How to Build a Communication Campaign to Promote Renewable Energy During Wartime

Promoting renewable energy sources (RES) in Ukraine during active hostilities is not a simple task. The topic is technologically complex and triggers active debate around gas, nuclear energy, and the “green tariff.” At the same time, this is precisely the right moment to advocate for RES. Blackouts have made the topic of energy autonomy personal for every Ukrainian. The question “is there light?” has acquired a literal meaning.

In 2025, Power of Place, together with the European Climate Foundation, implemented the communication campaign “The Light Belongs to Us."

The campaign had to address several communication objectives at once: relaunch the RES brand in the field of functionality and add emotional resonance to it; build awareness and trust among the general public; showcase real cases; and engage different audience types — from those who already support RES to supporters of nuclear energy.

Therefore, the campaign was built in several phases, with each subsequent phase reinforcing the previous one:

• Phase 1: a nationwide survey and media monitoring. As a result, we obtained a map of narratives and audiences, which became the basis for all communication messages.

• Phase 2: work with media and Telegram channels. The result was free media mentions, more than 60 posts in Telegram communities, and almost 2 million reach.

• Phase 3: work with influencers. We built cooperation with more than 20 opinion leaders across four platforms, achieving up to 1.3 million reach.

• Phase 4: development of TV stories for regional television channels, which reinforced the “The Light Belongs to Us” narrative among a mass audience.

• Phase 5: creation of a creative platform for repeated communication waves.

Audience Research

At the start of the campaign, a nationwide survey was conducted, which made it possible to segment the audience by its attitude toward RES. Four types were identified, each requiring its own approach:

The key insight was that around 65% of the audience is, in one way or another, favorable toward RES. However, most of them had never heard convincing arguments based on real experience.

Telegram Communities as the Strongest Communication Channel

Telegram remains a key engagement channel in energy-related topics, especially for representatives of government and business.

The Telegram campaign consisted of two waves. The first involved placements in thematic channels (news, analytics, business), which generated 855,700 reach with high conversion and audience engagement. The second wave involved regional communities, which together delivered more than 1 million reach with significantly lower investment.

The main conclusion from working with Telegram was that publications about the research built audience trust, but did not sufficiently motivate people to act. This observation directly influenced the logic of the campaign’s next steps.

Working with Influencers: From One-Off Integrations to Ambassadorship

Media monitoring showed that the RES topic on social media was focused mainly on personal cases. Therefore, our task was to shift the emphasis from “in my own home” to “in our community.” To do this, we developed an influencer strategy across four platforms with three different content types: lived experience (showing an example to follow), edutainment (explaining how and why it works), and ambassadorship (becoming the voice of the topic in the long term).

Relevant influencers were selected not by the number of followers, but by their values and audience fit. The main criterion was the blogger’s own engagement with the RES topic: does this person talk about renewable energy or related topics? Are their followers our target audience? This helped build a native campaign rather than simply launch advertising. A person who is already interested in RES and actually uses such solutions converts an audience 3–4 times more effectively.

Television as a Tool for Reinforcing the Message Among Mass Audiences

Despite the rapid growth of digital channels, television remains the main source of information for some citizens, especially those who are less active on social media. Therefore, we developed stories for regional TV channels in the format of “live cases,” where real people and communities that had already implemented RES solutions shared their own experience.

In this campaign, television served the function of verification and trust-building. When an ordinary “neighbor” speaks about RES solutions from the screen of a regional channel, it creates a completely different level of perception.

From Campaign to Cultural Narrative

The final stage was the creation of a unified communication platform — a framework that allows the campaign to remain cohesive while subsequent communication waves continue to accumulate impact.

The “The Light Belongs to Us” platform centers the narrative that it is not simply “the state implementing RES” or “business selling technology,” but rather “we ourselves decide what our light will be.” In wartime, when the sense of control over one’s own future is weakened, this becomes a powerful emotional foundation.