Vectren “Not That Guy” public awareness campaign used humorous message and sophisticated targeting to promote gas safety in Indiana and Ohio
Devaney & Associates, a full-service advertising, marketing, and public relations agency, received the 2019 Digital Marketing Campaign of the Year Award at the 34th Annual MX Awards, hosted by the American Marketing Association Baltimore Chapter (AMA Baltimore).
Devaney & Associates created and executed the winning campaign for Vectren, a natural gas and electricity provider serving Indiana and Ohio. Designed to educate the public on natural gas safety, “Not That Guy” featured humorous takes on how not to respond to natural gas safety situations.
Advertisements featured an animated character, “That Guy,” who ignores the signs of a gas leak and does not call 811 to have utility lines marked prior to digging. Using a combination of pre-roll video, display, and digital radio advertising, the campaign drove users to an educational microsite where they could learn all the facts about natural gas safety and take a safety quiz for the chance to win a weekly sweepstakes. The campaign was segmented based on generation and targeted according to the media consumption trends of each age group.
The campaign’s humor and call to action clearly resonated with audiences, outperforming key benchmarks in the digital world, including a 66% video completion rate and a .10% blended clickthrough rate. Post-campaign surveys proved that the campaign was effective in increasing audience awareness, with up to 86% of the audience understanding the key messages.
“It’s a marketing feat to go all-digital with an educational campaign, because the medium rarely gives marketers the ‘real estate’ for complex, explanatory messaging,” says Diane Devaney, president of Devaney & Associates. “Yet by carefully planning out a compelling conversion funnel, my team was able to harness the cost-effective targeting powers of digital advertising and still get meaningful educational content in front of our audiences.”
