Plymouth Energy Community and a consortium of Devon and Cornwall community energy organisations have been putting new insights into engagement and marketing to retrofit clients into practice, with the aim of encouraging many more households on their retrofit journeys.
The Far South West Retrofit Consortium Local Energy Advice Demonstrator (LEAD) project, funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and managed by the Hub, is focused on supporting hard-to-reach households and hard-to-treat homes through offering home advice visits and retrofit assessments across the far South West. The research is seeking to provide the tools for the consortium to build on their existing expertise working with low-income households.
The project team worked with a market research company and a PR company to complete a market segmentation of the ‘able to pay’ retrofit market. Focus groups of SW residents helped to inform the analysis and a messaging best practice guide was developed.
James Ellwood, Communications Coordinator at Plymouth Energy Community said: “It’s easy to treat ‘able-to-pay’ as if it’s a homogenous group – but of course there’s a variety of segments within the audience who respond to different messages and means of reaching them. The LEAD project is enabling us to test different marketing approaches, and crucially to share learning and resources throughout the consortium.”
“What’s come through very clearly across the consortium has been the importance of the advice offer being impartial and building trust. These things need to be front and centre in the marketing.”
Devon resident Anne, who received a LEAD advice visit and went on to get a Whole House Plan through ECOE, commented; “It’s been really good to get independent advice. It’s given us a plan for the future – some steps we are going to do straightaway, and others we can look to invest in into the future.”
On the ground Plymouth Energy Community (PEC) have had success with offering ‘drop-in’ lunchtime employee engagement sessions for large employers in the city, including the City Council. Recognising the professional careers and busy home lives of the majority of in the target audience, these sessions catch people at a time when they can engage.
This has been coupled with a range of new leaflets and literature, adjusted to focus on key messages tested during the research phase. The Consortium also commissioned a suite of bespoke illustrations to support marketing materials, which are being used as a shared resource for the consortium.
Plymouth resident Sofia received advice through the project. LEAD was able to help her take the next step on her retrofit journey, having previously made improvements to insulation in her home. She recently had solar panels installed as a result.
She felt meeting PEC through community events made a big difference to building trust and reframed retrofit for her:
“You feel as if you’re part of a community of people who care about the environment – you’re not on your own in your little house. PEC are very professional and reliable, so you feel safer with contractors – there’s extra reassurance.”
The consortium will continue to explore new engagement methods through the project. The consortium will also be sharing learning as the project develops. James Ellwood (PEC) added:
“Through the engagement with our partners we have created a tool kit to inform how the consortium will work with residents in its areas. The messaging toolkit contains insights on key messages, consistency of tone and visual styling, as well as the types of content that work with different sections of the community. This means that the Far South West will have a shared understanding of marketing best practice across Devon and Cornwall.”
