Driving Conversations on Sustainable Energy with SEAS at ACES 2019

To elevate the Asia Clean Energy Summit (ACES) as the leading clean energy event in Asia, PRecious Communications adopted a multi-pronged approach that saw over 160 media coverage and mentions of the event in the digital space.

It is no big secret that the world is both running on—and out of—fossil fuel. With Southeast Asia’s energy consumption projected to boom in the coming decades, the race is on to find alternative sustainable energy solutions that are both reliable and cost-efficient for these emerging economies.

Against this backdrop, the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS) organised the sixth edition of the Asia Clean Energy Summit (ACES). The summit was part of three signatory events under the umbrella of the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) which aimed to drive conversations on the need for sustainable energy systems.

Bringing together energy professionals, policymakers, and industry experts within the global energy space. The three-day event served as a platform for thought leaders to share their expertise and opinions in accelerating the clean energy transition in Asia.

Further looking to ignite the vision of clean energy among promising startups, ACES 2019 played host to the second edition of the PowerACE pitching competition. This provided opportunities and exposure for innovative new energy companies centred around key themes that include digital applications, decentralised systems, energy storage, clean energy, new frontier technologies and e-mobility solutions.

PRecious Communications adopted an integrated approach that established Asia Clean Energy Summit (ACES) 2019 as the key platform in driving conversations on sustainability and renewable energy.

The challenge of creating a distinct brand message

Currently, in its 6th year, ACES has been a key platform in driving sustainable energy conversations and innovation within the region.

Covering several key areas which spanned across various streams of technology that included but was not limited to; solar, wind, digitalisation, micro-grids, climate finance, innovation, and cooling. The challenge was to balance the breadth and depth of knowledge regarding the renewable energy ecosystem.

Moreover, despite the focus on sustainability and renewables in the media sphere, SEAS faced an uphill task in driving awareness for the event. Specifically, there was an increasing number of competing shows in the region, thus there was a need for a public relations campaign to elevate the ACES brand as the go-to event within the renewable energy sector.

Additionally, ACES 2019 was part of a series of events under the umbrella of Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW). Thus, the challenge was directed towards building and strengthening a distinct brand identity for ACES 2019.

Bearing in mind the challenges that faced the brand, the team set to work, outlining key communication goals to ensure that planned communication strategies and activities are actively supporting the organizational goals.

As such, the team identified the following communication goals for this year’s summit

• Elevate ACES as the leading clean energy platform for Asia, essentially serving as an avenue for regional thought leaders across public and private sectors in driving conversations around sustainable environments fuelled by clean energy.
• Build awareness on clean energy, while highlighting the importance of collaborations between stakeholders, ranging from government agencies to industries such as manufacturing.
• Project PowerACE as the leading platform in the region for showcasing new technology and processes that support innovative renewable energy ecosystems.

Elevating the Brand

With the sustainability agenda garnering its fair share of attention in both the print and online media space, it was crucial that SEAS established a top of the mind recall for ACES 2019 both in the media and to its’ target audience through effective storytelling.

As such, the team decided to take an integrated approach, using a mix of media relations and social media to elevate the brand. This approach saw a combination of tactics that included; the profiling of key spokespeople, improving the social presence through original and thoughtfully curated content and establishing the credentials of relevant industry experts in the media.

This helped established ACES 2019 as the key platform in driving conversations surrounding sustainability and renewable energy ecosystems.

Building Awareness 

Climate change and reducing carbon emissions were some of the core conversations in the media sphere this year. This was largely driven by the global climate strikes and the need to strengthen Singapore’s climate defences against the adverse effects of climate change – as mentioned by the Prime Minister in his National Day rally speech.

Noting the relevance of ACES within the clean energy space, the team capitalised on these media conversations to amplify the brand. This was done through the pitching of creative story angles that emphasised on the importance of collaboration in the energy space to propel clean energy transitions in Singapore.

On the social media front, the team used both paid and organic content that focused on profiling the various event tracks and speakers for the event. This proved particularly useful on LinkedIn, where professionals within the energy industry are looking to network and understand the latest trends and insights within their sector.

Similarly, the content strategy leveraged on local stakeholders to drive both awareness and relevance for the brand using relevant hashtags – such as #ACES2019, #Sustainability and #RenewableEnergy – thus allowing for the brand to engage with relevant stakeholders and influencers in the industry.

Showcasing Innovative Technologies and Players

As the start-up hub in the region, Singapore has seen the launch of various innovative start-ups across various sectors. Illustrating the importance of innovative solutions in driving the adoption of sustainable energy systems, the team profiled several key start-ups that were relevant to the domestic energy market to the media.

This included the PowerACE winners, Okra Solar – recipients of the ADB Ventures Award, Qi Square Pte Ltd – recipient of the Ecolabs Special Award, and BeeBryte – recipient of the Enterprise SG Award. The team further disseminated three press releases featuring the PowerACE pitching competition to drum up awareness and interest towards the event.

On the social media front, the team drafted and curated content with respect to the PowerACE competition on the brand’s Facebook and LinkedIn social channels. This effectively allowed the brand’s online community to connect and stay updated on the happenings surrounding the competition.

Outcomes

As a result of these strategic media efforts, ACES secured 20 interviews and 3 opinion pieces across 12 media titles. This resulted in 164 pieces of coverage across print, broadcast and online mediums both domestically and internationally. These include features in The Straits Times, TODAY, CNBC, and CNA to name a few.

Additionally, the team secured over 40 pieces of coverage across the Asia Pacific region, Spain, United States, United Kingdom and Bulgaria in relation to the PowerACE start-up competition.

On the social front, the use of organic and paid strategies resulted in a 25% increase of total follower growth on the SEAS LinkedIn page – 80% of which was organic. The campaign period also saw over 600 reactions and over 100 mentions of ACES2019 related content. On Facebook, the SEAS Facebook page saw an increase of over 8% in organic follower growth. The content related to ACES2019 garnered over 155 reactions and 70 over mentions.

Furthermore, postings relating to PowerACE on both Facebook and LinkedIn saw over 254 engagements (reactions, shares and likes) as well as over 1000 clicks. Most importantly, the event saw over 3217 industry experts attending the summit and exhibition over three days.

Conclusion

It is safe to say that the future of renewable energy systems is looking bright. While the road ahead may be long and arduous, the growing awareness for renewable energy sources is a significant step in the right direction towards accelerating climate action and bringing about a sustainable future for all.

We are looking forward to the 2020 edition of the Asia Clean Energy Summit which will be held from the 27th to the 29th of October 2020. Click here to learn more about the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS).