PERC $10-Million Consumer Education Campaign Approved

The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) on Feb. 18 took a substantial step toward launching a new consumer education program, approving a $10-million campaign for 2016 that uses the tagline “Proudly Propane” to create an emotional connection with consumers and marketers.

Aiming to differentiate propane through emotional engagement with the product, the campaign will seek to reach consumers through television, radio, and print advertising, along with a digital communications strategy. It will also include materials and content that propane marketers can use to take part in the campaign and enhance their own marketing efforts.

Although the council approved funding for the three-year campaign, PERC and The Richards Group, which is serving as PERC’s advertising agency for the project, still must decide on the centerpiece of the campaign. It is a choice between two concepts shown to the council at its Feb. 18 meeting in Dallas. The first is titled “Home,” a campaign highlighting home and family as a way of life, while featuring key applications of propane. The second, titled “Blue,” takes a more humorous approach, focusing on a propane delivery driver’s pet dog named Blue, who communicates the strong values of the product and its people.

A task force the council created in July 2015 recommended the strategic direction for the campaign, and teams of industry leaders, including councilors, Market Outreach and Training Working Group members, and a National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) representative, played a key role in choosing The Richards Group as the advertising agency and shaping the campaign plan. Industry volunteers will continue to be involved as a final concept is chosen and the campaign is rolled out to the industry and consumers.

The Richards Group and PERC will plan and execute the campaign, leaning heavily on the baseline consumer research conducted by the Nielsen Group to help shape the campaign and measure how effectively it raises consumers’ familiarity with propane and improves their perceptions of the fuel. After testing elements of the campaign with consumer audiences in coming weeks, PERC expects to unveil the final campaign concept at the NPGA Southeastern Convention and International Propane Expo in Nashville, Tenn. on April 8.

Cory Green, brand planning director for The Richards Group, said the campaign will be targeted toward homeowners. The brand positioning statement for the campaign is, “To those who are proud of where they live, propane is the energy source that fuels their independent way of life.”

“Propane allows you to live where you want to live, have the lifestyle you want to have, without sacrificing comforts,” Green explained. “Consumers want to live free, and propane gives them the independence they desire.”

On brand personality, Green said the propane industry is surprisingly modern. “Whether it’s a high-end stove, tankless water heater, or fire pit, you guys have the technology that’s very impressive. It’s not the ‘old energy’ that some people think of it as. Propane is very modern, very progressive, it’s moving forward, and you’re sort of continuing to push that.”

“Proudly Propane” will be the brand affiliation statement. It’s about the propane customer seeing his or her backyard tank as “a point of pride because that thing allows me to live the independent lifestyle that I am so proud of and so honored to live,” Green said. “It’s less about the stigma and about being proud of propane and being proud to use it.” Customers, he added, can become advocates who are so passionate about the brand that they want to talk about it with others.

With those brand goals in mind, The Richards Group showed two advertising concepts to the council. The first, titled “Home,” depicts a family using propane in its home. The proposed commercial would show a man driving home from a trip as the rest of his family completes its evening routine using propane appliances: enjoying a propane fireplace, taking a bath in water heated by a propane water heater, and going to sleep in a propane-heated house. At the end of the commercial, text appears on the screen stating, “To those who found their way home, proudly fueling the life you want, Proudly Propane. Clean American Energy.”

The second advertising concept is titled “Blue,” which is the name of the dog who would be featured in the campaign. The idea is that propane and the marketers “always have your back, it’s reliable, and there for you, but propane itself is kind of hard to show,” said a Richards Group representative at the meeting. “It’s a clear gas, so we tried to think of something that could really symbolize the ‘has your back’ spirit.” The Richards Group came up with Blue, named for the color of a propane flame. The dog would accompany his owner, a hard-working propane delivery driver who provides service to friends and the community.

In the proposed commercials, Blue would talk about how propane customers can live a cozy lifestyle by using propane, with scenes including a family in a modern kitchen cooking a meal with propane, and another family using outdoor living appliances and grilling food in a modern outdoor patio. At the end of the commercial, text on the screen would read, “Proudly Independent, Proudly American, Proudly Propane. Clean American Energy.”

“We’re looking forward to getting back into the field with messages directly to residential consumers about the benefits of propane,” PERC president and CEO Roy Willis told BPN after the meeting.

In other news at the meeting:

• The council approved two additional funding requests: $49,250 for commercialization of a new burner to replace existing technology in portable grain dryers; and $27,500 for the 2016 Oregon Propane Power Incentive Program to encourage construction professionals and businesses to adopt new propane-fueled products for commercial use.

• Council chair Tom Van Buren discussed the joint officers meeting of PERC and NPGA that took place in Savannah, Ga. on Feb. 2. Both organizations discussed optimizing their resources with a continued focus on the Partnership With States program and working on an integrated strategy to focus on growth opportunities to more fully unite PERC, NPGA, and the various state and regional associations toward a common vision for the future. —Daryl Lubinsky