Work
Energy Awareness & Behavioural Change
Improving individual engagement with energy through the personalisation of energy data.
My Role
- Product Designer
My Contribution
- User Research
- Product Design
Project Introduction
ResourceKraft, a leader in energy management solutions, aimed to address a major challenge: bridging the gap between energy consumption awareness and sustained behavioural change. While previous initiatives improved consumer knowledge about energy conservation, they failed to translate into actionable and lasting energy savings. The Engage Energy Communications Platform sought to tackle this challenge by leveraging personalised insights, behavioural science techniques, and multi-channel engagement strategies.
At project inception, the existing communication efforts were fragmented, relying on generic messages with limited personalisation. Customers often ignored energy-saving suggestions due to a lack of tailored feedback or engaging content. The company needed an innovative approach to sustain energy engagement over time.
The Challenges
- Low Engagement Rates: Users were not responding to traditional energy reports and tips.
- Lack of Personalisation: Energy-saving suggestions were generic, failing to resonate with individual user needs.
- Ineffective Communication Channels: Existing methods (emails, dashboards, direct mail) lacked cohesion and behavioural reinforcement.
- Limited Behavioural Triggers: Needed to drive enthusiasm and ensure executive buy-in for the digital transformation.
My Contribution
As the Product Designer, I led the design of dashboards and reports that translated complex data into clear, personalised insights that engaged users and encouraged positive behavioral change. Grounded in behavioural science, my work shaped the formation of each feature—from visualising progress to delivering timely nudges—ensuring they motivated action and built user trust.
I also crafted communication videos to onboard and retain users, making critical concepts intuitive and accessible. Through iterative research, testing, and refinement, I aligned design and product strategy to enhance usability, foster connection, and drive measurable outcomes.
The Objectives
- Enhance Personalisation: Deliver energy insights tailored to each user's consumption patterns.
- Increase Engagement: Implement behavioural science strategies to encourage continuous interaction.
- Improve Multi-Channel Integration: Ensure seamless communication across web, mobile, email, and direct mail.
- Drive Measurable Energy Savings: Establish clear metrics to track the impact of engagement on energy conservation.
Final Production Applications
Engage Platform
While information campaigns do not always translate into real energy savings. Visualisations and relevant examples enables households to see how much energy saving and how it relates to their peers around them.
Smart Billing
Visual Direct Mail
- GAMIFICATION: Comparisons can encouraged stakeholders to change their behaviour. We all like a pat on the back if we are preforming well or just to know that we are ‘Keeping Up with the Joneses’.
- CLEAR COMMUNICATION: Messages are far more engaging when they are bespoke and have precise knowledge of the reader. Concise language that is understandable and has a personality is more likely to be read.
BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCE: The use of loss language,
reference to social norms and encouragement increase engagement and behavioural change.
Dashboards
Information at a Glance
- EMOJI: Emotional cues make energy performance feel personal and encourage users to change behaviours effortlessly.
- TRAFFIC LIGHT COLOUR: Communicate performance—to give users an immediate understanding of their energy habits.
ENERGY TIPS: Actionable advice tailored to the performance—making it easy to understand, improve, and sustain positive habits.
Emails
Personalised Energy Marketing
- FEEDBACK: Improvements driving positive reinforcement.
- SEGMENTED RECIPIENTS: Campaigns with comparison, analysis & opportunities.
- CONCISE LANGUAGE: Clear & actionable insights.
- PERSONAL: Email content with personalised insights.
Impact on Target Market
- Increase: Email engagement rates through personalised recommendations.
- Reduction: Energy consumption among engaged users over a 6-month period.
- Higher Adoption: Energy-saving initiatives compared to previous communication efforts.
- Positive Feedback: Clarity and relevance of insights.
Conclusion & Learnings
The Engage Energy Communications Platform demonstrated that personalised, behaviourally driven engagement strategies significantly enhance user interaction and drive measurable energy savings. Key takeaways include:
- Personalisation is Key: Users engage more when insights are relevant to their specific energy habits.
- Multi-Channel Approach Ensures Reach: Combining digital and physical touchpoints broadens engagement.
- Behavioural Science Enhances Motivation: Using loss aversion, social proof, and gamification sustains long-term participation.
- Continuous Testing & Iteration Improve Outcomes: A/B testing and agile methodologies drive constant improvement.
The success of this initiative paves the way for further enhancements. Future iterations will continue refining engagement tactics, making energy conservation more intuitive and rewarding for users.