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While influencer marketing might bring to mind visions of unboxing videos, beauty product demos and clothing hauls, solar company SunPower wants the relatability and accessibility of creators to help people decide on a bigger purchase: residential solar.
Working with sustainability expert and content creator Shelby Orme, also known by her social handle @Shelbizleee, SunPower wants to help homeowners navigate the complex landscape of rebates, tax breaks and financing options available for those ready to start generating clean energy with their roofs.
“There is widespread, positive sentiment around residential solar,” Suzanne Leta, head of policy and strategy at SunPower, told Adweek. “Yet there is widespread lack of understanding regarding how it works—the benefits and the direct incentives for consumers in order to get better access to it.”
Shedding light on solar
SunPower first connected with eco-influencers earlier this year, part of a new marketing strategy put in motion by former chief marketer, June Sauvaget.
Sauvaget’s strategy centers on bringing the human aspect of solar to the forefront of the brand—focusing on the opportunities for energy independence in some markets while highlighting the benefits of clean energy for families and future generations in others. In practice, this has meant more lifestyle imagery in place of aerial shots of solar panels, and partnerships with TV networks and creators to give homeowners a more intimate understanding of residential solar’s benefits.
“We have to meet people where they are,” Leta said. “More than 50% of Americans don’t know that the Inflation Reduction Act includes an energy-related tax break, and that includes a full third of Gen Z respondents who really care about the environment.”
The Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law on Aug. 16, 2022, increased the federal tax rebate to 30% for homeowners adding solar between 2022 and 2032. There are sometimes local rebates as well—in Orme’s case, her local energy utility offered an immediate $2,500 rebate, which she walks followers through in an 18-minute YouTube video answering all the questions she’s received since announcing on social that she was switching to solar.
