Communication strategy at a glance

• Reductions to feed-in tariffs meant Dulas needed to shift away from project construction and refine its services.
• We were hired to deliver a marketing and PR campaign that targeted second stage investors and those looking to optimise existing renewable energy assets.
• Our campaign has succeeded in repositioning the company within the UK market, as a leading engineering consultancy that enhances project returns through its technical and planning expertise.

THE MARKETING CHALLENGE

We first met Dulas, and their Sales and Marketing Director, Alistair Marsden, at an A Word About Wind event in early 2016. Dulas’ passion for engineering sustainable energy solutions was immediately apparent, and we set to work to create a campaign that would boost their exposure and win them more work in the competitive UK and Irish markets.

With government subsidies for the UK renewable energy market declining, Dulas recognised that it would have to change gears and shift its focus away from building new projects if it was to remain competitive.

In adapting to this changing landscape, Dulas needed to emphasise an ability to diversify its service offering and add value to existing projects – accessing new audiences and helping investors to secure maximum returns on their assets. Alongside this shift, it aimed to access new audiences and help investors secure maximum returns on their assets.

To achieve this commercial cut-through and reposition itself successfully, Dulas recognised that it would require additional communications expertise, beyond the capacity of its in-house marketing team.

OUR CAMPAIGN

Following a successful pitch, we worked closely with Alistair and the internal marketing team at Dulas, to craft a comprehensive two-year marketing and public relations campaign that would increase Dulas’ profile and generate commercial leads with its target audience. This drew on Dulas’ heritage and cooperative values.

We developed a series of messages that drew strongly on the business’s heritage: its long history within the UK renewables space, co-operative values and sustainable approach to renewable energy and international development.

In addition, and as part of Dulas’ ambition to move beyond the UK and access new markets, we worked with the business’s senior directors to develop a series of reports that leverage the broad range of engineering expertise Dulas possesses. The first of these consisted of an in-depth assessment of the potential for solar development at Irish brownfield sites. Its distribution to key clients and prospective clients was accompanied by targeted media and marketing activities, which together led to a number of new business opportunities.

RESULTS

In the space of less than a year Dulas has dramatically raised its profile through regular, high quality editorial coverage, such that it was recently named UK Social Enterprise of the Year.

The campaign has not only solidified its position in the domestic market, but further allowed Dulas to leverage what is now an established brand to gain greater access to new markets and diversify its service offering.