Ecology Action

EVs for Everyone! or EVs para Todos!

Ecology Action of Santa Cruz needed a campaign to raise awareness about electric vehicles in low-income and economically disadvantaged, primarily LatinX, communities on the California Central Coast. While it looked like a pretty typical campaign on the surface, research insights brought unexpected considerations, and the Pandemic presented multiple layers of challenges. With challenge comes growth, however, so we rolled with the punches and forged ahead.

CAPABILITIES
Creative Strategy
Outreach Strategy
Research
Transcreated Messaging
Campaign Branding
Digital Marketing
Event Design

DELIVERABLES
Logo + Messaging
Digital Ads
Landing Pages
Social Media
Event Assets
Collateral
Swag

Spanish as a cultural connector of choice.

From the start, we knew this would need to be a bilingual campaign. During discovery, though, we learned that simply translating campaign messaging would not be enough. Connecting “in culture” is important to U.S. Hispanics, and data showed that language is a strong cultural connection point. Seventy-one percent of all Hispanics speak Spanish at home, either primarily or in combination with English. This meant that it was about more than just translating words from English to Spanish for those not fluent in English. The campaign also needed to resonate on a cultural level.

This key insight led us to a transcreated, Spanish-first approach to messaging. We brought in a local bicultural marketing specialist and native Spanish speaker to consult on campaign strategy and ideation. Among other things, we learned that many typical go-to catchphrases for eco-friendly products and initiatives don't resonate or have the same meaning for the Latinx community. For example, for this target audience, a “clean” car is one that is washed, and green is simply a color, not a car that is better for the environment. As we moved into ideation, we knew that keeping it simple and focusing on one of the primary campaign goals, to show residents in disadvantaged and low-income Central Coast communities that electric cars can meet their driving needs at an affordable price, was the way to go. Focusing in on that objective, the campaign theme practically wrote itself: EVs para Todos or EVs for Everyone!

Fun, Fresh Vibes

With the campaign theme in hand, we moved on to visuals. By this time, it was clear that COVID-19 restrictions weren't going away anytime soon. The ongoing Pandemic forced a rethinking of the strategy, and the campaign needed to largely speak for itself, which led us to keep things relatively simple with visuals, too. Having learned in the research phase that the younger Latinx population was the most interested in electric vehicles and often served as influencers in their families and communities, we opted for a youthful California look and feel, using fresh colors for a vibrant, cheerful campaign identity.

The combination of bright, eye-catching visuals and straightforward key messaging made it easier to reach the target audience through virtual outreach as shelter-in-place orders and other restrictions continued, allowing the campaign to continue moving forward despite the circumstances.

Challenges require adjustment

The original campaign strategy was planned at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic when the world assumed it would all be over in a few weeks. The plan called for lots of video and in-person outreach, neither of which were realistic given the restrictions in place. Ecology Action's campaign was funded by a grant with an expiration date, so there wasn't time to wait around and see what would happen in the world. We quickly pivoted and adapted the campaign strategy to focus on social media, webinars and supplying program ambassadors with tools for virtual outreach. Working closely with the Ecology Action team and our bicultural marketing consultant, we built landing pages, social graphics, digital ads and webinar graphics, ensuring campaign reach by transcreating everything into Spanish to make sure we connected culturally and all campaign materials were accessible to the entire audience. And while the ambassador team couldn't do the face-to-face outreach they'd planned, a branded car kit gave them extra visibility as they drove through their communities and parked their cars in their neighborhoods.

Adapt and Overcome

The original campaign goals included target numbers for local and state rebate applications, in-person test drives, Purchase Guidance program sign-ups and actual vehicles purchased or leased. While the goals were straightforward, achieving effective results required a lot of pivoting. With continuing COVID restrictions, in-person events were not possible until the tail-end of the campaign, so for the first eight months, webinars were the only form of "event" that could hosted. With attendance driven by social media, digital ads and Program Ambassador outreach, Ecology Action saw a 40% conversion rate for webinar attendees applying for the Purchase Guidance program.

The Purchase Guidance program landing pages were also impactful, particularly the transcreated Spanish version, which saw 135% more visits than the English page.

Additional challenges arose when state and local rebate opportunities were reduced or, in some cases, eliminated. To make matters worse, Pandemic-related vehicle shortages meant dealers didn’t have EVs available to sell or lease to interested buyers.

Even with these hiccups, the campaign still exceeded the target goals for Purchase Guidance program sign-ups and community awareness via impressions on digital and social.

When in-person events returned in the second half of 2021, we created materials to support Ambassador outreach at farmers’ markets and other community events. Colorful, branded tents, tablecloths, sandwich board signs, t-shirts and swag successfully drew in passers-by. A one-day Ride-and-Drive event drew in +300 visitors and resulted in 57 test drives and 60 EV purchases, despite reduced rebate availability and vehicle shortages.

While it was a little bit of a bumpy ride, working together with the Ecology Action team we were able to pivot and meet the changing demands of circumstances beyond anyone's control. Despite the challenges faced, the campaign was ultimately a success and the identity was so fresh and relevant that it is still being used nearly four years later.

Working with Waltz has been a pure pleasure. They provided us timely, professional marketing design and collateral at a competitive price. As with any great relationship, the ability to relate and communicate has been central to our project. I would wholeheartedly recommend working with the team at Waltz.”

Sabrina Delk

EV Program and Events Specialist, EcologyAction