Hill+Knowlton Strategies

Which? The consumer affairs group today launches the Big Switch campaign, designed to get the more than six in ten households who have never switched their energy supplier to consider doing so. Featured today in The Mirror and The Sun the campaign is encouraging consumers to submit their (non-binding) interest in order to collectively negotiate a better deal from the large energy suppliers.

The timing couldn’t be better and the Which? team deserve credit for launching in the middle of a cold snap when interest in energy prices is set to peak again. It is also just days into the term of new Secretary for Energy & Climate Change, Ed Davey, who began his Cabinet career by suggesting his focus would be on enabling consumers to get a better deal from their energy supplier. 

Which? Has long been a trusted consumer brand and I remember blogging last year about CBI research around the Green Deal that showed Which? to be the most trusted brand by consumers looking for advice. This campaign is in my mind overdue and I hope that it will be successful. I’ve signed up this morning and it was dead simple. Congratulations to Which? for kicking it off.

They will though face an uphill struggle in encouraging consumers to make the switch if the latest research from Ofgem is to be believed. In a report available on the regulator’s website they review attitudes to switching and new devices aimed at simplifying bills. It’s clear from the opening of the report though that the vast majority of energy users fall within a ‘disengaged’ category of people who don’t understand their bill, don’t appear to want to understand their bill and/or don’t feel there is much value in better understanding their bill because ultimately they do not trust that their time and interest will save them money. As I mentioned the Which? campaign faces and uphill struggle, but they have made the right start. I also just noticed the first tweets about this from @whichaction and @whichconvo. This is encouraging because a campaign like this is made for social networks. A shame though that Facebook hasn’t also been engaged by Which? I did look for their page to show an example of what they are doing, but perhaps they are waiting for the new Facebook timeline to launch on 29^th February.

Either way don’t delay, expressions of interest need to be logged on the campaign site by 31^st March.

H&K were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to host a very interesting event by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)yesterday morning. The event was not only one of the first outings of new Director General, John Cridland, but also featured Secretary of State at the Department for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne MP in one of his first outings since the launch earlier this week of his government’s Carbon Plan. The CBI used this event to share some insights about consumer attitudes toward ‘low carbon economy’ products and initiatives and from a communications perspective the conclusions gave some food for thought. First though some really useful stats from the CBI report entitled ‘Making the Consumer Case for Low Carbon’:

•  Three quarters of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions are either directly or indirectly attributable to consumer actions (Sustainable Consumption Institute)
• Seven out of ten people feel a sense of responsibility to do something about climate change (Ipsos MORI, March 2010)
• 39% of respondents to Ipsos MORI said that ‘clear evidence of reduced running costs’ would change their purchasing attitudes toward more energy efficient products
• 83% of respondents either strong agreed or tended to agree with the statement that ‘companies have a responsibility to give consumers as much information as they can about the energy efficiency of the products they sell’.
• When asked about which sources of information they trust to provide reliable information about energy efficiency or climate change, 40% said Which? Magazine, 30% Government or Government agencies, 28% scientists, 16% action groups like Greenpeace, 16% manufacturers, 12% trade associations. 9% newspapers, 9% TV and 9% retailers/shops. There were striking differences between different age groups too.

So what was so interesting from a communications perspective? Well one of the overriding messages that Mr Cridland was sharing with the audience and his members was that they had a challenge to communicate better with consumers if they were to convince them that low carbon products were worth their consideration.

When the leadership of an organisation like the CBI starts to make statements like this it can feel like manna from heaven for a communications specialist, especially when they conclude by saying that this is about more than spin and offering worthy but premium priced alternatives, it is about creating compelling price points and standards that consumers can trust. I couldn’t agree more and so look forward to working with our clients to define compelling low-carbon propositions for consumers. With the launch of the government’s Carbon Plan, policy appears to at last be providing a relatively clear path for more investment by business in the low carbon economy. Let’s hope the joined up approach continues.