ABOUT

Summary:
In the midst of dreary, cold winter weather, when people are more conscious of their energy usage, E.ON wanted to produce a positive moment to help people beat the winter blues.
We created ‘Shot of Summer,’ an inflatable pop-up event that engaged consumers in a fun and unexpected way.
In just three days over 2,800 visitors walked into our giant doughnut-shaped bubble installation. What was inside the bubble? A warm welcome, mini-golf, table tennis, a selfie booth, doughnuts, a video produced by solar and battery technology, and even a Love Island finalist.

Concept:
Our idea? We created a visually exciting and unusual space for people to recharge. The pop-up was set in a bubble – The Medusa – created by German installation artists Plastique Fantastique in collaboration with Bisqit, our internal creative agency. We set the bubble at a warm 20°C, welcoming visitors with free treats including doughnuts, E.ON branded sweets, rock and bottles of water. Complete with a bespoke mini golf course, table tennis, chillout deckchairs and a selfie booth, the Medusa was a 12m-wide see-through inflatable doughnut structure, never seen before in the UK at this scale.
We installed a forest of insulation-filled clouds and screenings of short films from E.ON - including one produced entirely using solar and battery storage technology. With a game to discover what type of energy personality you might be, the pop-up also gave consumers an opportunity to engage with energy and improve their energy efficiency as winter sets in.

Execution:
H+K’s behavioural insights team worked alongside our in-house creative studio Bisqit to produce the ‘Shot of Summer’ bubble: an experiential event that’s highly shareable, informative, memorable and fun.
H+K knew that Shot of Summer needed a new type of brand ambassador, one not typically associated with an energy company, someone who embodied summer with a large following: Love Island star Gabby Allen. Alongside H+K’s behavioral science expert, Gabby devised her top tips to make you feel summery this winter, activated through radio, social media and online, picked up by online and print press.
To build excitement, pre-event editorial coverage was secured in key titles The Evening Standard and TimeOut. H+K also created a bespoke paid ad to land in the Time Out issue on the week of the event. Coverage was also secured in Campaign magazine and listings title The List, as well as in Trendhunter, Londrada Vivere, Lextra and The Drum Instagram story.
We further launched a Shot of Summer challenge toolkit and a gift targeted at lifestyle, wellbeing, interiors and family bloggers. Seven accepted the challenge to create a summery environment/experience in the winter, responding in unique ways according to their category foci. Content was drafted for E.ON and Gabby Allen for social channels including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and H+K launched E.ON’s first ever UK Snapchat filter, designed by Bisqit.

Results:

• 10 live radio interviews and an audio feature that landed at a further 30 stations
• Snapchat filter was seen by more than 31,000 people.
• Gabby Allen’s Instagram post from the event was liked by more than 11,500 people. Gabby tweeted and re-tweeted about the radio day, tweeted and posted an Instagram story about the event.
• TimeOut shared the story on its Facebook page – gaining over 600 positive likes and comments in the first week.
• Social media influencers including @elusivebird (fashion blogger) attended the event and posted about it on her Instagram channel.
Our event allowed E.ON to directly engage with consumers to create ‘moments that matter for everyone’, something they wouldn’t expect from an energy supplier. The ‘wow’ factor was achieved with the Medusa installation while the activities inside engaged a varied audience, informing them about E.ON’s products and solutions whilst also creating an event that’s shareable – gaining traction before, during and after the event across all media. E.ON continues to use the exciting content produced around the event as part of its employee engagement strategy.