Bord Gáis introduced Ireland to 'Zenergy' — smart plans that save relationships

Bord Gáis Energy, serving over 730,000 customers, launched its most significant recruitment campaign to get Ireland using its Smart plans efficiently, against Ireland's 2030 climate targets and the 2021 Climate Act's legally binding framework.

A relationship counsellor has lost her clients — Smart plans are 'saving their relationships and money' — bottling that calm as the brand word Zenergy.

The through-the-line campaign — TV and VOD shot by director Tom Merilion with Speers Films, OOH, radio, display, social and PR — ran on the insight that households spend an estimated 19 hours 20 minutes a year 'discussing' household expenses; media by Group M, PR by The Hive, creative by The Brill Building.

No results figures were reported. The campaign set ambitious switching targets and aimed to move households past debates over laundry times and EV charging with humour and a sense of control.

In February 2025, Bord Gáis Energy launched 'Need More Zenergy? Think Smart', its most significant recruitment campaign, created by The Brill Building — the agency's first work for the brand after partnering on its 2024 Shine A Light sponsorship with Focus Ireland.

The hero TV spot tells a humorous story of an out-of-work relationship counsellor who has far fewer clients now that Bord Gáis Smart plans 'are saving their relationships – and money'. The insight underneath: research estimated the average household spends 19 hours 20 minutes a year discussing household expenses, and most homes with Smart meters hadn't switched to a Smart plan because the benefit hadn't landed.

Head of marketing Meadbh Quinn called the campaign an exciting new direction: to meet Ireland's climate goals everyone needs to be smarter with energy use, and customers who embrace Smart technology quickly become advocates. 'By helping Ireland move past debates over laundry times and EV charging — with a sense of ease and humour — we hope to spark a movement. We call that feeling of less stress and more control Zenergy.'

The fully integrated campaign ran across TV and VOD, OOH, radio, display, social and PR, shot by director Tom Merilion with Speers Films and photographer Liam Murphy, with strategy, creative and production from The Brill Building (CEO and ECD Roisin Keown's team), media and influencers from Group M and PR from The Hive.

The campaign sells control and calm — 'Zenergy' — instead of kilowatt-hours, coining a brand word for the category's real benefit.

The relationship-counsellor device dramatises the insight (19 hours a year arguing about bills) without ever lecturing about meters.

Activation, not awareness, was the point: getting the 1 million+ installed smart meters actually onto Smart plans.

Sell a utility product by naming the feeling it produces — less stress, more control — and give it a word the category doesn't own.

The campaign launched in February 2025 as a long-term platform for the brand's Smart plan suite; LBB reported no performance figures at launch.