There goes another year! Because we’re communicators, we could call 2023 the year of ChatGPT.
Don’t worry, this blog is not being written by a generative AI chatbot.
But it is being written with good old-fashioned gratitude that we have stayed in touch this year via EEC’s blog. We truly appreciate your readership, your content suggestions, and your introductions to your peers!
To thank you for another year of readership, given that some of you joined us quite recently, we are re-gifting our best-read content of 2023. We hope that you can put aside your year-end “to do” list for about five minutes so you can review the content that most resonated with your professional utility communicator and marketer colleagues.
We know you have been nice this year, not naughty, so there’s no reason to wait until December 25 to unwrap your present from EEC!
How Annual Reports are Like Lasagna and Carpentry
There’s a lot of ways to make a lasagna, just as there are a lot of ways to make a bookcase or cabinet. Cooking and carpentry are crafts – informed by both art and science. The same goes for writing, including writing annual reports. But there’s one sure-fire, guaranteed way to flog. Read our most-read blogpost of 2023, and don’t make this one mistake.
Thinking of Quietly Quitting? You’re Not Alone. How Your Utility Can Talk You Off the Ledge
It may sound odd, but I got a terrific client this year after she read our blogpost about quiet quitting and what utilities could do to combat it. Quiet quitting is not an entirely new phenomenon, but the reasons behind it are somewhat new. Increasingly, workers who can work remotely are in a test of wills with their companies who prefer, sometimes strongly, that workers return to working in the office. What a great way to drive talented people out of your company. Read why Duke Energy doesn’t have to fight this battle with its employees.
Winning the Battle for Hearts and Minds During Your Crisis
If you’re in the “crisis” business, meaning crisis communications, 2023 has been a bumper year: wildfires in Hawaii, hurricanes in Florida, and sweltering heat, ice storms, boil-water notices, tornadoes, and extended service outages everywhere in-between. Check out our two-part blog on crisis communications that drew hundreds of readers for Part 1 and Part 2. You don’t have to wait for a crisis to hit. In fact, if your utility is not in a crisis right now, use peacetime wisely and read up!
Does Your Brand Need a Detox?
More and more utility communicators and marketers find themselves working for a brand that has become toxic. Price increases, service shortfalls, supply-chain snafus — the “why” is easy to understand. What’s more important is what utilities can do before bad news hits. Follow the advice of former President John F. Kennedy, or the Biblical character Moses: Build you ark before the floods hit. Find out how!
A Few Words About Gas Stoves, Freedom, and Fear
Your customers’ gas appliances may be killing them. Or they might not. That’s something only scientists can decide. But as a marketer, it’s hard to resist pulling the “fear” lever to get customers’ attention. Given how crowded the media market has become, sometimes it may seem that fear is the only lever marketers can pull (since sex and discounts are, for the most part, off the table). Find out how one EEC client, a combination utility, decided to talk to its customers about building electrification.
I hope these blog posts help make your holiday season merry and bright! See you in 2024!
