Duke Energy Customer Choice

Duke Energy Energy Choice Explainer Video & Vignettes

Project Overview

Duke Energy partnered with RESLV to create an animated explainer that educates Ohio customers on the state’s Energy Choice (Customer Choice) program. The goal was to simplify a complex, highly regulated topic while maintaining brand consistency, regulatory accuracy, and customer trust.

The solution included one primary animated explainer supported by three targeted vignette videos, intentionally designed to extend reach, increase completion rates, and create more opportunities for customer education across digital channels.

The Challenge

Ohio’s Customer Choice program can be difficult for customers to understand. Duke Energy needed to:

Explain how Customer Choice works in a clear, neutral, and educational way
Adhere to strict brand and compliance standards
Align stakeholders across regional teams, HQ marketing, customer experience leadership, and compliance
Ensure the content could scale beyond a single video to maximize impressions and education

The challenge wasn’t just clarity, it was delivering trusted education at scale.

Our Collaborative Approach

RESLV worked as an extension of Duke Energy’s internal teams, collaborating closely with:

Cincinnati / Ohio regional marketing
Duke Energy HQ marketing and brand teams (Charlotte, NC)
Principal Regional Customer Experience leadership
Compliance and regulatory stakeholders

This partnership ensured the final content was on-brand, customer-first, and compliant while still being engaging and easy to understand.

Phase 1: Discovery & Alignment

We began with a discovery process focused on alignment and clarity.

Key objectives:

Define the primary customer audience and their biggest points of confusion
Align on tone: informative, reassuring, and non-promotional
Review brand standards, existing assets, and compliance considerations
Establish success metrics for education and engagement

This phase ensured every creative decision moving forward was rooted in customer experience and regulatory confidence.

Phase 2: Script Development

With discovery complete, RESLV led scripting that balanced:

Plain-language explanations
Regulatory accuracy
Brand voice consistency

The script became the backbone of the project and went through multiple collaborative review rounds with regional, HQ, customer experience, and compliance teams.

Phase 3: Storyboarding & Visual Planning

Once the script was approved, RESLV translated the narrative into a detailed storyboard that visually mapped:

Customer scenarios
Step-by-step explanations
Iconography and motion cues aligned to Duke Energy’s brand system

Storyboarding allowed all stakeholders to see exactly how information would be delivered before animation began, reducing risk and increasing confidence.

Phase 4: Final Production & Modular Deliverables

The final animation suite included:

Primary Explainer Video

A comprehensive animated video explaining Ohio Energy Choice from start to finish

Three Supporting Vignettes

Choosing a Supplier
Solicitation
Aggregation

By intentionally creating shorter, focused videos, Duke Energy gained:

Increased opportunities for impressions
Higher completion rates
Flexible distribution across digital channels
Targeted education based on specific customer questions

Without these vignettes, Duke Energy would miss key moments to educate customers who may not watch a longer explainer end-to-end.

Energy Choice Explainer

Choosing a Supplier

Solicitation

Aggregation

Results & Performance

Early performance metrics demonstrate strong engagement and retention:

Energy Choice Ohio (Primary Video)

3,001 views since launch (May 13, 2025)
Average view duration: 2:21
Average % viewed: 77.3%

Energy Choice Ohio & Choosing a Supplier

340 views since launch (Aug 6, 2025)
Average view duration: :45
Average % viewed: 77%

Energy Choice Ohio & Solicitation

51 views since launch (Aug 6, 2025)
Average view duration: :36
Average % viewed: 88%

Energy Choice Ohio & Aggregation

70 views since launch (Aug 6, 2025)
Average view duration: :42
Average % viewed: 77%

These metrics indicate strong audience retention especially notable for an educational, regulatory-focused topic.

Why This Worked

This project succeeded because it combined:

Deep stakeholder collaboration
A disciplined discovery and planning process
Modular content strategy
Clear, human-centered storytelling

Rather than treating the animation as a single deliverable, the team built an educational ecosystem that continues to serve Duke Energy customers across touchpoints.

The Takeaway

This project demonstrates how complex, regulated topics can be transformed into clear, trust-building customer education when strategy, collaboration, and storytelling work together.

RESLV is proud to partner with Duke Energy to turn complexity into clarity and to build modular content ecosystems that educate, engage, and scale across regions.