The former ad industry executive, who started his career at J Walter Thompson, thinks energy providers should stop bench-marking themselves against each other and start comparing themselves with retailers at the forefront of customer service. ‘Energy companies are like dwarves arguing over who is the tallest. In reality, we are all very short compared to leading high-street retailers,' he says. ‘We ought to be thinking more about the Tescos of this world.'
Refreshingly, Davies, 41, who joined E.ON last year from Abbey, takes the energy sector at face value. He is as aware of its faults as its customers are, and because of this he might be able to make a difference.
Like many others, he sees parallels between the financial and energy industries. He says that, like banks, energy companies all behave in the same way. However, he argues, the energy sector is 10 years behind the unpopular financial-services industry in terms of customer-based thinking. He believes there is too much in-fighting in the sector and is particularly agitated by companies that run spoiler campaigns.
Davies cites EDF's Green Britain Day as an example; rival energy suppliers, including British Gas, Npower and Ecotricity, all ran ads attacking the event. ‘Customers don't like energy companies washing their dirty laundry in public. From a customer's point of view, it just muddies the water even more,' he says.
What fascinated Davies most about the spoiler campaigns was that each company claimed to be ‘greener' than the next. ‘The word ‘green' has negative connotations; if you work for an energy company, you have to be very careful about using it,' he warns. ‘We are not a green industry. We can claim to make a substantial difference to green issues, but we are not green companies.'
Davies thinks this inward-looking nature perpetuates the industry's problems; it is often criticised by the media, the public and industry bodies for being deceptive and misleading. ‘I think an energy company - and I would love it to be E.ON - will have to break out of this cycle at some point. Someone will make a real move toward a much more customer-facing model,' he says.
E.ON is still relatively new to the UK industry, as it was only formally launched as a brand into the market at the end of 2007, to replace Powergen. Davies sees this as an advantage, as it means the company carries less baggage than other UK energy providers. He also says it gives E.ON a more modern and fresh identity.
On the other hand, the company also faced the problem of being fairly unknown. In 2006, it tackled this by signing a four-year deal to sponsor the FA Cup, which runs until next May. Davies praises the deal for building strong brand awareness. However, as this has now been achieved, the partnership is less of a strategic fit, which, he says, is why E.ON has not renewed the contract.
Davies does think sponsorship is an important part of the marketing mix for the energy sector and admires the deals British Gas and EDF Energy have struck with British Swimming and the Olympics, respectively. ‘These companies have thought very carefully about the areas they are sponsoring and how they are going to use it, rather than just sponsoring a dominant sport,' says Davies. Indeed, a new sponsorship vehicle is something that he is currently considering.
More pressing on his agenda, though, is promoting E.ON's first strategic brand campaign, which launched earlier this month. It is the brand's first work since it appointed agency DLKW to its £20m ad account in March, following a three-way pitch against DDB London and WCRS.
Davies says E.ON has overhauled its marketing strategy to position itself as leading a debate around key issues in the energy market, and the ads take the form of an ‘adult to adult' campaign in a clear move away from ‘patronising' ads dealing with sustainability.
Illustrations take inspiration from satirical cartoons in titles such as Punch, where energy topics are debated in an ‘adult' and humorous way. For example, one ad shows a man and a woman at a party. He asks: ‘So what do you want? To save money, look after the planet or never run out of energy?' to which the woman simply replies: ‘Yes.'
Ads will focus on three messages: the need for affordable and low-carbon energy; practical tools available to help customers save energy; and the solutions on hand to help customers control their energy bills. E.ON is backing the ad campaign with social media activity and a dedicated YouTube page. ‘E.ON being on YouTube is a bit like a dad in a disco,' Davies quips. ‘We were really conscious about this, but at the same time we have a really complex issue to debate.'
Another key issue is customer responsibility. Davies agrees that the big energy companies can play a useful role in reducing greenhouse gases and lowering emissions. However, he says some contribution has to be made by customers, who have a duty not to waste energy. ‘Of course, as an energy company, it is our responsibility to help our customers to do this,' he clarifies. ‘The YouTube site helps us discuss these issues.'
Davies is still waiting for someone to post a video on the site. He jokes that when this does happen, it might be of the naked Climate Camp activists who targeted E. ON by occupying the roof and lobby of Edelman PR's office in London's Victoria Street this month. Edelman handles E.ON's PR for its Kingsnorth coal-fired power station. ‘On the PR front, we continue to engage people in debate and work with organisations like Greenpeace,' explains Davies. ‘We might
be offenders in their eyes at the moment, but we can also do something about this. Working with us is in their interest.'
He says the next protest, next month, will target E.ON's Ratcliffe-on-Soar coal-fired power station. ‘This has been the next selected place of action by Climate Swoop, and by air, land and sea it will be invading our space,' he says. ‘I have no problem with peaceful protest as long as it doesn't put people in danger.'
Referring to his previous role at Abbey, Davies notes: ‘The banking sector was a great training ground for utilities. In both sectors customers have the fantastic ability to be simultaneously indifferent about the services, yet at the same time, massively emotional about them.'
Davies doesn't waste time sugar-coating the energy sector; he knows its faults. Yet he also knows its strengths, such as its ability to generate debate and public interest, and is determined to use these to his advantage.