U.S. electric utilities rely heavily on direct mail and bill inserts to market their green pricing programs. However, these efforts generally receive response rates well below those achieved by similar advertising in other industries.

But some green power direct marketing outperforms the pack. To understand the factors at play, we reviewed seven direct marketing campaigns that have proven unusually successful in selling green power. We assembled a review panel of both green marketing experts and advertising professionals from outside the renewable energy world to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the materials.

Based on the experts' analyses, this report lays out basic guidelines for effective green energy advertising. We develop a "recipe" that utility managers and others can use to improve their direct marketing, boost response rates, and reduce customer acquisition costs.