Power Smart Campaign Aims to Change Power Consumption Behavior
October 19, 2007 by Eric Eggertson
Filed under Marketing
It’s time we all got off the bench.
That’s one of the phrases that jumps out at you on the new Power Smart website. B.C. Hydro wants to add some positive energy to the sometimes depressing topic of global warning.
The campaign tries to reach people in a number of ways, including Green Gifts to be shared among friends on Facebook.
There are enough doom and gloom messages out there. It’s good to see some effort at making people feel there are things they can do to lower their carbon footprint, and maybe have fun while doing it.
Plus, unlike many green products that use up a lot of resources producing and shipping, the green gifts are relatively benign (as long as your computer is powered by solar energy, or you’re using it during non-peak hours).
Tags: conservation, green, environment, power smart, bc hydro, advertising, facebook, consumers
Thanks for covering this, Eric. And I agree: the challenges facing the planet can seem overwhelming. While we clearly need the wake-up calls that so many have been sounding, we also need practical, hopeful messages that give people some sense of power and agency.
Part of the trick is to strike a balance: suggesting that yes, we can make the transition to a sustainable lifestyle, without conveying the idea that once you’ve installed a few compact fluorescent light bulbs, the job’s over.
We have every reason to believe that Green Gifts users will see the Power Smart tips that come with each gift not as the end of their engagement, but as a single step in a much larger journey. Public opinion has moved a long way in the past few years, and I have great hope that people increasingly grasp both the urgency and magnitude of the changes we need to make.
I think that this is an extremely innovative way to get people’s attention. I am very eco-conscious and strive to recruit others to make baby steps toward helping the environment. I think that this campaign will be a fun and easy ways to get more and more people to take those baby steps.