E Source announced the winners of its annual Utility Ad Awards today at the E Source Forum 2021. Utilities located in the US and Canada participated in this competition to highlight their creative excellence in advertising. E Source recognized winners for generating impressive results in brand awareness, website traffic, and program participation, while maintaining an innovative design.
E Source tasked an independent group of judges with identifying 12 winners from hundreds of utility ad submissions based on messaging, creativity, results, call to action or brand connection, and overall impression. The judges ranked the top two utilities within the following categories:
- Brand
- Energy-efficiency and demand response programs
- Safety and emergency or outage communications
- Self-service campaign
- Solar, storage, electric vehicles, and electrification
- Home energy management and smart home
“This year’s submissions exceeded expectations,” says Sannie Sieper, director of marketing at E Source. “The level of excellence and outstanding results produced by the more than 50 utilities that entered were astounding to see. It’s a privilege to honor their efforts.”
See the complete results and learn more about the winning campaigns at Utility Ad Awards winners.
First place in Brand Campaign went to Georgia Power for its “AAPI Heritage Month—Woven Together: A Pattern of Resilience” campaign. Con Edison placed second for its “Clean Energy for All” campaign.
Public Service Co. of Oklahoma, an AEP company, won best Energy-Efficiency and Demand-Response Programs Campaign for its “Save the Watts” entry. Central Hudson Gas & Electric won second place for “Central Hudson Lego High Impact.”
Enbridge Gas took the top spot in the Safety and Emergency or Outage Communications Campaign category with its “Home Tips to Protect” campaign. Second place went to PG&E for its “Emergency Preparedness” campaign.
Duke Energy was declared the winner of the Self-Service Campaign category for its “Home Energy Report Optimization (HERO)” campaign. Alectra Utilities placed second for its “Go paperless to support your local food bank” campaign.
First place for a Solar, Storage, Electric Vehicles, and Electrification Campaign went to SDG&E for its “LOVELECTRIC EV Awareness Campaign.” BGE took second place for its “BGE EVsmart Program” campaign.
Cleco earned first place in the category of Home Energy Management and Smart Home Campaign for its “Shop Cleco Power Wise Marketplace” campaign. FPL placed second for its “Neighbors” campaign.
E Source surprised contest entrants by presenting five additional awards to honor outstanding work in 2021. DTE Energy received an award for Best Gas Campaign. Nashville Electric Service won Best Pandemic Assistance Campaign. Sacramento Municipal Utility District received Best Sustainability Campaign. Huntsville Utilities was granted Most Creative Social Media Campaign. And Colorado Springs Utilities won Best Water Campaign.
The ads from the annual contest are housed in Energy AdVision, a database of more than 6,000 examples of utility marketing and advertising campaigns. Through Energy AdVision, members of the E Source Business Marketing, Residential Marketing, or Corporate Communications Services can see detailed background information on media type, campaign strategy, ad placement, intended audience, tracking methods, and results. To learn more about E Source research and advisory services, visit Research and advisory.
About E Source
E Source is a leading partner to more than 500 electric, gas, and water utilities and municipalities, and their partners, across the US and Canada. We provide data science, market research, benchmarking, and consulting services. Our 35 years of technology validation, market assessment, program design, and customer experience expertise help clients make informed, data-driven decisions; plan for tomorrow’s infrastructure needs; strengthen customer relationships; and meet critical business objectives while becoming more innovative and responsive in the rapidly evolving market.
