The renewable economy continues to boom across Australia– with consumers continuing to take up rooftop solar, battery storage, or making sure their next car is electric. But as the industry rapidly expands, regulation is struggling to keep up. Gaps are exploited by dodgy operators. Technical products are made more confusing by conflicting advice.  The national, independent, consumer-focused body, Energy Consumers Australia, determined to intervene with easy, step-by-step guides to new energy tech, designed to relieve consumer confusion, concern and inertia.

Taking a multi-channel approach, Ellis Jones delivered a creative strategy and suite of educational content to inform engaged audiences on key considerations in purchasing new energy tech focused on some of the most popular, including solar panels, batteries, going off-grid, and electric vehicles, as well as emerging technology such as virtual power plants and energy monitoring systems.

The centre point of the suite was a series of factsheets that focused on the two phases of a consumer’s engagement with technology: buying and using.

When seeking to buy new energy tech, consumers often feel confused by conflicting, sales-driven advice and can sometimes be scammed by dodgy operators pushing unrealistic deals. To support consumers to navigate this market, the factsheets aimed to decode jargon, provided clear steps for research and supplied key questions to ask suppliers.

When using their new energy tech, consumers can sometimes feel alone and unsupported, especially when things go wrong. To alleviate these concerns, the factsheets provided clear advice on where to turn for independent, trustworthy support and guidance, and advice surrounding their rights and protections under consumer law.

Housed on a specially designed and built, mobile first microsite, the factsheets have been activated by industry partners and stakeholders with the support of animated videos and engaging social media assets.

The Plug In campaign launched to market in September 2022.

Since its launch, the campaign has shown groundbreaking engagement reporting:

• 17K new users visiting the Plug in microsite
• 8.1K factsheets downloads
• 356K people reached on Facebook and Instagram
• Secured media coverage across multiple media outlets including the ABC and the Energy Magazine.