Co-branding goal for TV spots increases relevance of Tri-State's campaign

Tri-State is a power supplier to 43 electric cooperatives and public power districts, each of which is a Tri-State “member.” The nonprofit cooperative operates in Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming and New Mexico. When Tri-State found its business model was coming under fire as member interest in renewable energy was increasing, the organization turned to a TV ad campaign that sought participation from at least half its members, who would co-brand advertising materials with their own logo alongside Tri-State’s within their service territories. The success of the campaign has earned Tri-State the top prize in the “TV Advertising Campaign” category of PR Daily’s Video & Visual Awards.

The co-branding was the campaign’s top goal, vital to ensuring members understood the value Tri-State provides them and how association membership benefits them and their end consumers. With “Together” as a research-based theme, the campaign’s producers told authentic stories of connectedness and strength, with scenes ranging from football games to surgery, all of which relied on the seamless availability of electrical power.

“Ultimately, our strategy was to present a confidence-driven campaign,” says Tri-State. “Every piece was centered around the themes of collaboration, community and family, and the power that comes from combining our energy.”

The launch of the campaign included employee education and a toolkit distributed to stakeholders. The multichannel campaign included more than 350 print ads, 60 broadcast commercials and 40 radio spots, along with 39 custom landing pages. The video commercials were created in multiple versions and two languages.

Ultimately, 90% of members participated in the campaign, which generated nearly 30 million impressions in digital and more than 25 million in broadcast.

Congratulations to the communicators at Tri-State for this impressive first-time effort for the in-house team.