The Challenge
Vattenfall is one of the leading energy companies in Sweden, with a strong share of voice. They operate in a low-interest category and their services are perceived a commodity. Vattenfall aims to lead the change towards a fossil-free future by phasing out fossil fuels from all parts of society and showcasing the fossil-free opportunities that exist today, with both the general public and industry as target groups. Being known as a leader of positive change is business critical, as it drives consumer consideration. But it’s a KPIs that rarely make significant moves in this low-interest category. The key challenge was therefore to create attention around Vattenfall’s positive change initiatives, to drive brand KPIs “Takes responsibility” and “Leading change” – to strengthen brand consideration (ultimately enabling long term brand growth). Vattenfall stands out with its fossil free hydrogen technology, which only emits water as its byproduct. The strategic insight emerged from connecting this innovation with a universal desire for cleanliness – something that resonated across various consumer interests, including the skincare category. We discovered that our target audience place immense value on pure, clean, sustainable ingredients for their skin – a direct parallel to Vattenfall’s clean emissions.
The Solution
The insight led to a strategic pivot: Vattenfall's technology makes emissions so pure you can wear them on your skin. We introduced a beauty product; The Industrial Emissions Face Mist. This allowed us to engage with our audience on familiar ground, using a narrative that aligns Vattenfall’s fossil free hydrogen technology advancements with our audiences’ personal values and daily routines. A creative springboard that was unexpected in the category, differentiating the Vattenfall brand and making a complex technology relatable and desirable. To cut through the noise we dove into a, for Vattenfall, completely new category: beauty. Through collaboration with super model and climate activist Cara Delevingne as the front figure for the integrated campaign, and with the main message “Clean enough to put on your face” we interpolated freely from beauty industry conventions. By packaging our fossil-free emissions as a beauty product and launching it together with a world celebrity, we not only managed to cut though in a way that reached, resonated and attracted the younger audience. It was a campaign that put the energy company's inventive technology for a fossil-free future – in the midst of pop culture.