PG&E asked Storefront Strategic Communications (SSC) to develop a safety-focused media campaign to help customers within their 70,000-square-mile service territory prepare for earthquakes, wildfires, Public Safety Power Shutoff events and other emergencies. The campaign utilized social-norming strategies to inform customers of their neighbors’ safety behaviors as a means of encouraging more widespread adoption of those behaviors.
For example, SSC used publicly available data in its display banner ads to inform customers that a majority of their peers had an emergency kit while hyperlocal print and digital ads asked customers to question their own preparedness levels. This messaging included “San Jose – do you know what to pack in your emergency kit?” These ads directed customers to a website (safetyactioncenter.pge.com) with information on what to pack in an emergency kit, how to make a personal emergency plan, and tips to prepare ahead for power outages including generator safety. These hyperlocal ads resulted in dramatically
higher click-through-rates and longer time-on-site session durations than SSC’s benchmarks.
After several months in market, customer surveys indicated that individuals who had seen these ads were more likely to pack an emergency kit, plan out escape routes from their homes, and create defensible space on their personal property to slow the spread of wildfire. By the end of 2023, after several years in market, nearly 75% of survey respondents felt like they were well prepared for a power outage event with ad recallers in high fire-threat areas being significantly more likely to purchase a generator or pack an emergency kit than non ad recallers.
To date, 3.8 million users have visited the safety site. More than 55,000 visitors have signed up to receive additional information via
email, over 42,000 have accessed our Emergency Plan feature and nearly 100,000 visitors have completed one of our defined goals. Perhaps most importantly, over 88 percent of visitors report the site increased their likelihood of taking important safety actions.
