Energy Star (E*) is a dynamic government/industry partnership
that offers businesses and consumers energy-efficient
solutions, making it easy to save money while protecting
the environment for future generations.
In 1992 the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
introduced E* as a voluntary labeling program designed
to identify and promote energy-efficient products to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Computers and monitors
were the first labeled products. EPA later expanded
the label to additional office equipment products as
well as residential heating and cooling equipment. In
1996, EPA partnered with the US Department of Energy
to add more product categories to the program. The E*
label is now on major appliances, office equipment,
lighting, home electronics, new homes and both commercial
and industrial buildings.
Through partnerships with more than 7,000 private and
public sector organizations, E* delivers technical information
and tools that organizations and consumers need to choose
energy-efficient solutions. The program has successfully
delivered energy and cost savings across the country,
saving businesses, organizations, and consumers more
than $7 billion a year. Appliances and equipment with
this logo on them are part of the E* program.
In April 2001, Goodwill Communications was retained
to help launch a national, multi-media public service
advertising campaign. The distribution plan targeted
more than 15,000 English and Spanish media outlets.
In addition to implementing the campaign, we provided
ongoing counsel to the EPA team on the most cost effective
techniques for maximizing campaign exposure.
For example, during initial planning stages there were
three different TV PSA themes that each had their own
PSAs. Initial plans were to distribute all of the PSAs
simultaneously. We advised distributing them in separate
waves, which would avoid the PSAs competing against
each other and result in much greater exposure. To reinforce
our position, we conducted a gatekeeper survey among
TV community affairs directors who concurred with our
recommendation.
Pre-campaign and on-going promotional activity was
an important campaign tactic. Prior to launch, blast
faxes and a unique emailgram were distributed to broadcast
community affairs directors giving them background information
on the program. We also produced a feature story on
the program for our proprietary newsletter called Broadcasters
Café which was distributed to all TV stations
receiving the PSAs.
To broaden the media mix, we also employed shared-reel
distribution strategies to reach cable TV and radio
stations at the lowest possible cost. Using our proprietary
CablePAK and Radio DiskPAK distribution programs, the
E* PSAs were distributed to 500 major cable stations
and 3,000 radio stations. Since they were distributed
along with other client PSAs in the same package, the
cost was about one-third the cost of sending each station
a separately packaged PSA.
Unfortunately due to talent and music restrictions that
were negotiated prior to our getting involved with the
E* campaign, we were precluded from editing longer length
radio PSAs to create a 15-second spot. Since shorter
PSAs are more frequently used by many radio stations
this would have limited radio usage. To rectify the
situation, Goodwill Communications hired a radio producer
to create a 15-second PSA using library music that was
identical to the custom music used on the 60-second
PSA, resulting in $482,455 worth of additional exposure
that would have otherwise not occurred.
Perhaps our most important contribution to the E* effort
was to recommend better packaging of print PSAs and
an aggressive print PSA distribution plan, particularly
targeting major magazines. We developed a much more
user-friendly PSA package, placing all PSAs on a CD
along with a user’s guide showing what was on
the CD.
Initial plans called for targeting no newspaper and
a very limited number of magazines that had supported
the program in the past. Our recommended distribution
plan included over 5,000 daily and weekly newspapers
that regularly use PSAs as well as a custom list of
3,000 magazines.
As a result of this expanded distribution, 30 different
magazines used E* PSAs including seven full page PSAs
in Bloomberg Personal Finance; two full pages
in Business Week, Rolling Stone, and Worth
magazines; 18 full pages in Commercial Property
News and full pages in Time, Forbes, Fortune,
Good Housekeeping, Inc. and Men's Journal.
Total circulation of the print PSAs was 40 million.
While EPA research data showed that the E* program
was achieving its penetration goals in most U.S. markets,
there were a variety of areas where exposure was very
weak. To try to reverse these trends, EPA teamed up
with various community partners to expand their reach
at the local level. We supported the effort by tagging
TV PSAs for a variety of different local organizations
including local Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs),
along with local offices of the Consumer Action Network
and the Consumer Federation of America.
The E* message was also cross promoted with other energy
saving organizations such as the Alliance to Save Energy.
Shown here is the huge Panasonic Board high above Times
Square which cast a spotlight on the Alliance to Save
Energy's “Super Powers” TV PSA with its
home energy efficiency/E* message. The PSA aired every
hour for a month for a total of 9600 airings worth more
than $100,000.
To reach policy-makers in Washington, DC, PSA posters
were displayed at bus stops around the nation’s
capital.
Evaluation
As with all the TV PSA campaigns we distribute, we
conducted extensive evaluation of the E* program and
posted evaluation reports to a password protected website
we created for EPA on what we call the PUBSANS (Public
Service Advertising Analysis System) GATEWAY.
Data was compiled from the A.C. Nielsen SIGMA electronic
tracking service and a Nielsen audience data package
that provides Gross Impressions. National staff and
community partners can access evaluation data from the
EPA reporting portal site and download the usage data
into various software packages for further analysis
and manipulation.
 To
date, the campaign has generated over 80 million impressions
via broadcast TV alone. The print campaign has generated
over 1,277 clippings, reaching an audience of 55.4 million.
The total for all the campaigns we have distributed
on behalf of EPA is just under $33 million.
More importantly, the campaign is impacting consumers.
With the help of Energy Star, last year Americans saved
enough energy to power 10 million homes and avoid greenhouse
gas emissions equivalent to those from 33 million cars
- all while saving $18 billion on their utility bills.
The success of the EPA campaign is a reflection of good
creative, a solid distribution plan and an issue that
is becoming increasingly more important to both the
media and the general public.
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Role
of PSAs