PERC Approves $10-Million Consumer Education Campaign

Dallas, Texas-based The Richards Group is the advertising agency that will assist PERC in planning and executing the campaign. Consumer research is being carried out by Nielsen Group (New York, N.Y.) that will help shape the campaign and assist the council measure how effectively the effort raises consumers’ familiarity with propane and improves their perceptions of it. After testing elements with consumer audiences in coming weeks, PERC expects to unveil the campaign at the National Propane Gas Association’s Southeastern Convention and International Propane Expo in Nashville, Tenn. April 8.

The campaign seeks to move consumers from awareness of propane to purchase, persuading them to choose appliances that run on propane, either adding appliances to an existing propane household, switching households to propane, or building new homes with propane. The priority audience in the early phases will be homeowners in propane country, particularly in areas that show considerable promise for market growth.

In 2016, the first year of what is hoped will be a three-year campaign, messaging will emphasize brand familiarity and favorable perceptions of propane as a preferred source of energy for various applications in the home. Promotion of the key benefits of propane will be an important part of the messaging from the outset. Subsequent years will encourage selection of propane and feature a wider variety of uses outside the home and in the community. Content will reflect regional differences in the propane market.