Winner
Partnerize & The Specialist Works
Powering Sustainable Partnerships, OVO Energy
OVO Energy wanted to maximise an omnichannel approach to promote its ‘Better Smart’ tariff to a highly targeted and receptive ‘aspirational’ audience. The energy provider wanted to prove the channel's prowess at acquiring new customers within an ‘aspirational’ audience, who would be more likely to convert and provide long-term value. OVO also wanted to determine the effects of aligning partner marketing programmes with wider brand pay-for-access activities, compared against traditional affiliate campaigns.
It worked with its agency The Specialist Works and solution provider Partnerize. The Specialist Works reviewed its publisher database, identifying partners with an audience that fit the ‘aspirational’ demographic OVO was looking for, with just two publishers selected. Audiences were extended by asking publishers to mirror lookalike shoppers from premium brands such as Marks & Spencer, Apple and Waitrose and by also targeting those Sky Sports/ BT Sports customers who aligned with an ideal consumer profile.
Partner newsletter and email communications from publishers were synchronised with TV ads, both carrying similar messaging promoting the new tariff. Comms were also sent to a standard ‘utility and interest-led’ audience through generic affiliate partners to create a ‘control group’, to determine if this cross-channel approach led to more quotes and sales.
Through the combined efforts of The Specialist Works, OVO and publisher teams and with real-time tracking through the Partnerize platform, the campaign achieved impressive results, exceeding order goals and maintaining consistent conversion rates, despite the challenging business environment in 2020.
The Better Smart tariff has become OVO’s top performing tariff since launch.