This years Association of Energy Services Professionals’ (AESP) Spring Conference & Expo was held in Atlanta, GA. The theme was “What’s New in Program Marketing & Implementation.”

AESP was founded in 1989 as a not-for-profit member- based association “dedicated to improving the delivery and implementation of energy efficiency, energy management and distributed renewable resources.” AESP provides professional development programs, a network of energy practitioners, and promotes the transfer of knowledge and experience. AESP members work in the energy services industry and represent electric and natural gas utilities, public benefits associations, regulatory and non-profit entities, vendors, manufacturers and consulting firms.

I attended on behalf of GoodCents, the local host sponsor. The attendees were predominantly utility program implementers (“vendors”), though approximately 25% were from utilities. The expo hall was primarily composed of vendors who implement programs or provide software and/or hardware to utilities.

The conference was incredibly well organized and the AESP staff did an excellent job of promoting networking amongst the attendees. Throughout the conference there were numerous raffles and prizes and an overall friendly atmosphere. Although many of the educational sessions didn’t relate directly to my current projects, it was helpful meeting many of the players in the vendor industry.  One stand out session was on marketing energy efficiency programs that included representatives from GoodCents (discussing ways to use social media), Georgia Power (there “sniff out the savings campaign”), and Apogee (using mobile apps). I’m actually embarrassed to say it, but I had no idea how robust and cleaver Georgia Power’s marketing was. I guess I don’t watch enough TV!

The video spots do a great job of blending education and humor. When promoting energy efficiency it’s easy to get trapped into heavy-handed doom and gloom messaging or unexciting dry technical information. I think Georgia Power found a nice balance- now they just need to promote the spots more!

Here’s one of my favorite video spots from Georgia Power. And if you’re a Glee fan see if you recognize the woman turning off the lights at the kennel!

You can view the rest on their website and YouTube.