“We are a commercial operation. It is important to sell, it is important to communicate our offers”

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“ We feel the need, now in this phase in which we have an increasingly competitive market from a commercial point of view, to once again anchor some of our communication in the relationship with the customer, in the positioning of the EDP Comercial brand or the EDP Comercial value proposition.” This is how Vera Pinto Pereira, executive director of EDP and CEO of EDP Comercial, begins by justifying the company's new narrative, which now says in a campaign “EDP has much more to give”.

With a focus over the years on more institutional communication, the executive director of EDP also says that “it is important to sell, it is important to communicate our offers, it is important for the end consumer to know what they can expect from that supplier ”. Finding this balance is, from the point of view of management and brand strategy, the most challenging.

Abroad, he points out, “the big challenge as a brand is, given our very global footprint, to continue to have the visibility and voice that the brand aspires to and needs to support its business strategy”. “ It is difficult to make our voice stand out on a global stage with so many channels and where the word sustainability is part of everyone’s narrative ”, he adds.

Brand management, in Portugal and globally, the territories in which it is positioned, the coordination between agencies, creativity and also market objectives are some of the topics covered.

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On the one hand, it means returning to the EDP of old, the EDP of the Portuguese, of Portuguese families, the EDP that is close to home, which, in this sense, has a lot to offer Portuguese families. When we talk about a new narrative, there are two angles. In some way, over the last two or three years, we have placed a lot of focus, in terms of communication and branding, on what is EDP's global positioning.

Since the rebranding. Both internationally, placing this brand on the global stage and on international stages, but also here in Portugal, making it known that our EDP, owned by the Portuguese as always, is today a global brand, a leader in the energy transition in dozens of countries and a very important player in renewable energy.

That's where the focus has been since the rebranding, a lot of it was to position ourselves and make this global EDP known here in Portugal, which is a source of pride for us here, right?

But we feel the need, now in this phase in which we have an increasingly competitive market from a commercial point of view, to once again anchor some of our communication in the relationship with the customer , in the positioning of the EDP Comercial brand or the EDP Comercial value proposition, especially because, when we look at the market, we have some of the most competitive offers on the market at the moment in terms of price.

In terms of price, electricity and in terms of the portfolio of energy transition products and services that we offer to families, because we have been consistently reducing prices over the last three years, in a path that is very consistent with the energy markets and very consistent in terms of keeping up with these markets and passing on this benefit to the end customer. We felt that it was time to talk about our EDP here again, in the relationship with the energy consumer, alongside, and after all these years, talking about our EDP in the world.

We feel the need, now in this phase in which we have an increasingly competitive market from a commercial point of view, to once again anchor some of our communication in the relationship with the customer.

The Portuguese pay close attention to price trends and this is indeed a relevant aspect for Portuguese families. We felt that perhaps this path of systematic price reduction and greater competitiveness of our offering in the market was not so clear , which is why we are also giving some visibility and focusing on this aspect. This is the EDP of always, with a range of products and services with great value, at a very competitive price.

The goals are for those who left to come back and for us to have more customers coming in than leaving.

I believe that EDP will continue to be the market leader, not least because of the quality of its offering and the relationship it has with the end consumer. Our goal is to continue to be the market leader and, ultimately, to have more customers joining than leaving over the next 12 months.

Basically, we are starting a narrative here. I think that communication is not about a campaign, but about a consistent and coherent narrative over time.

We are basically in the first chapter of this new narrative, which will continue over the next nine to 12 months, in several chapters that build on this. Very soon, we will bring new faces and new protagonists to interact with João Baião.

João is Portuguese, he is the face of Portuguese families, he has been a presence in our homes for many generations, he is a figure for both older and younger generations, he has this ability to reach different audiences and different generations, and above all, he is very much what EDP Comercial is, he has been a presence in the homes of Portuguese people for many years. And then he is really funny. He is a person who is very easy to work with, an extraordinary professional, it is a pleasure to film campaigns with him because, in fact, he is fantastically professional. It was a reasonably consensual and quick choice among our teams.

And the goal now will be to bring in new protagonists to join João, to give this dimension that we also have. We have different offers tailored to each family, whether with more focus on energy, on the variable component of energy, or more focus on power, or percentage discounts, or fixed discounts.

