Arizona SmartPower

smartpowerIssue: Arizona SmartPower, a non-profit company dedicated to promoting residential rooftop solar panel installations, partnered with Arizona Public Service to bolster the number of home solar installs as part of a state-regulated renewable energy mandate.

Tactics: Arizona SmartPower teamed up with STRATEGY forty-eight to launch the “Arizona Solar Challenge,” which offered the designation of “Arizona Solar Community” to communities that reached 5% of owner-occupied homes with solar installations by 2015. The STRATEGY forty-eight team built a grassroots campaign of current solar panel owners to be “Solar Ambassadors” who encouraged neighbors to go solar. Arizona SmartPower also offered a “Solar Coach,” who would meet in person with homeowners who were considering solar and walk them through options free of charge.

STRATEGY forty-eight coordinated outreach and media to 15 communities across Arizona who joined the challenge, garnered support from local elected officials, developed the “Solar Ambassadors” community, and held events designed to encourage homeowners to go solar.

Result: The grassroots effort was featured in local and national media outlets, including the New York Times, and several cities have already achieved “Solar Community” status.