We needed to showcase E.ON’s solar technology in a completely unexpected, un-utility way. So we needed a partner that shared our values and could help the brand transition from being a faceless utility, to a brand that excites and innovates.

Gorillaz, a band who champion sustainability and push technological and creative boundaries were about to release the song; ‘We Got The Power’: The perfect message for a brand that needed to prove solar power is now a viable possibility.

We collaborated to create a music video like no other. The first music video, powered by the sun.

We showed over 1,000 dancing toys at a night rave with Gorillaz taking center stage. Everyone was entirely powered by E.ON’s solar technology.

We also resurrected ‘Kong Studios’ to create a solar-powered recording studio, that toured Gorillaz gigs around Europe. At night new talent recorded in the studio to create solar powered music.

On 19th May 2017 a teaser was released on Facebook announcing the partnership between Gorillaz and E.ON. The film then launched on the 26th May and was distributed via YouTube, Teads, Facebook and Twitter across seven European markets: UK, Sweden, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic and Italy.

By promoting the hero film through premium video platforms, we were able to reach a broad audience in a relevant context (adults 25-59). Social content was then shared on E.ON and Gorillaz channels, aiming to further engage audiences interested in music and technology. The campaign story and assets were told in more detail on the eon.com website.

As part of the campaign we also created the Kong Solar Studio which toured to Gorillaz gigs across Europe – Margate (10th June), Munich (11th November), Budapest (13th November). This was a live fan experience during the day and a solar-powered recording studio overnight.

We set out to catapult the E.ON brand into popular culture, and we succeeded.

People went wild for the content as millions shared our video organically.

Suddenly, the world was interested in E.ON’s solar powered technology.

For a faceless energy supplier, E.ON actually seemed pretty cool.

Our film was viewed over 100.5 million times, reaching 78 million people.

Over 239,000 hours of content were viewed in total, increasing E.ON’s website traffic by 8.1%.

This resulted in a 146% lift in brand interest and a 97% lift in creative interest in the UK, with even higher spikes in markets such as Italy which saw a 443% increase in brand interest and 243% in creative.

Most importantly, our campaign shifted perceptions of E.ON from a boring utility company to an enabler of amazing energy solutions by 94%.

E.ON rolled out a host of radical and innovative new solar products. But for millions of European energy users, E.ON remained just another faceless utility company.

At the same time Gorillaz, a band who epitomised technical innovation and creativity, released a new track; ‘We Got The Power’. Their values, broad appeal, and their song’s message perfectly captured what E.ON wanted to tell the world.

A solar collaboration between E.ON x Gorillaz was born, helping people to see E.ON and their new solar storage technology in a whole new light, by creating an epic music video supported with additional engaging content.

E.ON had some great stories to tell: smart, innovative, exciting products.

But if the storyteller was a conventional energy company, delivering them through traditional channels, the spark died.

We needed a new approach. We needed to wow.

We needed to tell E.ON’s stories in a completely unexpected, un-utility way.

However compelling E.ON’s stories were, they were unlikely to engage consumers via traditional media. So we decided to bring E.ON into the media that consumers were already using and make the brand a relevant part of popular culture.

So we partnered with Gorillaz to create epic, intrinsically sharable social media content that would showcase one of their latest innovations: solar storage technology.

We’d take E.ON into popular culture and make a utility company for the first time a relevant part of a world that people enjoyed.

In 2016, E.ON made a commitment to be different. It separated off its fossil fuel business and rolled out a host of innovative products. It committed to a new future in which its business would be less about selling people energy, and more about helping them use it better.

That change was critical for E.ON.

But for millions of energy users across Europe it couldn’t have been less interesting.

So we needed to make people feel like no energy company had made them feel before. E.ON needed to become the un-utility.

We needed to raise awareness around the new E.ON and engage people with the smart, sustainable solutions it offered.

Critically, we needed to tell this story in a completely unexpected way to help shift perceptions and inspire people about their sustainable future; making them realise that if this is today, imagine what tomorrow will bring.