They reflect EDP's way of being and this must also be reflected in its campaigns.

We must be as commercial as our competitors and other market players.

It's a very commercial speech, which has not been what we have had over the years.

It really is over the years. The focus is much more institutional and much less commercial. The truth is that we are a commercial operation. It is important to sell, it is important to communicate our offers, it is important for the end consumer to know what they can expect from that retailer.

Therefore, we must be as commercial as our competitors and other market players. Finding the right balance between what EDP is, which is much more than its commercial operation in Portugal — it is in fact a company with a footprint not only geographically, but also in terms of business, that goes far beyond the sale of energy in Portugal — and an operation that is clearly commercial, serving more than 3 million customers in Portugal, is, from the point of view of brand management and brand strategy, the most challenging thing to find.

I just wouldn't use the expression “EDP was very present until three years ago”, EDP is very present in Portugal.

I would say the same. We work a little differently. In fact, in the festivals aspect, yes, we do go out. On the other hand, we have had a very strong presence in all sports, marathons, surfing, these are territories…

From an international point of view, the big message is, in fact, what we have done and what is our competitive advantage and our leadership in terms of renewable energies, in solar and wind, in particular.

Where we were before, but we are increasingly important and increasingly visible. In addition, we also have other issues more closely linked to sustainability, environmental issues and social impact. We have had very notable projects in terms of social impact in Portugal, linked to the energy transition.

One of the good examples was the Cova da Moura project, where we brought solar energy and installed solar panels on the homes of more than a hundred families in Cova da Moura.

They are different ways of being, in a phase, a moment and in a global context of energy transition and the social challenges that this energy transition brings, with which we perhaps identify more at this moment than with the festivals themselves.

There will be a line of continuity. From an international point of view, the big message is, in fact, what we have been doing and what constitutes our competitive advantage and our leadership in terms of renewable energy, in solar and wind, in particular. We will continue to communicate and position ourselves and advocate for these businesses, this challenge and these agendas, basically.

We will also continue to communicate in a very comprehensive, strong and global way, what our relationship with end customers is.

Our clients include large multinationals in the technology, AI, pharmaceutical, industrial and global sectors, with whom we have success stories that are worth sharing. We have stories of energy transition in partnership, where EDP is more than just an energy supplier; it is a partner in the energy transition. This is another line of communication, where we will continue to invest from a global perspective, basically covering our positioning and what we believe to be our leadership from generation to the delivery of energy to the end customer.

Abroad, the biggest challenge as a brand, given our very global footprint, is to continue to have the visibility and voice that the brand aspires to and needs to support its business strategy.

Clearly. Our participation in the global, international dialogue on sustainability and energy transition will continue.

It is a dialogue that we believe must continue to have, especially in the context in which we live at the moment, where adversities of different natures are emerging, political, economic, social, and which must be addressed. We will always continue to be an active voice and participate in this dialogue of construction that is the energy transition.

These are actually different challenges. Abroad , the biggest challenge as a brand is, given our very global footprint, to continue to have the visibility and voice that the brand desires and needs to support its business strategy.

This is the challenge for the brand, it involves working hard on visibility and reaching all audiences. This is at an international level, given the size of the company, and in a context where there are many channels today, there is a lot of noise.

It’s hard to make our voice stand out on a global stage with so many channels and where the word sustainability is part of everyone’s narrative. How do we do it? In that interview I talked about being the company’s narrative.

I think first, what the brand should do is actually tell the story of what the company does or what the company has done. That gives a completely different substance to our brand strategy. At no point do we, as a brand, deviate from what the company really is and what the company really delivers.

This gives great credibility to our brand positioning. And then, in fact , we are able to build a strategy, whether in terms of media, formats and creative concepts, that highlights this narrative and this message, this story of our business.

It has been a privilege to work with both of them, they are extraordinary teams. We have a lot of talent here in Portugal, in fact. At Havas, we are able to reach the world, and at Nossa too, because we end up taking many of our commercial campaigns to other markets, where we also have commercial activity.

