Brandpie Energy - Issue 04

For energy leaders, readying your brand for the future is not just important—it’s business-critical

Reframe. Refocus. Energy

Issue 4 | 2025

Brand Credibility on the line: why brand is your only defense

Energy Voices Balancing security and transition without losing trust

Culture How employee experience unlocks customer belief

Spotlight Two years on: Statkraft’s enduring reset

The brand consultancy delivering impact and unlocking growth at pivotal business moments.

Contents

The team

Contibutors Will Bosanko

CEO, UK & Europe

Colin Anderson CEO, Asia

Max Bhugra-Schmid Senior Consultant

The danger of inertia Standing still is not an option when you have the power to shape tomorrow.

Brand for tomorrow, not today Branding today is about becoming who you’ll be tomorrow.

Deva Corriveau, Creative Director

Sally Bye Managing Partner Lucy Maber Senior Consultant Chris Holmes Managing Partner, Culture Innovation

The AI dilemma AI promises speed and scale but without human oversight, it flattens creativity into mediocrity. Here’s how Brand Rebels are turning risk on its head.

Building AI-ready organizations How to properly embed AI in your organization, making it a driver of growth.

Bold ideas. Bright futures Why adaptability, innovation, and balance will define who leads in the next decade.

Walking the energy tightrope Energy brands are being forced to walk the hardest tightrope of all: securing the world’s energy.

Kevin Keohane Managing Partner, Culture Innovation, US

Wayne Roberts COO

Editorial & Design Sarah Baskcomb CMO

Bojana Lazarevska Digital Marketing Manager

Welcome A reset is here. What you do with it matters.

Has your brand caught up with your business? Two years on, Statkraft shows how leader–employee alignment powers business ambition. Digital friction damages recognition Stop obsessing over logos. Start fixing the clicks, taps, and swipes. Why energy’s next big bet is brand It’s credibility, not campaigns, that will win investor trust.

Are we drifting into mediocrity Culture without performance is drift. EX is the missing CX link Where CMOs can make a difference.

Ross Ellis Senior Designer

The untapped power source

Asia’s energy transition isn’t short of capital or technology. What it lacks is belief, and brand is the fuel that can spark it.

Standing still is not an option The choice is simple. Drift, or drive forward.

Bold innovators shaping the industry How the CHARGE B2B Innovators of the Year are reimagining what’s possible.

Brandpie Energy - Issue 04

Contents

Editor's letter

Welcome to Brandpie Energy

A reset is here. What you do with it matters.

T he energy sector is undergoing a reset. New rules are being written. Old assumptions are being stripped away. From geopolitics to capital flows to climate targets, the forces shaping the future are not waiting for consensus. But in this moment, hesitation is risk. Playing small is exposure. The leaders who understand that are already moving. They are rethinking not just portfolios, but their broader purpose. Not just technologies, but teams, cultures, and brand. This issue of Brandpie Energy is about that mindset shift. The leaders stepping forward aren’t waiting for perfect conditions. They’re making calls. They’re using brand to bring people with them. Not as a wrapper, but as a catalyst for belief, momentum, and action. This is the time to reset what leadership looks like. To move beyond maintenance and into motion. To back ideas that may not be perfect but carry enough ambition to matter. After all, if not now, when? If not you, who? You can't lead change by standing still. In energy, the middle ground is disappearing. The future is already being claimed by those bold enough to act now. Welcome to the reset.

Will Bosanko CEO, UK and Europe, Brandpie will.bosanko@brandpie.com

"The leaders stepping forward aren’t waiting for perfect conditions. They’re making calls."

Brandpie Energy - Issue 04

Editors letter

The future belongs to the bold

Bold ideas. Bright futures

he rules of energy have changed. Fossil fuels no longer command capital the way they once did. Electricity is the new growth story

Why adaptability, innovation, and balance will define who leads in the next decade.

and the license to operate now rests as much on trust as it does on engineering. Shareholders still want returns, but customers, regulators, and society expect sustainability and authenticity. The new rules demand adaptability, innovation, and balance: move quickly to reshape portfolios and seize opportunity; use new solutions, financing, and culture to scale clean energy; and deliver returns today while building the credibility to thrive tomorrow. This is not a moment for caution. It is a moment for leaders to reset, showing not who they were, but who they are becoming. >

Brandpie Energy - Issue 04

The future belongs to the bold

90 % 2 % of clean investment occurs in Africa, despite being home to a fifth of the world’s population. of clean investment occurs in advanced economies and China.

