Energia has had a busy year. It takes a lot of effort to go from being relatively unknown to a household name, but that is what Energia has managed to pull off over the last nine months.
The company, which started life in Ireland as a business provider, launched for residential customers back in January and has been something of a promotional whirlwind ever since. They’ve done TV ads, billboards, print, digital – you name it. And of course, they’ve done just a little bit of radio too…
Like last year, when Pat Kenny left RTE for the Newstalk studios in Dublin 2, Energia jumped on board as the sponsor of the new show. It was risky, and rumours were that it was expensive too. But as the listeners came on board and proved that Pat Kenny still has it in spades, the deal must have seemed like a dream. And now every member of Pat Kenny’s growing audience hears the Energia name on every show.
Energia has not been without a bit of controversy either but I suppose it’s hard to make an omelette without breaking an egg or two. Their “you don’t have to act like a business to save like a business” TV ad campaign – which is still running – kicked off with the faintly shocking Downsizing Twins advert. The ad which featured a father saying "we can no longer afford to have two people essentially fulfilling the same role... so we're going to let one of you go” to his twin daughters, caused a bit of a fuss, and their Outsourcing Grandad ad even got a mention in the Senate.
But these ads were funny and they got people talking, which can only be good for the brand. They were also backed up by genuinely good products and discounts, so people signed up. What more could you hope for?
Anyway, Energia has gone right back to their own business roots today. They’re launching a new affinity deal with Early Childhood Ireland which will offer special gas and electricity discounts to early childhood care and educational facilities around Ireland.
Energia already has a range of business affinity deals that provide group members with preferential rates. The groups range from Craft Butchers to Irish Brokers, and from Restaurants to Vintners. Group deals like these are very useful to affinity members because they help many small business access discounts that might not otherwise be available.
Early Childhood Ireland represents a huge group, with over 3,400 childcare professional members supporting 100,000 children and their families through preschool, afterschool and daycare across Ireland – so it’s a substantial deal and should help plenty of childcare facilities save money on their energy bills.
And saving money for Early Childhood Ireland member has got to be a good thing… we certainly don’t want to see them resort to any child outsourcing or twin downsizing!
