in brands’ marketing strategies as a way to better serve and support current and future customers in the months ahead.  

This week, we’re concluding the series with one final consideration for brands that are planning, fine-tuning and executing their holiday strategies: incorporating personalization into the holiday shopping experience. 

Topics: Customer Engagement, customer motivations, innovation, customer centric, marketing, Shopping Experience, content marketing, creativity, brand value, EnergyWire, Creative, D2C, customer trends, storytelling, brand building, marketing strategy, holiday season

Recently we shared the first post in our three-part series highlighting a few considerations brands of all shapes and sizes should focus on to better serve and support current and future customers in the months ahead.  

Topics: Customer Engagement, customer motivations, innovation, customer centric, marketing, Shopping Experience, content marketing, creativity, brand value, EnergyWire, Creative, D2C, customer trends, storytelling, brand building, marketing strategy, holiday season

No matter how blurry the concept of time feels these days, the holiday season is inevitably and speedily approaching. In years prior, the impending holiday season would have meant a ramp up in in-store product promotions, email marketing campaigns and an influx of television advertisements. 

Topics: Customer Engagement, customer motivations, innovation, customer centric, marketing, Shopping Experience, content marketing, creativity, brand value, EnergyWire, Creative, D2C, customer trends, storytelling, brand building, marketing strategy, holiday season

As the coronavirus made itself and its effects known to the world, brands were forced to transform marketing plans, adjust operations and pivot strategies on a dime in order to meet current and potential consumers where they were at in a way that felt authentic and timely. And where they were at was in the midst of a pandemic unlike anything anyone had ever seen before.

Topics: utilities, Utility Marketing, innovation, energy efficiency, energy marketing, content marketing, creativity, EnergyWire, Creative, storytelling, marketing strategy, video production

As we mentioned last week, re-imagining a life and a world in the age of coronavirus presents a lot of unanswerable questions, yes, but also several opportunities. One those opportunities is the critical role clean energy and sustainability will play in reviving the economy and helping consumers adjust their behaviors and habits. 

Topics: customer motivations, future of energy, innovation, customer centric, B Corporation, renewable energy, climate change, utility of the future, energy revolution, inspiration, brand value, energy storage, sustainability, social responsibility, sustainability marketing, solar, Creative, wind power, environment, thought leadership, storytelling, leadership, authenticity, brand building, coronavirus

This month we’re back with the next installment of our Industry Expert Interviews, a content series that keeps the community spirit alive and well and selfishly, gives us the opportunity to talk to some truly incredible people. These will be longer installments, so we encourage you to grab a cup of coffee, sit back and enjoy “meeting” someone new.

Topics: customer motivations, future of energy, innovation, customer centric, B Corporation, inspiration, brand value, social responsibility, Creative, environment, thought leadership, storytelling, leadership, authenticity, brand building, coronavirus

Consumers and communities are giving brands permission to lead in thinking about the new normal of a world with coronavirus. The burden of re-imagining a future, and offering solutions for a problem about which so much is still unknown, can be scary and overwhelming to navigate, especially for consumers that are already navigating so many unprecedented challenges. A new world that entails, among other things, working from home, staying healthy, parenting and schooling, new budgets, limited income sources, previous support lines cut and a new perspective about what is actually important in life.

Topics: customer motivations, future of energy, innovation, customer centric, B Corporation, inspiration, brand value, social responsibility, Creative, environment, thought leadership, storytelling, leadership, authenticity, brand building, coronavirus