E Source is pleased to announce the winners of the 2020 Utility Ad Awards Contest, recognizing and rewarding creative excellence in utility advertising. In its 12th year, the contest evaluates utility ad campaigns that have generated results—such as increased brand awareness, website traffic, and program participation—while also being creative. The competition is open to any electric, gas, or water utility located in the US or Canada.

View these and other utility ad campaigns

If you’re a member of the Business Marketing Service, Residential Marketing Service, or Corporate Communications Service, you can use the Energy AdVision tool to access utility ad campaigns related to your service topics. To set up a demo of Energy AdVision or to learn more about our marketing and communications services, Contact Us or call 1-800-ESOURCE (1-800-376-8723).

An independent group of judges selected the winners based on message, creativity, results, call to action or brand connection, and overall impression. Judges included A.J. Schmitz, Progressive Marketing Group Inc.; Kailie Hartman, Executive Events; Lindsay Sutula, Sutula Marketing; Lucia Riley, SAS Institute; Michelle Goldberg, Chapel of the Flowers; and Mike Swainey, Intelligent Demand.

The ad contest evaluates utility ad campaigns that have generated results—such as increased brand awareness, website traffic, and program participation—while also being creative.

“We were thrilled to get more than 700 ad submissions from over 50 utilities this year, particularly since everyone’s focus has been on dealing with issues related to the global pandemic,” says Sannie Sieper, director of marketing at E Source. “This year’s submissions were impressive, and it’s always fun to see how creative and innovative these marketing and advertising teams are.”

COVID-19 forced E Source to forgo its usual in-person awards luncheon at E Source Forum 2020. Instead, the company honored the winners during an online event on September 8, 2020, The winners of the 2020 E Source Utility Ad Awards Contest. The online format allowed E Source to feature many of the finalists, who were able to describe their winning campaigns in their own words.

2020 E Source Utility Ad Awards Contest winners

Best Brand Campaign

  1. LG&E and KU
  2. CenterPoint Energy

Best Energy-Efficiency and Demand-Response Programs Campaign

  1. BGE
  2. Sacramento Municipal Utility District

Best Home Energy Management and Smart Home Campaign

  1. PEPCO Holdings Inc.
  2. Ameren Illinois

Best Safety and Emergency or Outage Communications Campaign

  1. WPPI Energy
  2. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities

Best Self-Service Campaign

  1. Enbridge Gas
  2. Puget Sound Energy

Best Solar, Storage, Electric Vehicles, and Electrification Campaign

  1. Southern California Gas Co.
  2. Tennessee Valley Authority

E Source presented Alabama Power with the Crowd-Pleaser Award, based on online recognition. Facebook users voted by visiting the E Source Facebook page and “liking” their favorite video advertisement.

View the winning ads from 2020 and prior years at Utility Ad Awards winners.

About E Source

E Source is the leading solver of problems facing electric, gas, and water utilities and municipalities. We provide data science, market research, benchmarking data, and consulting services to more than 300 utilities, municipalities, and their partners. Our guidance helps customers make data-driven decisions to strengthen their customer relationships, plan for tomorrow’s infrastructure needs, and further their environmental sustainability goals while becoming more innovative and responsive in the rapidly evolving market.

Public relations contact

Sannie Sieper, Director of Marketing, E Source
Contact us
303-345-9138

Contributing Authors

Sannie Sieper
Director, Marketing

Sannie Sieper is responsible for leading the marketing, event, and member communications for E Source. She is passionate about marketing...