Photo Credit: Shutterstock
The clean energy industry may not have a lot of money to spend collectively on advertisements. But over the years, we've seen numerous TV ads, infographics, slogans, and all kinds of marketing campaigns from individual companies.
So this week, we are going to rank some of our favorite — and least favorite — marketing efforts. We'll also debate the perennial question: Do we need a "Got Milk" campaign for clean energy?
We're joined by Tor Valenza, a marketing expert better known as Solar Fred. Tor founded the marketing firm UnThink Solar and is currently the director of marketing at SepiSolar.
First, what is unique about clean energy that makes branding so important — yet so hard? Then, what are the best marketing campaigns in history outside of energy? Why are they so good? Finally, we’ll pick our favorite and least favorite ads or marketing campaigns in cleantech.
This podcast is supported by Wunder Capital, the easiest way to invest in large-scale solar energy projects across the U.S. With Wunder, you can help finance renewable energy projects while earning up to 7.5 percent annually. Get started here to diversify your portfolio and support American solar projects.
This podcast is brought to you by Shoals, the gold standard for solar and storage balance-of-systems solutions. Learn more about how Shoals can make your project operate at the highest level.
Below are links to our picks for best and worst campaigns.
Best non-cleantech campaigns:
Our favorite cleantech ads or pop-culture placements:
- Nanosys thin-film solar mention from Wall Street 2
- Sunrun dolphin babies ad
- Mr. W
Our least favorite cleantech ads or campaigns:
- Yingli's World Cup sponsorship
- Solar freakin' roadways
- Solon AG ad
- SolarWorld's racist Christmas card
This is only a sampling of ads and campaigns. Add your picks in the comments section.
Subscribe to The Interchange podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.