Communication turnaround

WW: What was the impetus that created the spark for a BKW magazine?
Michael Hählen: In Flagranti has been the agency for "1to1 energy" for seven years. This is an electricity brand for end customers that BKW operates together with around 140 energy suppliers from 15 cantons and the Principality of Liechtenstein. In connection with this mandate, we discovered that BKW has very different communication needs than the other partners. We discussed on various occasions how we could create our own channels and share common content. A year ago, these discussions led to the creation of the BKW Magazine product - as an independent medium.
 
On December 20, 2013, a special issue on "Mühleberg" was distributed throughout Switzerland. What was the aim?
Martin Schweikert: It is a response to the great media attention we experienced in connection with the decision to shut down Mühleberg. We recognized that the BKW Group is very strongly associated with Mühleberg in the public mind. However, the reputation studies paint a different picture. We therefore wanted to show how BKW is moving forward in connection with the energy transition.
 
What does it take for a magazine realized by an electricity producer to be credible and not simply perceived as manipulation?
Schweikert: Of course, objectivity is needed. The information needs of readers and customers are at the center. We also want to show the importance of electricity. After all, industrialization and a large part of the comfort of the last 50 years have to do with the availability of electrical energy. Electricity is of immense importance, also for the economy. It is therefore important that we have solutions ready when the classic fossil or nuclear energy sources dry up.
 
Does the consumer want such a magazine?
Schweikert: Yes, that is the case. The response is immense. When we publish a call for entries for a guided tour of a power plant or launch a competition, the feedback is great. Clearly, the public does not find such a magazine superfluous, but sees added value in it.
 
What is the task of the BKW customer magazine?
Schweikert: To provide information about current issues and, above all, to show the future of energy supply. What can the public, what can customers expect from BKW? Of course, the BKW magazine is also a product in which BKW wants to present itself: How do we, as an energy service provider, deal with the issues of electricity production, grid expansion and overall energy solutions? We are constantly looking for skilled workers and training apprentices: So the magazine is also a medium for our positioning as an employer.
 
Mühleberg is a political issue. What influence did that have on the tone of the special edition?
Hählen: In addition to the studies mentioned by Mr. Schweikert, we have conducted our own street surveys and seen that there are very differentiated opinions on the subject of Mühleberg among the Swiss population. Many customers are asking themselves the question: How should things continue? What are the alternatives? Because electricity is a complex and very abstract topic, this issue is naturally associated with a very high need for explanation. What will the energy world of tomorrow look like? What are the possible paths of a supplier like BKW? This can no longer be explained on a poster or with a simple statement. What is needed is an impetus that allows customers and the public to look behind the scenes, form an opinion and then understand what BKW is up to. And then perhaps ask the right questions. So it's also an impetus medium, in addition to a PR instrument.
 
Schweikert: A magazine like this has to take up different opinions and also allow critical voices to have their say. After all, BKW's decision to decommission the nuclear power plant in 2019 was not made for political reasons, but for business reasons. Nuclear power is a type of energy that was accepted for a long time and is still accepted by large sections of the population. But there have been problems with nuclear power around the world that have led to a rethink. In the meantime, new technologies have come onto the market, and we are already using them. Society appreciates these new technologies, even if they currently still come at a high price. Now, as co-creators of this energy transition, we have to show what the consequences of new electricity production are. Above all, we must make it clear that we cannot replace Mühleberg with renewable energies overnight. Especially since the feed-in of highly fluctuating energies into the power grids is not entirely problem-free.
 
Hählen: Customers want energy according to three criteria: clean, safe, close. Power lines over land are always provoking new discussions because of their alleged electrosmog. The customer expects answers to these questions. What comes out of the socket is clear. But how does the electricity get into the socket? That's an open question that is attracting a great deal of interest.
 
What was the reaction to the magazine?
Schweikert: We included the special issue nationally in the Sunday press and regionally in the Saturday editions in the coverage area. The response was very positive. Many people thought it was good that we as BKW have the self-image and also the pride to actively communicate our new position. After all, it will be around 20 years before Mühleberg is a greenfield site again, and by then BKW will be a completely different company.
 
What is BKW doing in terms of alternative energy and energy transition?
Schweikert: BKW started testing new technologies very early on. It founded its own companies for this purpose and left BKW behind for traditional electricity production. In the process, BKW has done pioneering work, especially in wind and solar energy. From the Jungfraujoch to Switzerland's largest wind farm on Mont Crosin to the world's largest stadium solar power plant, the Stade de Suisse. In the solar sector, we are increasingly focusing on installing and operating the plants, but we will no longer necessarily act as an investor. In wind power, on the other hand, we definitely see ourselves continuing to act as an investor and operator of wind farms, including in nearby countries such as Germany and Italy.
 
The energy market is in a state of upheaval. How do you approach this in terms of communication? It's no coincidence that you joined BKW in the summer of 2013.
Schweikert: We are changing from an energy supplier to a provider of total energy solutions. In the past, the supplied customer had a guarantee from the supplier, but was also bound by it. In the future, they will be free to choose. For us, this is a change that we have to accompany in terms of communications, because we want to retain customers, of course, but also win new ones. This means that we have to strengthen the BKW brand. To do this, we want to integrate the new technologies, which were previously managed under other names, and thus reposition ourselves as BKW. As the innovative service provider that can offer customers comprehensive solutions.
 
Naive question: everything comes out to the same outlet. How can I see what kind of power is being supplied to me?
Schweikert: Of course, you can't see that at all - electricity is electricity. But if you buy "green electricity" from your provider, you thereby oblige your provider to increase the proportion of "green electricity". So if, for example, 90 percent of BKW customers pay for "green", then we also have to produce 90 percent "green" or buy in Germany , for example, where the proportion of newly renewable energy is already very high. If the political will is there, we will also build up corresponding capacities in Switzerland. We are working on that.
 
Hählen: In Switzerland, there is a guarantee of origin for the origin and quality of the electricity. This is EU-compatible, because Switzerland is not an electricity island. The market is also changing rapidly. Seven years ago, we were still talking about consumers. Today, we're talking about customers who produce their own electricity and feed it into the grid, for example via photovoltaic systems. This opens up completely new opportunities.
 
Schweikert: In a way, we are going back to the beginning: At the beginning of electrification, there were not yet the big power plants. Many companies produced their own electricity, for example using a mill or running a small power plant. Then large power plants were built for centralized energy supply, but there are now ecological and economic problems with them. The current trend is back to small decentralized suppliers, for example using photovoltaics or electricity from heat pumps. A new market is emerging here. And we want to report on these developments in the magazine.
 
What options do you have available to you as head of communications?
Schweikert: The communications department comprises around 40 people, including the support staff at our visitor centers, exhibitions and trade fairs. We are also heavily involved in sponsoring, are present at events and actively lobby. And last but not least, our brand and communications specialists give the company a face both internally and externally.
 
How is the collaboration for the magazine with the agency? Counting: It's a cooperation. You can't simply outsource a magazine as a company; it's a collaboration. An agency can be useful if it understands something about the market and is a sparring partner, but also brings in the outside perspective and wrestles with the customer about content and presentation. In this way, you can support each other.

Interview: Andreas Panzeri