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Breathing new life into Deal Days to help Ontarians reduce energy costs

In collaboration with Save on Energy

A new name and brand transformed an already-successful retail experience, making it even easier for Ontarians to save on energy-efficient essentials.

Close up of hardware store floor with Deal Days decal

The challenge

After being overhauled with fewer participating stores, lower discounts and fewer products than previous years, there was added pressure for the Save on Energy program to deliver results.

Solution

A new name, bold branding and highly-strategic and hyper-local marketing campaign brought a fresh sense of optimism and enthusiasm around saving energy.

Scope

Name and branding
Custom photography
Radio spots
Online and social ads
Bill insert
In-store signage
Emails

Results

Over 12 million products sold
Over 141 million kWh of energy saved
90% awareness among Ontarians

The context

For one month every spring and fall, Save on Energy offers discounts on a variety of energy-efficient home essentials, from LED light bulbs and lighting controls to clothesline kits and more, at participating stores across the province. The event is promoted by Save on Energy, local hydro companies and participating stores, requiring a high degree of teamwork and collaboration.   

In 2017, looking to improve the retail experience for consumers and simplify for retailers, Save on Energy replaced its Coupon Event with a month-long instant discount program, including a new name and structure. As part of the program overhaul, the dollar values of the discounts were reduced, as were the number of participating stores.

New name and fresh, bold look

We created a catchy new name and a bold, cinematic look and feel for the campaign. Inspired by a sense of technological optimism and futurism, Deal Days products are treated as larger-than-life, which helps elevate these utilitarian, underappreciated objects to hero status. A new wordmark was also developed, intertwining a store shopping cart with an LED in one stylized form.

Detail of an email campaign on a tablet
Sample of product photography done for the campaign

A full suite of customizable marketing templates

To make it easier for local hydro companies and participating stores to promote the event, we developed a full suite of customizable marketing templates to easily download and use. This included point of purchase signage – posters, aisle interrupters, shelf talkers, floor stickers, price stickers, etc., plus online ads, bill inserts, postcards and eblasts. 

Tabletop with Deal Days stickers and cards Hand hold a direct mail piece and a banner Deal Days floor decals

Reaching people on the go

To support the success of the program, we launched a month-long multimedia awareness campaign across Ontario in both official languages including radio spots, online ads and social media. The online campaign included a hyper-local mobile component to reach on-the-go consumers and motivate them to drive to specific store locations.

English Radio Spot

Man: Excuse me, my wife is looking for a deal on energy efficient products?

Woman: Uh huh, and my husband wants to upgrade our home to be more comfortable.

Store Employee: Well, why not do both? During Save on Energy Deal Days you can save instantly on LED’s, light fixtures, smart power bars and much more.

Man: Honey, I’m feeling comfier already!

Woman: And so is my wallet.

Announcer: Shop now and save for years during Save on Energy Deal Days. But only until May 6th. To find a store near you visit save on energy dot ca. Terms and conditions apply. Powered by the IESO and offered by your local hydro company.

French Radio Spot
Femme: Excusez-moi, mon mari cherche les meilleures aubaines sur les produits eco-energetiques

Homme: Et ma femme voudrais rendre notre maison plus comfortable.

L’employé: Ben, vous pouvez faire les deux pendant les jours-rabais offertes par “Economiser l’énergie”. Épargnez en l’achat d’ampoules DEL, de luminaires, des barres d’alimentations intelligente et plus encore.

Femme: Ah, j’aime ça.

Homme: Oui, et mon portefeuille aussi aime ça.

Annonceur: Achetez d’ici de 6 mai et économisez pendant des années, grâce aux jours- rabais offertes par “Economiser l’énergie”. Devenez un participant sur EconomisezlEnergie.ca. Des conditions s’appliquent. Programme offert par les CIERE et votre compagnie de l’électricité locale.

Results

Though it had fewer participating stores and lower product discounts, the new Save on Energy Deal Days program delivered an impressive twelve million product sales and saved more than four million dollars in administrative costs. That means a comparable number of products were sold for about 75% less than the cost of running the program in previous years.

More importantly, the resulting energy savings reached over 141 million kWh—equivalent to taking 21,600 cars off the road. By driving product sales, the Save on Energy Deal Days campaign made it easier and more affordable for customers to save energy, which in turn helped local hydro companies meet their mandated reduction targets.

Source: https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator
(using campaign results of 140,000,000 kWh)

Trusted by clients providing vital public services, we step up to solve communication and design challenges that impact lives.

Let us help you solve yours.

Portrait of Lionel Gadoury, RGD

Lionel Gadoury, RGD, Principal, Director of Strategy and Creative Services

lgadoury@contextcreative.com

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