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HELP US OUTHow E.ON Next used consumer insights to stand out in the UK Energy Market
E.ON Next, one of the UK's fastest-growing energy suppliers, turned to Zappi's Creative System to build a brand platform that could stand out in a crowded, price-driven market.
Key results
+53%
YoY growth in site traffic post launch
+155%
QoQ upper funnel impressions
+12 NPS
Increase in targeted regions
Validating the Savings Seekers creative with Zappi gave us the freedom to take bigger risks with our visual language and tone. The result was an AV brand platform that turned heads in a crowded market because we knew our foundation was sound.
THE CHALLENGE
The need for differentiation
Across the UK energy market, brands had started to sound the same. As the cost-of-living crisis intensified, brands across the sector defaulted to competing on price, and messaging had lost its distinctiveness.
For E.ON Next, this created a real strategic question: how do you build a differentiated proposition in a category where consumers spend an average of eight minutes per year thinking about energy? Sustainability had historically been central to the brand's positioning, but shifting consumer priorities called for a broader definition of what consumers value.
THE SOLUTON
Iteration before validation
E.ON Next came to Zappi with a clear strategic direction: consumers weren't simply looking for the lowest price, but for clearer, more practical ways to feel in control of their energy decisions. The challenge was translating that insight into messaging and creative that would actually land for their brand.
To do that, E.ON Next used Zappi's Creative System to test and iterate on brand assets throughout development, across both TV and OOH, rather than validating post-production. Working with an animated video asset gave the team the flexibility to act on feedback quickly, and they ran four rounds of testing before launch. These four rounds of testing allowed the E.ON Next team to fine tune their creative to be effective in brand recall, pacing, and differentiation. This kind of continuous feedback loop is what Zappi is built for: fast, reliable consumer data at every stage so teams can make confident decisions while there's still time to act on them.
THE RESULTS
What the data revealed
Across four rounds of testing, a clear pattern emerged: messaging tied to everyday routines and flexible savings windows consistently outperformed broad savings claims. Moment-by-moment emotional data showed exactly where executions were working and where they weren't, giving the team precise direction on where to revise. And because testing was continuous, messaging could be validated and refined as regulatory guidance evolved, without slowing the process down.
The Savings Seekers new brand platform launched nationally in the UK in January 2026, running across TV and OOH. By Q1 2026, it had delivered:
+155% upper funnel impressions quarter-on-quarter
+53% year-on-year growth in direct site traffic
+12-point NPS increase in targeted regions
THE IMPACT
A shared framework for better decisions
Beyond the numbers, the process changed how E.ON Next made decisions. Instead of navigating competing stakeholder interpretations of what "value" meant, internal teams could evaluate messaging and creative against a shared, consumer-backed framework. Research moved from a validation step at the end of the process to a live input throughout - reducing subjectivity and giving teams more confidence in decisions as they made them.