The businesses who win favorability with the public and investors alike will be those that pivot decisively.

> Adaptability: face the frictions

In 2025, global energy investment will hit $3.3 trillion. Two-thirds of that – $2.2 trillion – is going to clean electricity. For every dollar in oil and gas, nearly two are flowing into renewables. This reversal of capital flows demands adaptability. Energy leaders can’t cling to outdated portfolios and expect investors to follow. The businesses who win favorability with the public and investors alike will be those that pivot decisively – rebalancing capex, reshaping narratives, and signal clearly to markets that they are aligned with the future. Adaptability, however, is not blind optimism. It means confronting the friction that is holding the system back: grid bottlenecks and permitting delays, and a stark capital imbalance: well over 90% of clean investment occurs in advanced economies and China, while Africa captures roughly 2% despite being home to a fifth of the world’s population. The risk is a two-speed transition. The opportunity is to convert that imbalance into advantage through partnerships, co-investment, and credible pipelines that de-risk delivery. Investors do not expect fairy tales; they expect practical plans for connection, flexibility, and execution. Those who provide them will earn trust and a lower cost of capital. Innovation: beyond megawatts Innovation in energy isn’t only about turbines, solar panels, or AI-enabled grids. The harder innovation is cultural. Most incumbents were built for hydrocarbons. Their DNA prizes stability and scale. Transition requires agility,

experimentation, and speed – that’s a cultural revolution. Without it, even the most ambitious investment strategies will stall. Brand in this context is not veneer; it is an operating system. It aligns capital choices, behaviors, and proof points so that external promises show up internally. Energy companies suffer from chronic trust deficits. Rebranding without real change is greenwashing; but authentic storytelling, backed by measurable progress, can redefine reputations. Equinor renamed itself, but actively invested in renewables. BP’s “Beyond Petroleum” faltered–some say – because actions didn’t match words. Innovation in brand is only credible when underpinned by innovation in business. This is where marketing leadership matters: turn strategy into a clear narrative, back it with milestones, and make progress visible. That is how reputations are remade and how growth stories become investable. Balance: returns and responsibilities The tension is still real: the core challenge is to balance near-term returns with long- term resilience. Shareholders still demand dividends, especially in an era of volatile prices and high capital costs. But they are also increasingly demanding credible transition strategies. Customers, employees, and regulators demand the same. >

Brandpie Energy - Issue 04

The future belongs to the bold

$ 3.3 tr global energy investment in 2025.

The message for leaders is straightforward: treat AI as a core capability, not a pilot.

$ 2.2 tr of that is in green energy.

> Companies need to balance short-term returns with long-term sustainability through: • C apital allocation that funds both near- term profitability and the build-out of clean assets. • N arratives that reassure investors of disciplined returns while signaling uncompromising commitment to climate goals. • L eadership that resists false binaries. Transition doesn’t mean abandoning returns; it means finding new models of profitability. That is not compromise; it is disciplined portfolio design. It stabilizes earnings now and lowers unit costs over time. Technology’s double edge AI and digital tools are collapsing the distance between idea and impact. In the field, predictive maintenance cuts outages; forecasting sharpens dispatch; portfolio optimization lifts margin; automation reduces losses. In the market, data personalizes propositions and simplifies journeys. Yet technology also brings load: the rise of data centers is pushing electricity demand and grid stress higher. The message for leaders is straightforward: treat AI as a core capability, not a pilot. Start where value is bankable, build the data foundations and governance that let it scale, and use the tools to amplify your distinctiveness, not flatten it into sameness. Pair domain experts with data scientists; reskill at pace; measure impact in reliability, cost, and speed to market. That is what investors recognize and fund.

What leaders should do next Adaptability, innovation and balance are not “nice to haves” – they are the survival code of this transition: • A dapt to follow capital flows, reshape strategies, and navigate friction. • Innovate in culture and brand, not just technology, so the organization can move at the pace of its strategy. • B alance returns with responsibilities by using security as the platform and the transition as the engine. Then show your working. The outcome is not pre-ordained. But the direction of travel is clear: capital is shifting, grids are smartening, and the companies that prove they can execute will own the story, and the returns, of the next decade. This is a time to reset and lead from the front. The age of electricity has arrived. The age of bold leadership is overdue.

Brandpie Energy - Issue 04

How Asia is fueling the future

Asia’s energy transition isn’t short of capital or technology. What it lacks is belief – and brand is the fuel that can spark it.

Asia’s energy transition isn’t short of capital or technology. What it lacks is belief, and brand is the fuel that can spark it. The untapped

power source

A sia is powering the world’s next growth story. From Singapore’s financial might to Vietnam’s manufacturing surge, from Malaysia’s oil wealth to Thailand’s booming tourism and tech, the region’s appetite for energy is voracious. By 2035, Southeast Asia alone will contribute more than a quarter of global energy demand growth. But this is not just a story about barrels, gigawatts, and carbon. It is a story about perception, trust, and meaning. Because while governments juggle the energy trilemma of security, affordability, and sustainability, companies that go beyond generating power and own the narrative will be the ones that thrive. Growth at full throttle Let’s start with the economic reality. Vietnam expects double-digit annual growth in electricity demand this decade. >

Colin Anderson CEO, Asia, Brandpie

Brandpie Energy - Issue 04

How Asia is fueling the future

>Malaysia is doubling down on industrial expansion while pledging 70% clean energy by 2050. Singapore, with no natural resources of its own, is buying power from its neighbours while pushing to be a global hub for green finance. These are the paradoxes of a region on the rise. Asia is not choosing between growth and sustainability but trying to have both. And it has no choice: factories need power; cities need air conditioning; families need affordable fuel. At the same time, investors, partners, and young consumers demand action on climate. This is the high-wire act that defines Asia’s next decade.

Brand in Asia’s energy transition is as critical as pipelines, turbines, and solar farms.

Imagine the impact if a power company in Vietnam ran a campaign not about kilowatts, but about how renewable projects are keeping factories open and workers employed, even during drought. Or if Malaysia’s oil giant spoke not about barrels, but about how hydrogen innovation could secure energy independence. This is where brand earns trust: by reframing energy not as an abstract commodity, but as a human story. Digital presence: The new battleground In Asia, brand-building happens in the scroll of a smartphone. The next generation is not reading annual reports, they’re watching short videos, engaging in forums, and forming opinions in real time. Energy companies need to act like media brands. That means:

reluctantly dragged toward change. That story no longer works. The opportunity now is to reposition: • From providers of power to enablers of progress. Show how your projects fuel industries, power homes, and drive economic resilience. • From commodity sellers to innovation leaders. Position renewables, hydrogen, or carbon capture not as side projects but as proof you’re building the future. • From extractors to partners. Shift from being perceived as polluters to being indispensable allies in national development. This is not about glossy sustainability reports. It’s about resetting identity. A brand that speaks confidently to both prosperity and responsibility will resonate far more deeply than one stuck in transition limbo. Affordability and reliability still dominate. But they are also digitally connected, vocal, and quick to call out hypocrisy. Greenwashing doesn’t survive a TikTok cycle. That means brand strategy must be built on radical transparency. Don’t promise perfection; promise progress. Admit the trade-offs, but show the trajectory. Tell stories not just about emissions cut, but about jobs created, schools electrified, and communities empowered. Winning trust in the age of scrutiny Asia’s consumers are pragmatic.

• Creating shareable, visual content that explains the transition journey.

• Engaging in conversations on platforms where sceptics and supporters meet.

• Owning mistakes quickly, visibly, and honestly.

The companies that master digital storytelling will shape the regional energy narrative. Positioned for growth Brand in Asia’s energy transition is as critical as pipelines, turbines, and solar farms. Because without trust, ambition stalls. Without narrative, investment dries up. Without belief, transformation loses momentum. The companies that translate complexity into clarity and say, “Here’s what we cut, here’s what we built, here’s what it means for you.” Honest, human, and unvarnished will win the right to grow, experiment, and lead. This is the moment for energy companies to be bold: to reset, to reposition, to reimagine their brands as vehicles of progress. Because in the end, the energy sector is not just about generating power. It’s about generating belief. And belief is the most powerful energy source of all.

Brand matters now more than ever It’s tempting to think this is all about

infrastructure and policy. But infrastructure only delivers electrons. Brand delivers belief. In times of upheaval, people want to know not just what companies do, but what they stand for. Consumers ask: are you keeping my bills affordable? Investors ask: are you aligned with net zero? Governments ask: are you helping or hindering our national plans? Communities ask: are you creating jobs and protecting health? The answers to these questions are not just technical, but narrative. And narrative is brand territory. Resetting the narrative Too many energy companies in Asia still present themselves as either faceless utilities or fossil-fuel incumbents

Brandpie Energy - Issue 04

Innovating for the future

"Our role isn’t to build a solution for how the energy industry has operated but for how it must evolve, and turn disruption into growth."

Max Bhugra-Schmid Senior Consultant, Brandpie

Sanja Decla, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, triPica

Bold innovators shaping the industry

"Without a North Star, innovation risks becoming noise; with it, a company can move forward with confidence, carrying its people and customers with it."

How the CHARGE B2B Innovators of the Year are reimagining what’s possible.

Nompumelelo Skosana, Manager, ED Platform

O ur role isn’t to build a solution for how the energy industry has operated but for how it must evolve, and turn disruption into growth.” The words of Sanja Decla, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at triPica, capture the essence of the CHARGE Energy Branding B2B Innovator of the Year finalists. These leaders refuse to design for yesterday. In a sector where the ground shifts daily, their response is not hesitation but acceleration. Innovation is their way of making uncertainty an opportunity. Use your North Star to steady the course For Nompumelelo Skosana, Manager, and Keneilwe Mohlala, Head of Operations at >

"Our North Star is always about building impact for the people and communities where renewable energy and infrastructure projects exist."

B2B Innovators Brandpie proudly sponsors the CHARGE B2B Energy Innovator of the Year award.

Keneilwe Mohlala, Head of Operations, ED Platform

Brandpie Energy - Issue 04

Innovating for the future

"The speed of change in almost every industry is accelerating. Energy is the enabler; it’s the bold ideas that allow other technologies to advance."

"Customers expect more than just price and project timelines. They want innovative solutions, flexibility, transparency, partnership, and purpose." Scarlett Alvarez Uzcategui, Chief Stakeholder and Sustainability Officer, Zelestra build this relationship of trust,” he says. Agility, positivity and curiosity are not corporate slogans. They are survival skills that allow the business to keep moving when headwinds rise. At ED Platform, creativity isn’t just celebrated; it’s embedded at the core of its culture, shaping bold ideas into strategies that drive lasting impact. And at triPica, employees are encouraged to challenge assumptions and strip away complexity. Across all companies, the lesson is the same: innovation doesn’t just live in labs. It thrives in cultures that reward curiosity and give people the freedom to create. And when those cultures open outward, collaboration turns that spark into something much bigger. Partner to multiply impact Erik at Modulex is blunt: “Collaboration is key for driving innovation. As businesses, we can get stuck in our own worlds. To move the transition forward, you need different perspectives.” Kevin points to the scale of the challenge. Even 5% of US commercial industrial vehicles switching to electric in the next five years, he notes, demands $35 billion in infrastructure investment. “There’s no way any one entity can conquer this all on their own.” Partnerships, then, are not an exercise in branding – they are the only way to scale ideas fast enough to meet demand. And the most effective partnerships are >

Jussi Pikkarainen, VP of Marketing, Skeleton Tech

> ED Platform, purpose is the constant when everything else moves. “Our North Star is always about building impact for the people and communities where renewable energy and infrastructure projects exist,” they explain. That clarity allows them to adapt, diversify, and experiment without losing direction. For these businesses, having a North Star is what separates meaningful adaptation from drift. Without it, innovation risks becoming noise; with it, a company can move forward with confidence, carrying its people and customers with it. Just take Skeleton Tech as an example. The business grounds its decisions on three pillars: heavy R&D investment, focus on high-power niches such as data centers and mobility, and control of the full value chain. “This enables us to make consistent, aligned decisions, and to react fast to changes in market requirements,” says Jussi Pikkarainen, VP of Marketing at Skeleton Tech. Scarlett Alvarez Uzcategui, Chief Stakeholder and Sustainability Officer at Zelestra, agrees that a North Star acts as an anchor that keeps the business focused, ultimately leading to growth. “Our purpose is making decarbonization a reality for our partners,” she says. This is delivered

through three clear priorities: customer focus, concentration on six high-growth markets, and transformation into a multi- technology platform. The results speak loudly – Zelestra has grown from 1 GW to 6.5 GW of contracted projects in a single cycle, with agreements that will avoid more than 100 million tons of CO over their lifetimes. Build cultures that spark creativity A North Stay may set direction and act as an anchor for innovation, but culture is what makes it real. At Modulex, once part of the LEGO Group, the company inherited a tradition of imagination and invention. “Innovation is embedded into every aspect of our culture,” says Erik Sørensen, Sustainability and Global Partnerships Manager. That history has shaped a culture of curiosity and pride, fueling bold experimentation and reminding employees that innovation is not an occasional act but a way of thinking. For Kevin Kushman, CEO of Electrada – a leading provider of electric fuel and charging infrastructure for public and commercial fleets – culture is built through trust. In a market defined by risk aversion, progress requires everyone to lean in. “Culturally, everybody has to pitch in to

100 m Agreements that will avoid more than 100 million tons of CO over their lifetimes.

6.5 gw Zelestra has grown from 1 GW to 6.5 GW of contracted projects in a single cycle.

Brandpie Energy - Issue 04

Innovating for the future

"Don’t sacrifice the bold ideas. They will pay dividends in the

"Collaboration is key for driving innovation. As businesses, we can get stuck in our own worlds. To move the transition forward, you need different perspectives." Erik Sørensen, Sustainability and Global Partnerships Manager, Modulex

long run." Kevin Kushman, CEO, Electrada

by deep R&D and engineering expertise, this approach ensures innovation is never abstract but always tailored and tangible. Zelestra, too, puts people at the heart of new product development. For them, being customer-centric is more strategy than philosophy. The spark for innovation here always starts with the customer need. When innovation is measured not in novelty but in impact, it succeeds by resonating with the people it is meant to serve. And that resonance is what makes bold ideas possible. Treat bold ideas as resilience For Kevin, the link is obvious: “The more involved your team is in bold ideas and creative thinking, the more resilient a business you will have.” Boldness, in other words, is the surest path to strength. Erik at Modulex agrees but stresses that boldness must be paired with value creation. Innovation that undermines stability is unsustainable; boldness must build, not break. For Jussi, this is about meeting the accelerating pace of change head-on. “The speed of change in almost every industry is accelerating. Energy is the enabler; it’s the bold ideas that allow other technologies to advance.” Skeleton Tech's differentiation, he adds, is refusing to hide behind generic green messaging. “Many companies lead with sustainability narratives. What sets us apart is that we deliver mission-critical power. Our message is different: it is critical, not just green.”

> those that create visible value for people, whether individual customers or entire communities. Put people at the heart of innovation Innovation proves itself in the impact it creates. “We show up when we engage with a customer,” says Kevin. That consistency has delivered near-perfect reliability scores and built trust in a market wary of change. Strong employee culture flows naturally into customer experience, proving that EX and CX are two sides of the same coin. Likewise, at ED Platform, innovation starts with people. Their expertise and lived experience in South Africa’s shifting socio-economic and energy landscape fuel ideas that drive both community development and major infrastructure projects forward. For triPica, relevance is won by stripping away complexity. “We have the technology, but how do we make it relevant for the customer?” asks Sanja. By turning complex energy data, tariffs, and flexibility schemes into clear, personalized energy offers, customers don’t just receive a utility bill, they actively take part in the energy transition rather than remaining passive bystanders. Skeleton Tech takes the same principle further. Many of its solutions are co- developed with customers to fit their precise needs. “Old-school, catalogue- type sales is dying, replaced by bespoke developments,” Jussi explains. Backed

Scarlett agrees that boldness is about differentiation. “Delivering electrons isn’t enough. Customers expect more than just price and project timelines. They want innovative solutions, flexibility, transparency, partnership, and purpose.” Zelestra’s reset from a solar-pure developer to a multi-technology decarbonisation platform was a deliberate act of boldness to remain relevant. “Customer needs were at the center of our evolution,” she explains. This conviction to take leaps is what defines bold resilience. “We’re not afraid to take big steps,” Jussi concludes. “It doesn’t mean we never fail, but we always get there, and then we keep going.” What binds them all businesses together is the recognition that bold ideas are the only form of resilience that works. The innovators’ lesson In these companies, we see a blueprint for leading with innovation: vision that anchors, cultures that create, partnerships that multiply impact, people who carry it forward, and boldness that turns fragility into resilience. Uncertainty is not an excuse for hesitation but a moment for conviction. Or, as Kevin puts it: “Don’t sacrifice the bold ideas. They will pay dividends in the long run.”

