ATLANTA, Feb. 03, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Apogee Interactive announced today that it is expanding its Personalized Video Messaging solution among Old Dominion Electric Cooperative’s (ODEC’s) member distribution cooperatives after success with ODEC’S early adopters.
Starting in February 2016, Southside Electric Cooperative and Northern Neck Cooperative will join Rappahannock Electric Cooperative and Community Electric Cooperative in using this solution to promote energy efficiency. Using variable data technology to turn data from the customer information system (CIS) into video animations which can be emailed to members, Personalized Video Messaging explains the impact of weather, number of days in the month and other usage factors that may have prompted changes in the bill. By the end of 2016, Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative, Prince George Electric Cooperative and BARC Electric Cooperative will begin using the solution to explain the customer bill, as well.
These cooperatives—along with A&N Electric Cooperative (ANEC), Choptank Electric Cooperative and Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative—can use Personalized Video Messaging to educate recipients on a variety of other topics including: capital credits, annual meetings, winter storms, prepaid metering and reducing energy consumption during peak usage, otherwise known as “Beat the Peak.” “Beat the Peak” is the video that Southside and Northern Neck executed during the summer of 2015 with tremendous success.
Email click-through rates for those using the solution reached an astonishing 30 percent, 26 percent higher than average email click through rate of four percent. Surveys administered by the cooperatives show that 95 percent of members find the videos easy to understand and 94 percent feel that they are useful.
As the person responsible for managing the energy efficiency and demand response programs for ODEC, Erin Puryear, manager of Member of Energy Innovation Planning, worked with its member-owner cooperatives to roll out the program. “Research from Experian found that open rates rose from seven percent to 13 percent when companies used the word ‘video’ in the email’s subject line. Another study from Marketo and Clearfit found that emails that used video for a direct call-to-action had a 53 percent higher click-to-open rate over emails without an obvious mention of video content,” said Puryear. “All of this said, the case for using video in email messages was compelling. The fact that the solution came from Apogee, a trusted partner that has worked with cooperatives for more than two decades, led us to choose this software for our member companies.”
Puryear and Greg Cook, vice president of administration and finance for Community Electric Cooperative will be presenting solution results at AESP National Conference, February 1 – February 4, in Phoenix. Their presentation: Wow'ing Customers with Personalized Videos for Bill Explanation and Demand Response, will be presented on Wednesday, February 3 from 3:15 PM – 4:15 PM.
Contact Apogee directly at 678.684.6800 or info@apogee.net if you are interested in learning more about the Personalized Video Messaging Solution.
About Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC)
Headquartered in Glen Allen, Va., ODEC is a not-for-profit, member-owned, power supply cooperative. It supplies reliable, cost-effective, environmentally balanced, wholesale power to its 11 member electric distribution cooperatives, which provide affordable electricity to 1.4 million people in 70 counties in Maryland, Virginia and Delaware. Learn more at www.odec.com
About Apogee Interactive
Apogee Interactive is one of the nation’s leading providers of customer engagement software services for US energy utilities. Partnering with utilities for more than 23 years, Apogee's digital engagement platform delivers proactive, personalized communication to consumers nationwide. Apogee's proven SaaS platform enables more meaningful customer engagement, proven sustainable energy results, reduced operating costs and improved program performance for utilities. For more information, please visit www.apogee.net and follow them on Twitter at @apoweb.