NVE:

In response to the ongoing energy crisis we were commissioned for Norway's national campaign. On request from the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate [NVE], and Enova, the government’s enterprise for environmentally friendly production and consumption of energy.

The objective, in line with many other international governments, was to build awareness and clear advice in the ongoing energy crisis; helping people save energy.

With a growing number of people struggling to make ends meet, and many overwhelmed with high energy bills, it was important for the government to make a clear campaign with sound and trustworthy advice that could deliver on many levels and benefit the general public.

The campaign platform we developed, for all the people who are saving energy around the country, was “Til deg som sparer” / “For you who save”. A platform that lifts up the different ways of saving energy with fun and relatable campaign videos; from the young girl turning down the heat at home, to our shower-singer shortening his Opera performance to save hot water.

To support the campaign we also launched a site where we gathered the best and most efficient advice for saving energy. The campaign was built to motivate, while also giving people the tools and information they needed to save energy.

With the energy crisis already at an all time high we needed to get a good overview of how our target audiences were feeling and the measures they were taking in the situation. We commissioned focus groups around the country, led by our partners at Kantar. Supplemented with insight reports from government agencies and academics. Unsurprisingly, the general consensus of the public was a feeling of being overwhelmed, stressed and with conflicting ideas of best practices against rising prices in both the energy market, food and housing.

Working closely with our client we formulated a strategy to motivate and inspire people, not leading with communicating a crisis, but rather painting an accurate picture of people doing their best; integrating energy saving tips into their lives and homes.

Bombarded with energy saving tips from many different private actors, our target group felt like they were already well informed about the many different measures, but at the same time feeling more and more frustrated about the measures not working. And while some were already well underway with saving energy, many were confused about which advice to follow.

Launching the concept of “Til deg som sparer” we created a campaign to profile different people, from within our communities, struggling with the energy crisis; still finding creative solutions to keep the energy saving going in their everyday lives. Saving energy is not something you do once, it’s a habit that has to be implemented over time. Therefore, our goal was to motivate people to continue saving energy, and make the energy saving advice stick to your habit.

Creating five different campaign videos with funny, motivating and relatable situations, our intent was to capture attention, entertain and educate, with small and big energy saving measures; from the story of the karate-girl turning down the heat, and the Opera-singer saving hot water, to the dog owner investing in a heat pump, and the young couple figuring out how to insulate with a sealing strip. Showing all the real heroes of the energy crisis. With director Johan Tappert, we commissioned our friends at WeMake to produce the films.

We also created the energy saving advice platform sparenergi.no; curated energy saving tips by leading experts from NVE and Enova. A platform built to give easy energy saving advice that everybody can do, also adding information about more advanced energy efficient upgrades. Showing how all the measures you take add up to make a big impact.

The campaign was launched in February, including Facebook and Instagram ads, contextual display ads, full-page ads in A-magasinet, and video ads on platforms like YouTube. The campaign also used paid search to reach people searching for energy savings topics on Google.

In March, the advertising efforts were expanded by placing display ads in Amedia's digital newspapers and on and around public transportation in Norway's largest cities. Overall, the campaign has reached 2.9 million people on social media, gained over 2 million views on online videos (YouTube, TV2 play, discovery+, plutotv), and received 12 million views on display ads in Amedia and Schibsted.

During February and March, sparenergi.no has more than 30,000 website visits.

Film production: Wemake and Johan Tappert

Report: Kantar

Mediaspend: Try Opt

Other public partners: Norwegian Building Authority (DIBK), Norwegian Environment Agency, Norwegian State Housing Bank, Statsbygg, Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities