implied benefit versus overtly stated benefit: Windustry example
So.
I have always believed it was more powerful to create messaging with an implied benefit. It seems to me that permitting the person to articulate the benefit in their own minds and in their own words is the most powerful way of empowering people to ‘own’ the benefit … or at least the reasoning behind it.
That said.
Traveling to New Mexico reminded me of an industry badly in need of overt communication.
There are these beautiful 21st century windmills on acres of windswept rolling hills waving in circles as you drive through New Mexico. Beautiful in a modern sort of way and a reminder of the power that something as simple as the wind can create.
Here is one aspect of the overt portion. I tend to believe that anyone who has the privilege of seeing these “windmills” in action are exponentially more likely to actually consider signing up to utilize energy created by the wind (interestingly they call the industry “Windustry”).
Regardless of what I think.
Once in the area I started seeing Wind Energy advertisements in the newspapers. Full page color ads. All talking about what wind energy will be doing…providing energy to over 20% of homes in southwest…over 2.2 million homes serviced by wind power <don’t hold the numbers against me…just recreating them in my mind> but the point I am trying to make is that nowhere in any of all this advertising is anyone stating the functional benefit to someone who wants to sign up.
Oh yeah.
Sure.
Better for the earth and environment. The ‘greater good.’ Okay. People get that.
But.
The Windustry at this stage has to do more then just manage perceptions … they are educating. To me at some point people want to know what they…personally…are gonna get. A cleaner world for the next generation is fine and dandy but … hey ladies & gentleman of the Windustry … what about me, the decision maker, today?
Will I save money? Is it complicated? Heck. I may be willing to even pay the same amount I am now but I sure have a sense that I am going to be paying a higher price to have a better world (oh … note to Windustry folk … and most of us cannot even afford the basics … so I may want to put off the ‘next generation value’ for a little while if you don’t mind and focus on the me, me, me now generation value>.
In the end … I think this industry could invest some time telling people the basics. The greater good is really kinda understood. So it seems easy for the Windustry step up and make it easy and functional to the people who really can get this Windustry ball rolling.
Just tell me it ain’t going to break my bank.
That’s my 2 cents. Okay. Maybe a cent and a half.
Bruce, you are correct in noticing that wind turbines, or “windmills,” are used extensively for advertising purposes. Sometimes, the pitch is for utility consumers to pay an extra penny or two per kilowatt-hour for Green Power. Some utilities promote their commitment to Clean Energy through renewable sources including wind and solar. Then, there’s quixotic windmill landscapes on TV for the opening shots in Oil company advertisements…
The real benefits from the perspective of Windustry® are the local economic impact of Community Wind projects along with the energy independence brought by distributed renewable energy sources. Windustry is not a term for the wind industry at large—it’s our nonprofit educational mission to inform people about how progressive renewable energy solutions can empower communities to develop and own wind energy as an environmentally sustainable asset.
Thanks for asking!
thanks. still. all the multiple messages are confusing to a pea like brain of mine. But I admit i couldn’t get thru don quixote and I hear windmills played a big part in that. Too bad you couldn’t get all the constituents aligned in the short term with a nice simple benefit driven story which would .. well .. benefit the industry and your own group’s mission. but. bottom line from my perspective. i am all for wind energy educating people because despite some of the current distribution infrastructure issues (wind to non wind geography) i believe it is the best alternative energy option (or at least should represent the majority in a mix) for the future.