Izertis in Barbados: communication and public awareness strategy on energy sustainability
Our firm, in a consortium with the Próxima Communications and Public Relations (Costa Rica) and Virgo Communications (Barbados) companies, is developing and implementing a communication and engagement strategy to raise public awareness about energy sustainability in Barbados. With the help of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Government of Barbados is implementing the Public Sector Smart Energy Program (PSSE), which focuses on energy management in the public sector, as part of the objectives detailed in the Barbados National Energy Policy (BNEP).
The main objective of this communication strategy focuses on increasing awareness of the benefits around the use of renewable energies and energy efficiency, thereby promoting a reduction in energy consumption between the domestic and commercial sectors. For this, information is provided on the Barbados National Energy Policy and the Electricity and Light Law, as well as on the numerous energy actions undertaken in the country and their benefits.
With this, it has been possible to position the Ministry of Energy, Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship as the leader in the energy sector in Barbados and the platform used to get information related to energy. In parallel, recommendations have been made to the Ministry for the maintenance of this long-term strategy.
The project was developed in five phases:
Phase 1: Analysis of public knowledge about energy efficiency, renewable energies and campaigns previously carried out by the Ministry.
An analysis of the situation was carried out through quantitative and qualitative instruments: two focus groups with representatives of the citizens (men and women), 20 personal interviews with the different stakeholders, and two surveys, in addition to the analysis of the existing documentation, such as the Barbados National Energy Policy (BNEP).
Phase 2: Design and development of materials for the comprehensive communication and engagement campaign.
Based on the results of the analysis, a comprehensive communication strategy was developed. A series of key messages were developed with the intention of communicating the goals and objectives of the Barbados National Energy Policy (BNEP), the benefits that the energy transition will have for all Barbadians and the specific actions that citizens can take to promote energy efficiency and renewable energies. The set of communication tactics deployed is gathered under the chosen slogan, the phrase "Be an energy champion", emphasizing that anyone can participate in the energy transition with small daily actions.
Phase 3: Implementation of the global communication strategy.
At the beginning of this phase, a brand proposal was presented to the Ministry to modernize the logos and an ad hoc graphic identity was created, which is maintained throughout the project in the on and offline environment to unify the materials created and help the identification and general awareness of the brand.
Then, the approved tactics began to be developed: The Barbados Energy Champion Challenge (11-day challenge through a Facebook bot), an online catalogue of educational opportunities (through the creation of a landing page), The Smart Energy Digital Game (digital trivial game based on the Kahoot platform aimed mainly at students, which included an online tournament between schools), or the Smart Energy Podcasts (two talk shows focused on smart energy in the context of Barbados, which featured with the participation of Kerrie Symmonds, Minister of Energy, Small Business and Entrepreneurship).
To promote each of these tactics, various materials were created that included graphic designs for social networks, a landing page, press releases, videos, infographics, white papers, banners, radio and digital announcements, animations, events and custom designs for electric vehicles and buses.
At the same time, transversal actions are carried out throughout the entire project: the reorganization of the website and the comprehensive management of the Project's social networks.
Phases 4 and 5: Closing and evaluation of the strategy.
At the end of the first stage of the project (it is currently continuing with a second phase), a comprehensive final report was prepared that includes all the project's metrics. Likewise, a social media and public relations guide was developed for the Ministry: a document prepared for the transfer of social media accounts, with guidelines to follow its correct development and a list of actions, materials and budget necessary to implement the tactics of the second phase.
Finally, a new survey was carried out to measure the impact of the implemented strategy and to find out how the initial perception of Barbadians had changed after the campaign: the results obtained were highly positive.
This demonstrates the complete satisfaction of the client with the work of our company, which motivates us to improve ourselves in this new stage
After the closure of this first stage, our consulting firm is working again on this project, after an expansion carried out by the Ministry of Energy. This demonstrates the complete satisfaction of the client with the work of our company, which motivates us to improve ourselves in this new stage, the results of which we will analyse in a future post.