Ovo energy ramps up marketing to hit 1m customers
Challenger energy brand Ovo is looking to ramp up its marketing in a bid to “breathe life” into the “dull” energy industry.
The green energy company is trying to steal share from smaller rivals and bigger companies through its “cheaper, greener, simpler” brand promise.
Ovo has already exceeded its own expectations by attaining almost 40,000 gas and electricity customers since it was founded in 2009 and aims to reach 1 million customers by 2019.
To date, Ovo has focused on ensuring its services are easy for customers to understand, but founder Stephen Fitzpatrick says now is the right time to focus on building brand awareness, but in a different way to its competitors.
He adds: “We are in an industry where there isn’t much attention paid to brand awareness or emotion, it’s seen as a dull industry and we are trying to breathe a little life into it by using creativity.”
Ovo is now looking to recruit its first marketing director, head of communications and online marketing manager.
Fitzpatrick founded the Gloucestershire-based business in reaction to poor service he received from large energy companies and the confusing tarrifs they offered.
Ovo aims to compete with the large UK energy brands by providing easy-to-understand bills, using more renewable energy and having UK-based customer service centres.
The name Ovo comes from the Latin word meaning “from the egg” which Fitzpatrick says this fits in with the company’s ethos of being “simple” and conveys “fresh start” for the energy industry.
Ovo has just signed its first brand partner and is investigating further tie-ups and white label affiliations in order to accelerate growth.
