Suddenly, for a faceless energy supplier, E.ON began to stand out. Suddenly, E.ON actually seemed pretty cool.

Fans queued for over 2-hours to see the studio and 20k+ people watched the music recordings live on Facebook - impressive given it was 2am! Fans snapped up the limited edition E.ON x Gorillaz EP's we created, and over 82k+ people streamed the tracks created on SoundCloud.

By WCRS26 May 2017

The launch marks the introduction of E.ON’s new global brand position which reflects its desire to deliver innovative customer solutions that help create a better tomorrow. E.ON has worked closely with global marketing services network, Engine, on digital content for the campaign which will transform E.ON’s social platform and website with dedicated content seeded across channels

Gorillaz founder and bassist Murdoc Niccals, said “These days I’m not just a feminist, I’m an environmentalist too. That’s why Gorillaz has partnered up with E.ON – the leading eggheads in solar storage – to create a spanking new studio that not only lets us create more mind-blowing music, it also saves the planet. E.ON do batteries as well, meaning we can keep banging out killer tunes even after dark.”

Billy Faithfull, ECD at WCRS, said: “Ambitious clients, brave strategists, fame hungry creatives, fanatical music consultants, an inspired director, bulletproof producers, a thousand solar powered toys, a giant ball of gas in the sky and four beat-crazed figments of pure electronic pop imagination. True collaboration comes when everyone is firing on all cylinders. I count myself lucky to have been in the right time and the right place to blinded by it all and along for the ridiculous bone-shaking ride.”

The film paves the way for unveiling of the ‘E.ON Kong Solar Studio’, a concept based on the band’s original Kong Studios, which offers a solar and battery storage powered creative space for music projects. Using the power generated by E.ON solar PV panels, Gorillaz’ Kong Studios 2.0 will come to life at night and provide aspiring music artists the opportunity to create new tracks which will appear on eon.com/gorillaz.

Reaching over 59m people with over 82.6m views, our film catapulted E.ON into popular culture. This resulted in a huge lift in brand (141%) and creative (97%) interest in the UK, with even higher spikes in other markets. The campaign has also picked up a raft of awards, including three DMAs and top prizes at the D&ADs, Webby’s and The Drum Awards.

by Robert Smith

E.ON global head of marketing Anthony Ainsworth said: "Gorillaz have always inspired audiences and artists with their bold and pioneering approach to sound and visuals and that's exactly what this project was set up to showcase."

By Marketing Week Reporters 29 Nov 2018 3:16 pm

Perhaps most importantly, the campaign shifted people’s perceptions of E.ON from being a “boring utility company” to an “enabler of amazing energy solutions” by 94%.

The campaign led to E.ON standing out from the crowd.

In a notoriously low-interest sector, the aim of the event was to raise awareness of the new E.ON brand since its decision to sell off its power generation business and focus instead on sustainable energy options.

To achieve this, E.ON and its agency WCRS partnered with the band Gorillaz, which was picked because of its technical innovation, creativity and collaborative style. To allow people to get close to the technology and physically experience it, the brand created Kong Solar Studios, a replica of Gorillaz’s original Kong Studios that was by day a fan experience and at night a solar-powered studio where up and coming talent could create music.

Similarly, since the company has consolidated its UK marketing communications in 2015, their campaigns have been developing from fairly traditional formats of TV and radio (an example is for the Smart Pay As You Go meter product), to fully integrated influencer marketing campaigns, as Gorillaz themselves are very involved and conscious of green energy.

The studio will further travel with Gorillaz on their world tour from this month until November, acting as the driving force behind the campaign aiming to show E.ON as a purpose-led brand

Liam Stoker Editor, Solar Power Portal

This will be backed up by a future unveiling of the E.On Kong Solar Studio, which will be a solar-plus-storage-powered creative space for music projects.

Anthony Ainsworth, Global Head of Marketing at E.ON, commented: “Our collaboration with Gorillaz brings the possibilities of solar power and battery storage to life - using the sun’s energy as the driving force behind an incredibly creative and ambitious project. Gorillaz have always inspired audiences and artists with their bold and pioneering approach to sound and visuals and that’s exactly what this project was set up to showcase. 

Gorillaz founder and bassist Murdoc Niccals, said “These days I’m not just a feminist, I’m an environmentalist too. That’s why Gorillaz has partnered up with E.ON – the leading eggheads in solar storage – to create a spanking new studio that not only lets us create more mind-blowing music, it also saves the planet. E.ON do batteries as well, meaning we can keep banging out killer tunes even after dark.”

By Katie Deighton

“There is an increasing number of people not just interested in innovative energy solutions like battery and solar panels but ready to engage with an energy company in a different way,” Emma Inston, E.ON's global head of brand and customer communications, told The Drum. “We’re absolutely going to be at the heart of that movement and in the same way as we’ve transformed our company over the last couple of years, we’re working to transform our brand to truly represent the help we can give our customers today and in the future.”

Brittaney Kiefer June 15, 2017

Brittaney Kiefer thinks E.ON's Gorillaz music video is an inspired way to promote solar storage.