Challenge:

Not everyone can visit an offshore oil platform or swim with the fishes hundreds of meters below the surface of the sea or even examine firsthand the inner workings of a hydroelectric dam. Thus, the companies that own and operate these sites are afaced with a transparency dilemma. Talk only goes so far in communicating with people about the energy industry – particularly about its operational intricacies or health and safety measures – and physical visits can be costly and time-consuming.

That made it difficult for Italy’s second-largest energy provider, and the oldest energy company in Europe, to communicate with consumers and potential employees. Established in 1884 after its founder met with Thomas Edison at the World’s Fair in Paris in 1878 and licensed his energy technology, Edison is now owned by EDF Energy. It is entirely coal-free and has strong sustainability credentials as it mostly produces natural gas, hydroelectric and other renewable energy.

“The objective of this campaign, which is still ongoing, is to create positive awareness about our plants and show in an open and transparent way the people who work and the high safety standards. We also wanted to show how plants are naturally integrated into the local environment and social community. We wanted to engage people and open our energy plants to everyone by giving the opportunity to discover where energy is produced,” says media relations and digital communications manager at Edison Florian Ciornei. “If there is any mistrust in the energy sector, that comes from not knowing things. If you don’t know how plants work and how it’s linked to the territory where it’s located, you perceive it as a hidden thing.”

Strategy:

Turning its sites inside out, Edison, with the assistance of the video production expertise of Italian communications agency Liqid, filmed 360 degree interactive videos of a hydroelectric plant and an offshore oil platform. “Our objective,” Ciornei says, “Was to show a different face of energy, to create engagement from our plants, to open our plants and to show our transparency.”

Edison has experience in innovative digital communications. The videos themselves and the transparent nature of the content, Ciornei says, was right in line with the company’s communications strategy. Last year, he notes, Edison focused on technical processes. It created technically-focused 3D graphics and videos explaining how its production sites work. The videos developed this year are a natural evolution to that strategy by now allowing people to take a look inside the sites.

It also sat alongside Edison’s communications work surrounding the Milan Expo – including debates, events and a presence at the cultural fair in Milan. The modern day World’s Fair style Expo has engaged business and governments in Europe and globally around the theme ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.’ Edison launched the videos during the last month of the Expo and invited people to its Milan headquarters to try out the 360 videos via Oculus Rift technology. The videos are interactive on desktop and responsive via mobile technology, but the immersive experience of Rift brings it to life in a unique way. The success of the project has encouraged Edison to expand its forays into innovative tech and to look into 3D hologram technology in the future.

Results:

The videos themselves are immersive, thorough and beautiful. They have, thus far, achieved about 300,000 views through Facebook, YouTube and other channels. But the real success for Edison is that it was able to make transparent and readily available an experience that was previously reserved for the few able to attend an open day.

The videos were also valuable for Edison’s internal audience, particularly the office-
bound staff at the company’s urban headquarters. “The first people that were shown the videos and try this technology were the employees,” Ciornei says. “Some people [aren’t able] to go to a plant, so it was a way to show them the real plants of the company they work for.” The energy sector in general has also been focusing on digital content as a means of appealing to potential employees who can learn more about the sector through immersive online experiences such as this.

The films are about four minutes each, distilled down from 13 plus hours of drone and helicopter footage shot over two weeks per site. Logistics were a challenge in that film crews and equipment had to reach inaccessible sites.

The first, Vega A, is the largest offshore platform in the Mediterranean, off the coast of Sicily, can only be reached by helicopter or boat. Aerial filming had to contend with inhospitable weather and subsea footage was only useful when conditions were ideal and when marine life was active around the platform’s pilings. But the results are unique. They offer a thorough examination of the inner workings of an offshore platform, overlaid with information about health and safety, and that platform’s interaction with its location.

The hydroelectric dam near Venina, Italy – nestled in the Alps north of Milan – was selected for its beautiful location and its historical setting. The dam was built in 1898 and is a strong flagbearer for Edison’s brand heritage.

“In Italy there is a particular climate around energy where people want to know more about the aspects of production, the environmental aspects and so on,” Ciornei says. “These videos were made to create a really strong relationship with the communities where the sites are located and, at the European level, to use the technology available to open up plants and locations which would otherwise not be accessible by the public.”

The videos do go into the hidden places Ciornei hoped to show. The epic music gives the feel of a role playing video game and the ability to control what the user highlights individual preference. Employees go about their work on camera and underwater, marine life floats by divers around Vega A’s pilings. At Venina Dam, the site unfolds as a rail line travels through the mountains and toward the plant, 19th century buildings and modern technology collide in front of the viewer. For Edison, which prioritises transparency and digital innovation, these videos are anything but strange, yet the way in which they immerse the user into the process and simultaneously share relevant messaging about the company, it’s an unusual and unique way to communicate about energy production processes.