Frank Energy, Motion Sickness find success embracing ‘boring’ 

Energy is vital for modern life, but consumers aren’t particularly enthused about it; according to research by The Shelton Group, the average person spends just 6 minutes per year thinking about their utility company.

Why would we be excited? The energy powering our ovens, phone chargers and (for some of us) our cars is not only invisible, but identical regardless of which company we purchase it from.

When Frank Energy (formerly Energy Online) chose Motion Sickness to be the creative force behind its brand relaunch, the agency embraced the dull nature of electricity.

“When we received the RFP, our internal response was initially, ‘Electricity can be pretty boring,’ but that was also the opportunity. There was room to differentiate in the category,” says Sam Stuchbury, Executive Creative Director at Motion Sickness.

“The majority of other electricity advertising was often fairly vanilla, and although no one really wants to think about power, most tried to play in a deeply emotional ‘being a part of your family’ territory. We saw a gap in the market to be different and distinctive. We found that distinctiveness in simplicity and being ‘straight up’—that’s really how Frank was born.”

Keeping it simple

The relaunch campaign in 2022 highlighted Frank Energy’s straight-up approach and introduced the company’s mascot, a green asterisk, a not-so-subtle jab at its competitors’ perceived complexity.

Motion Sickness took the concept to the next level in 2023 with ‘Same Energy, Probably Cheaper’, featuring humourous ‘experiments’ in a lab with identical appliances, comparing the results from ‘expensive power’ to Frank Energy.

From making toast to a horrifying back-shaving comparison, the results were the same, while for Frank Energy the results were spectacular.

After growing its customer base by 7% in the year post-launch, Frank Energy grew a further 17% in year two off the back of ‘Same Energy, Probably Cheaper’. It also cut its churn rate down to 16%, in an industry where churn of 20-30% is common.

Michael Wood, Head of Brand and Marketing at Frank Energy, says one of the major drivers of the company’s branding direction was customer research.

“We conducted a number of focus groups, and the message was loud and clear that actually some of the DNA of Energy Online was still really relevant,” he says.

“Power’s not a really interesting thing, so keep it simple, keep it fairly priced and get out of the way so people can do better things with their lives.”

Price takes centre stage

While its brand relaunch campaign sold its simple, no-contract offering, the arrival of the cost-of-living crisis saw Frank Energy pivot to focus more on price.

The industry complexity Frank likes to poke fun at can make price comparisons a minefield, so the initial idea concept of ‘Same Power, Just Cheaper’ was changed to ‘Probably’ after discussion with the legal team.

“Normally there’s a percentage of people on the market that are value seekers, but anyone in Herne Bay with a mortgage that went from 2% to 7% was suddenly far more interested in their power bill every month than they previously had been,” Wood says.

Stuchbury says the TV-heavy campaign was also a good example of the power of traditional media, when used in the right way.

“As an advertising agency in 2024, you hear a lot of conversations around ‘TV is dying and needing to find new ways to use media,’ but this was a campaign where, whenever you ran that TV ad, the new signups went bananas. It was like advertising in the ’80s,” he says.

“It’s a successful commentary on finding clear space in a crowded category, but also on the need to make advertising that’s certain to get attention. Frank’s DNA has a unique self-awareness and quirk, and that has delivered a lot of cut-through. Testing power against power to prove it’s all the same may seem ‘stupid’, but you’ll probably remember it.”

Collaborative approach

With its marketing team consisting of a whopping two people, Frank Energy relies heavily on the support and expertise of Motion Sickness.

“With Frank, we have bigger brand projects that keep us busy for four or five months, but equally, we have an always-on collaboration within content, social, and sponsorships—like our partnership with the Warriors or Frank’s TikTok. That work is more about the personality of the brand, not selling power,” Stuchbury says.

“It doesn’t ask anything of you other than to wonder why that person is wearing a giant green asterisk suit, and why you’re laughing at it.”

Wood says Frank Energy has one of the biggest social media followings of any energy company in the world, and credits Motion Sickness’s work for them going viral.

“That’s one of the reasons Motion Sickness was the preferred partner; I’m not 20 something and not on TikTok or Instagram a whole lot, so we wanted people who really live and breathe that world,” he says.

“I’m constantly getting concepts presented for TikTok where I’ve got no idea what it’s about. That’s probably a sign of good creative.”

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