Marketing has always been about meeting people where they are. Today, the ways that people encounter information and make important decisions have shifted dramatically. As our options for using energy evolve—how we create and use it—we’re no longer just selling a product or promoting a service. We’re inviting people to create a new future for themselves, their household, their community and their business. The new future will preserve the best parts of the past while creating new opportunities and resilience for the future.
At REACH Strategies, we’ve spent years at the intersection of public education and emerging energy technologies. We’ve helped utilities, government agencies, and future-driven communities bridge the gap between innovation and adoption.
Typically, telling the story of energy innovation relies on statistics: reduced emissions, saved dollars, and, in the case of transportation, miles per gallon equivalent. Those numbers still matter, but they’re no longer enough. More than ever, we see customers and audiences everywhere craving trust, not just facts. We all need to see real people—our neighbors, teachers, and small business owners—embracing fresh opportunities and thriving because of them, before we’re ready to give something new a try for ourselves.
This moment calls for marketing that builds relationships. That means more storytelling, more relationship building, and more authenticity. It’s not just creating basic education tools on things like what an EV is and why electrification matters. Instead, it’s answering the question, “What does this mean for me, how does this make my life better, and how do I get started?”. We have seen repeatedly that efforts to create more incentives, opportunities, and choices often get lost, drowned out, or even create more confusion because they fail to address those basic points. The most effective messages aren’t necessarily the most scientific or even evidence-based (if we’re simply talking about reciting data points); they’re the most human. (But the numbers are still important!)
Breaking through in today’s information environment is increasingly difficult. We get further when our work is actionable, optimistic, and inclusive. Embracing fresh energy innovations is not a sacrifice; it’s an investment. Today’s new technology choices are creating new pathways to resilience and opportunity. Campaigns must demonstrate, not merely tell, us all how innovative energy technologies fit into our daily lives. And not someday, but right now. Adoption thrives on community. People trust what their peers are doing more than what an institution tells them. That’s why marketing today must create space for participation through ride-and-drives, neighborhood pilots, user-generated content in safely moderated and curated arenas, and ambassadors who reflect the communities we serve.
Our job is no longer just to inform or educate on a one-way street of “outreach”; it’s to invite. To celebrate progress out loud. To turn early adopters into champions and skeptics into stakeholders.
Want to talk more to us about our unique and proven approach? Reach out!
