Santee Cooper’s Campaign Educates Customers on How to Smartly Save On Their Energy Bill

Santee Cooper, South Carolina’s largest power and water utility provider, this month launched a new ad campaign aimed at educating customers on how to smartly shift their energy usage during peak times so that they can better control their bills and maximise savings.

Carrying the tagline, “Defeat the Peak. Bank the Savings,” the effort, created by agency of record Brandon, which is part of the TBA Worldwide independent collective of agencies, brings this educational concept to life via a light-hearted, comic rivalry between two neighbouring families. 

Ads show how two households, the Santees and the Coopers, from the grandparents to the kids, all participate in various tips and best practices to lower their monthly energy costs. The goal? To see which family can outpace the other when it comes to lowering energy fees. Such tips include adjusting the times when common household appliances, including the dishwasher, air conditioner, washer and dryer are turned on, so as to shift usage time to be outside of daily peak intervals — namely 3-6 p.m. from April to October and 6-9 a.m. from November to March.

Per Santee Cooper, the campaign’s goal is to educate customers in its target markets so that they know exactly what actions to take to keep their energy bills low once its new rate structure goes into effect.

“This campaign isn’t just about saving energy – it’s about empowering Santee Cooper’s customers to take control of their bills through simple, actionable steps,” said Kathryn Davenel, associate creative director, Brandon. “Our latest work, in partnership with our client, shows how small shifts in energy usage can create big savings and defeat the peak. From a macro perspective, it’s timely and important because it ties back to the idea that the consumer is in control.” 

Produced entirely in house, this collaboration also serves as a testament to the benefits to both marketers and agencies, and, most importantly, consumers, when utilising this model. 

From faster decision making processes to easier collaboration and a more efficient and streamlined workflow, bringing the campaign creation — from concept to launch — in-house resulted in an even higher-quality end product. 

“With direct communication—daily check-ins, quick touchpoints, and shared production decks—we could quickly adjust and keep everything on track,” said Brandon’s in-house director Ben Cantrell. Another upside: Client feedback could be addressed and resolved in real time. 

The Brandon team also utilised a strategic and innovative, tech driven creative approach. 

Said Cantrell, “One of our smartest calls was shooting the entire campaign on a Fisher 11 Dolly, which we quickly nicknamed The Daymaker. It lived up to the name, letting us move fast and make precise adjustments without wasting time laying track. The flexibility it gave us was a total game-changer.”

The effort runs through the end of the year and spans digital OOH, online video, connected television and over-the-top advertising, paid social and video ads.

Santee Cooper’s primary customer service areas are the Berkeley, Georgetown and Horry counties in South Carolina