In late January, Power Ahead Colorado launched a campaign to inform Coloradans about the benefits of heat pumps. They make homes more comfortable and more efficient, and they cut down on indoor (as well as outdoor) air pollution. Check out this ad being featured across the Denver region:
Karsh Hagan, a local advertising agency that has been serving the Denver region for more than 50 years, has been the primary partner with Power Ahead Colorado in developing this campaign. Power Ahead Colorado's own Maddy Nesbit sat down with Carol Quinn, co-director of account service at Karsh Hagan, to talk about how it all came together.
Given that heat pumps are a new topic for many, what surprised you the most about creating Power Ahead Colorado’s campaign?
Carol: Honestly, we had to learn right alongside our audience. Our team dove into understanding what heat pumps do, how they work, and why they matter. That learning curve made us even more aware of how important it is to educate the community. If we had questions, we knew consumers definitely would too.
What was the biggest challenge?
Carol: There are a lot of different narratives around heat pumps right now and our challenge was condensing the multi-faceted benefits of a heat pump into a single, memorable line that could work across media. We eventually landed on: “Cleaner heat, cooler air.” Simple, clear, and true to what heat pumps deliver.
What do you think separates this campaign from others trying to increase heat pump adoption?
Carol: Consumer research! We spoke to 200 homeowners within the Denver Regional Council of Governments planning area (via in-person focus groups and online surveys). Because we talked to so many Coloradans, we were able to identify the benefit that really matters to people: comfort. That insight helped us focus the message on how heat pumps make your home feel better year round. It’s a differentiator that gives our campaign a real advantage.
What Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are you most focused on, and how do you define success?
Carol: The long term KPI is heat pump adoption. However, from a paid media perspective, our early indicators are engagement metrics: Are people watching the ads? Visiting the website? Interacting with our social channels?
Those behaviors signal interest and intent, and they help us understand how the campaign is resonating. It’s similar to how we evaluate major campaigns around events like the World Cup or the Olympics, high engagement is a strong predictor of downstream action.
The campaign features illustrations by local artist Brian Miller. What did that collaboration look like?
Carol: Our creative team discovered Brian’s work during the concepting phase. His style is realistic but still whimsical, which gave us a great balance of telling a serious story with a light heart.
Karsh Hagan always keeps an eye on local and global artists, and our Creative Director, Greg Ryan, is deeply connected to the Colorado arts community. Brian’s style offered warmth, color, and a touch of fantasy that you just can’t achieve with photography. Whenever we can, we love using Colorado based talent because it brings an authenticity to the work.
What is the most important message audiences should take away right now?
Carol: The single most important thing: heat pumps both heat and cool your home.
Many people simply don’t know that and the name doesn’t help! The first phase of this campaign is all about building that foundational understanding, while phase two will focus more on comfort and benefits, and eventually we’ll layer in details like rebates. Step one, however, is making sure people know what a heat pump is.
How does this campaign build awareness, understanding, and ultimately drive people to act?
Carol: This isn’t a “click here and buy a pair of shoes” type of campaign. It’s a long-term strategy, a slow build; market transformation takes time.
We’re layering the messaging intentionally by:
- Teach people what heat pumps are.
- Help them understand the comfort benefits.
- Introduce environmental impacts and rebates.
- Help them consider heat pumps when they need to replace their system.
We’re tackling this through both paid and earned media. Earned platforms give us space for deeper storytelling and fact sharing while paid media helps us reach people where they already are. Together, they help us educate Coloradans over time.
Ultimately, success is driving people to the website where they can learn more and eventually take action. Think of it like trying to turn a cruise ship: it’s deliberate, steady, and built for long term movement.