Saving money is an empty promise

So what messaging will motivate Americans to become more energy efficient?

Here’s some more insider information from our soon-to-be-published Energy Pulse 2010.

Even though most Americans say they’re motivated to become more energy efficient by the promise of saving money (32%), that’s not a promise that marketers can truthfully deliver.

Despite the high number of energy efficient measures Americans have completed, only 15% say their bills have gone down, and 17% say their bills have stayed the same. That means that for 68% of Americans, their bills have gone up despite their efforts to conserve energy and control costs (and the vast majority of Americans claim they’re done something to conserve).

Energy costs are expected to continue to climb over the next 10 years. So the fundamental problem is that rate increases will outpace most consumers’ ability to counteract them, despite the fact that more than half of Americans claim to have completed several of the most important energy efficiency measures. So even with their best efforts, even with significant financial investment, most Americans are not seeing any savings.

A new messaging strategy must be employed to engage with those Americans who aren’t motivated by saving money and to avoid creating backlash when savings don’t come to fruition.

Marketers of energy efficient products can promise and more importantly, can deliver, greater comfort – which is a secondary driver for many Americans.

To learn more, check out Energy Pulse 2010, available on October 29.