Prove It Media

pacific gas & electric

Evacuation

pacific gas & electric

Evacuation

Finalist

Client

Challenge

Evacuation readiness remains a critical gap across California. In PG&E’s northern service territory, wildfire risk is a constant seasonal reality, yet many residents are still unprepared when emergencies strike.

Research underscored the problem. A 2024 Public Policy Institute of California study found that only 35% of Californians feel personally prepared for a disaster, while 20% report having no plans to prepare at all. When emergencies happen, people often freeze — not because they don’t care, but because they haven’t practiced or don’t know what to do.

One surprisingly common issue emerged: many people don’t know how to manually open their garage doors during a power outage — a small but essential step that can delay or prevent safe evacuation.

Intense and fear-driven messages have been known to overwhelm viewers. Prove It Media’s challenge was to break through without fear, creating a message that felt calm, empowering, and actionable — one people would actually watch, remember, and use.

One surprisingly common issue emerged: many people don’t know how to manually open their garage doors during a power outage — a small but essential step that can delay or prevent safe evacuation.

Wildfire preparedness has long been a critical issue in California, and longstanding gaps in outreach remain. PG&E’s Community Wildfire Safety Program campaign reinforced how seniors — especially within Latino families — as well as individuals with access and functional needs, continue to be disproportionately vulnerable and underserved by traditional messaging.

News stories highlighted seniors struggling with basic emergency readiness, from navigating outages to understanding evacuation guidance. At the same time, many Latino families live in the wildland-urban interface, where wildfire risk is highest. Yet preparedness communications often relied on fear-based messaging or technical language that felt impersonal, inaccessible, or culturally disconnected.

PG&E needed to deliver critical preparedness information without frightening or alienating audiences — and in a way that resonated emotionally across both English- and Spanish-speaking households.

Insight

Fear-based messaging can backfire when it comes to behavior change. When people feel panicked or overwhelmed, they tune out or freeze. Preparedness works best when it builds confidence. If steps feel simple, familiar, and achievable — and are communicated before an emergency — people are more likely to retain the information and follow through when it matters.

Idea

Preparedness messaging is most effective when it replaces fear with clarity and repetition.

Solution

Prove It Media developed Evacuation, a digitally focused, animated campaign designed to calmly guide viewers through the fundamentals of evacuation readiness — before disaster strikes. Animation allowed the story to be told in a way that softened potentially scary subject matter and kept the tone reassuring rather than urgent. The spot focused on a short list of high-impact actions. Simple steps were delivered through a rhyme-based structure, making the message easy to follow and easy to recall under stress. The campaign ran exclusively on digital channels, including OTT (YouTube TV), social, and online audio. Digital-first distribution allowed for precise targeting in high fire-risk ZIP codes, while also reaching broader regions to encourage early preparation. Media spend was intentionally split: • 50% focused on the highest-risk areas • 50% allocated to broader audiences to build preparedness before emergencies occur Launching digitally also allowed PG&E to “test the waters,” ensuring the tone landed as intended — calm, not scary — before expanding reach.