The UK Government wants households to upgrade their homes to have smart meters; they automatically send meter readings to energy suppliers and allow for a more efficient energy grid. However, they been the subject of a negative press campaign in the UK. One article blamed a smart meter for a house fire. Whilst other articles have claimed they’re a gateway for cyber criminals to access your home network.

Against a backdrop of negative press about smart meters, our audience didn’t want to engage in advertising from Smart Energy GB. So we decided to create stories that looked like magazine/newspaper editorial. The tone was warm, with no actual sell or mention about smart meters until the last 2 lines of copy. Instead readers were engaged in a factual journey, telling them about the unexpected history and controversies surrounding everyday household appliances’ acceptance into the home. And covertly building up an argument as to why smart meters are no different to any of these ‘once new’ technologies we take for granted today. Only at the end of the copy, hopefully in a more receptive state of mind, did we reveal any Smart Energy GB branding – in the form of a simple URL.