Wisconsin’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Resources Program Wins Two DotComm Awards
Madison, Wis. – FOCUS ON ENERGY® has won numerous awards over the years for its efforts to help Wisconsin homeowners and businesses make energy- and money-saving upgrades. But its most recent accolades resulted from the Program’s work to communicate those benefits.
Focus on Energy’s marketing team recently won two DotComm Awards, an international competition honoring excellence in web creativity and digital communications.
The Program earned a Platinum Award for Earned Media, recognizing efforts to generate news headlines about Focus on Energy’s Farm Disaster Bonus, as well as Gold Award for Use of Industry Influencer.
The Industry Influencer Award was for the Madison Gas & Electric (MG&E) Takeover of Focus on Energy’s Instagram page in June. MG&E, one of the 107 Wisconsin utilities that partner in Focus on Energy, used the day-long takeover to showcase local community members and utility providers to better connect with audiences and draw interest in energy efficiency. MG&E staff shared their day-to-day encounters with energy efficiency, including their attendance at a Focus on Energy's 2019 Energy Efficiency Excellence Award presentation for one of their customers, Klein's Floral and Greenhouses.
The Farm Disaster Bonus was a response to severe, late-winter storms that dropped heavy snow and damaged many Wisconsin farms, collapsing the barn roofs and other farm buildings. Focus on Energy and its partnering utilities responded by increasing the normal financial incentives for certain energy-efficient farm equipment likely to be damaged in a roof collapse. The Program’s marketing team developed an earned media campaign to increase awareness about the bonus incentive in regions of Wisconsin impacted by the storms, leading to television, radio and newspaper coverage in at least six separate media markets. In all, the campaign generated 21 earned media mentions for the bonus, including notices in trade publications.
This marks the second straight year Focus on Energy has earned two DotComm Awards. The program earned a Gold Award for Earned Media in 2018, as well as a Platinum Award for Web Video with a video produced for its Wisconsin Is In campaign.
Focus on Energy is Wisconsin’s statewide energy efficiency and renewable resources program, offering energy expertise and financial incentives to residential, business, industrial and municipal customers of Wisconsin utilities. A recent third-party evaluation revealed Wisconsin runs the most-cost-effective energy efficiency programs in the nation, in terms of energy savings per dollar spent. The same evaluation found every $1 invested in Focus on Energy generates $5 in benefits for Wisconsin, including economic benefits, reduced energy costs and reduced pollution.
About Focus on Energy
Focus on Energy is Wisconsin utilities' statewide energy efficiency and renewable resource program funded by the state's investor-owned energy utilities and participating municipal and electric cooperative utilities. Focus on Energy works with eligible Wisconsin residents and businesses to install cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Focus on Energy information, resources and financial incentives help to implement projects that otherwise would not be completed. Its efforts help Wisconsin residents and businesses manage rising energy costs, promote in-state economic development, protect our environment and control Wisconsin's growing demand for electricity and natural gas. For more information call 800.762.7077 or visit focusonenergy.com.
Photo: 2018 DotComm Awards won by Focus on Energy
