PUD Conservation Sensation campaign nets two national awards

Snohomish County PUD has received two national communications awards for its Be a Conservation Sensation campaign, launched in 2008.

The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and Utility Communicators International (UCI) this month recognized the PUD for its innovative campaign that draws on real-life energy saving stories from consumers and businesses in the community.

The utility won a prestigious IABC Gold Quill Award of Merit for the Conservation Sensation Campaign. The IABC competition generated nearly 1,000 entries from 26 countries. The utility also received a second place UCI award for the campaign. UCI represents more than 100 electricity, gas and water utilities in the U.S., Canada and Bermuda.

"We took an outside the box approach to capture greater attention and generate some excitement around conservation," said PUD Corporate Communications Officer Julee Cunningham. "The campaign provides some specific ways to save energy at home and at work. We drew on a broad range of communications, including mailers, advertising, special events and even held a conservation video competition for customers."

The campaign has proven successful as the utility exceeded its overall conservation goal by 11 percent in 2008 — an annual savings enough to serve 5,000 homes.

High campaign awareness also helped drive sales of energy saving compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs, said Cunningham. The utility has topped $3 million in sales of bulbs since 2000, in part through a partnership with local retailers.

In addition to the awards for the Conservation Sensation campaign, PUD also received a first place UCI award for its Slips, Trips & Falls safety campaign and a second place UCI award for its 2008 annual report.