California Energy Conservation

In a blistering heatwave, when the demand for energy threatens the supply, government has a binary choice: either accept rolling brown- or blackouts, or convince people to take unselfish action like dialing down the a/c. Which is why California energy authorities commissioned a public engagement campaign that would persuasively tell people when it was vital to take sweat-inducing action. Carrying the “Flex Alert” name we developed (drafting off the traffic “SigAlerts” so familiar to every Californian), and served up by a one-of-a-kind media plan that allowed us to put up alert messaging in less than a day, the creative built on the social power of the word “we.” The outcome, according to state authorities, was demand reduction that could measured in thousands of megawatts saved and the lights staying on.