The two agencies work very well with each other, because we need to be in sync, to understand that on the one hand we are an institutional, global brand, and on the other we are a commercial brand in certain markets, namely in Portugal. This alignment and harmony is absolutely fundamental between the two agencies and I think it works very well.

When we are talking about the challenge of reaching more and more audiences, with limited budgets, coherence, consistency, is an enormous and absolutely fundamental value.

Occasionally, for specific projects we also consult international agencies, yes. The core of our strategy ends up being defined here with an agency. When we opened a competition and ended up choosing Havas, it was very much in the spirit of having a team prepared to work in EDP's different markets. What doesn't make sense to us is to have a brand strategy being built here, then a brand strategy being built in the United States, and another in Brazil. Especially when we are talking about the challenge I mentioned earlier, of reaching an ever-increasing number of audiences, with limited budgets, coherence, consistency, is an enormous and absolutely fundamental value. If I always have the same narrative at every point where I touch the different audiences, it will grow exponentially.

Having an agency to work with on a brand strategy also requires the agency to interact very closely with local markets. Often, Havas and I go to the United States or Brazil to talk to the teams, understand what the challenges are, what works well and what doesn’t work so well, so we can adapt this narrative. Sometimes we have an idea here, we turn it into a film or a play, a documentary or something else, and then, when we get to the United States, the messages don’t resonate as we want them to.

It is very important to work with each of the local teams to understand what the concerns of people in those communities, countries and markets are, and what message resonates best with those audiences.

It cannot be a strategy defined here in Portugal, blindly, which then becomes a matter of buying media space and amplifying it in all markets. There has to be very close interaction with each of the countries where we are present so that we can adapt the message to the local audience in each market.

Yes, I think this should be a source of pride for the Portuguese. In fact, we have here, based in Portugal, a large company that operates internationally at the highest level, that is a leader in the technologies in which it operates and in several markets where it is present, that exports this vision, this talent, these projects. I think this should really be a source of pride for all of us. As a Portuguese person, I am extremely proud to work for this company.

My challenge in this brand work is often how to reach more audiences, how to create more impact, with the same budget.

I would say that we have a strong cost discipline at EDP, which will continue, which is important and has been a focus of management for many years and will continue to be. My challenge in this brand work is often how to reach more audiences, how to create more impact, with the same budget. It doesn't have to grow exponentially. I truly believe that this is possible. It's a question of working, of working in a different way.

It has been evolving.

Nowadays, advertising is not just about creativity, but also about the intelligence with which that creativity creates an impact.

The quality of advertising produced in Portugal is enormous. We have creative people with extraordinary intelligence. I think that nowadays advertising is not just about creativity, but also about the intelligence with which that creativity creates an impact. And I think we do things of immense quality here. Especially since we chose a team here, Havas, to work with us on what is a global narrative.

I am very happy to see how we were awarded in Cannes this year. I have good friends who have received awards and I am very happy, because I think we really do extraordinary things here.

We have enormous talent, which is worth leveraging and which is another dimension where we can put Portugal on the global stage, serving the world and taking advantage of the global market, which is much larger than what we have here. We have the quality for this, we need to go further.

If we don't take risks, it's hard to stand out in this world with a lot of noise, a lot of presence, and stories that run the risk of being too similar. If we don't take risks, whether in tone, positioning, format or medium, it's hard to stand out.

They take risks. Right now I'm an advertiser. I've been on the other side, when I worked at Fox, and at the time we had great clients who took risks and who risked creating different content.

I think that EDP, as an advertiser, takes risks. In fact, if we don't take risks, it's hard to stand out in a world with a lot of noise, with a lot of presence, with stories that run the risk of being too similar . If we don't take risks, whether in tone, positioning, format, or medium, it's hard to stand out.

Not everyone takes risks. I think EDP takes risks and it has been successful. The last campaign we ran, with an American runner, talking about the power of the wind, was at a time when there was a lot of social protest in Europe about wind, windmills, wind turbines, the impact, the visual impact and whether we should have them or not. EDP has followed its path, speaking with pride, courage and solidity about what is a world-leading wind project and which is very important in the energy transition agenda that this planet needs to make. We will continue to take risks.

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