$ 35 bn Needed in infrastructure investment to reach the increase in demand.

5 % of US commercial industrial vehicles switching to electric in the next five years.

Brandpie Energy - Issue 04

Innovating for the future

Stand still. Fall behind

The danger

Standing still is not an option when you have the power to shape tomorrow.

of inertia

I n business, uncertainty often tempts leaders to wait. To hold steady until the fog clears. But in today’s energy sector, standing still is the most dangerous move of all. The transition ahead is often described as a once-in-a-century shift. It will create winners and losers, reshaping the industry for decades to come. Those who act with clarity and conviction will tap into enormous new markets – from renewables to electrification to digital energy services. Those who delay will not only fall behind, but risk irrelevance altogether. Inertia doesn’t mean maintaining stability. It means steadily losing relevance, market share, and value, until collapse becomes a very real possibility.

Will Bosanko CEO, UK and Europe, Brandpie

Repositioning is not a marketing exercise. It’s the moment you stop describing what you were and start showing who you are becoming. >

Brandpie Energy - Issue 04

Stand still. Fall behind

Five questions to ask before you reposition:

Moving with intent Rebranding, when done right, is not a slogan – it’s a contract. Stakeholders no longer trust promises alone; they want proof. That means evidence of change, whether through investment in new technologies, visible cultural shifts, or transparent reporting on progress. Ørsted’s transformation away from fossil fuels is a prime example. Its leadership faced “broad and profound” internal skepticism, but overcame it by clearly explaining market realities, inspiring employees with a new mission, and backing every word with action. By controlling the narrative, they turned the story from “legacy polluter under threat” into “innovator leading the new energy age.” This is the real role of brand: not a logo or a strapline, but a mechanism to align people, mobilize change, and communicate with credibility. From future vision to present action The strongest repositionings start with the future. Ask: What do we want to be known for in 2035? What role will we play in society, in energy systems, in people’s lives? With that destination clear, leaders can work backwards to define the brand signals, commitments, and behaviors needed today to build credibility. The transition will not wait. Markets are moving, investors are watching, and talent is choosing where they want to build their futures. Standing still is an invitation to be left behind. The future is already in motion. The only question is: will your brand move with it?

1 Vision

> Consistency is forward motion Too often, brand is dismissed as “surface” or a coat of paint. In reality, brand is a compass, defining your direction when the future is foggy. Consistency is not about holding steady, it’s about moving forward with intent. It’s the difference between being reactive and being deliberate. And it’s what allows your people, customers, and investors to trust that you can deliver stability today, while building resilience for tomorrow. Leaders who cut back on brand or culture in tough times don’t create stability; they create fragility. The companies that emerge stronger are those that keep moving – resetting where necessary but never standing still. The real cost of inertia Investors are rewarding businesses with credible transition strategies and penalizing those that can’t show a clear future role. For companies that fail to reposition, the cost of capital rises, equity premiums shrink, and stranded assets loom large. The biggest risk energy brands make now is assuming there’s more time. In reality, every year of hesitation makes it harder to catch up. Rivals that act boldly secure market share, investor trust, and talent ahead of you. Those who wait are overtaken. The cautionary tales of Kodak and Blockbuster show how quickly relevance can evaporate when transformation is delayed.

Does your brand articulate the future you’re building toward? 2 Relevance Is it clear why you matter to employees, customers, and investors? 3 Clarity Can stakeholders explain what you stand for in a single sentence? 4 Proof Are you ready to back up the promise with tangible actions? 5 Consistency

When Höegh LNG’s became Höegh Evi, it symbolized an evolution.

Lessons from those who moved We don’t have to look far to see the power of repositioning. The past few years have shown that being bold pays off. BP relaunched its Beyond Petroleum identity as a serious net-zero commitment. Equinor dropped its “Statoil” name to shed fossil associations. Shell and TotalEnergies reframed themselves as multi-energy providers, embracing renewables, hydrogen, and EV charging. When Höegh LNG became Höegh Evi, it symbolized more than a name change. It was an evolution – an explicit embrace of both LNG’s continuing role in energy security and the company’s ambition to pioneer clean molecules. The brand positioning, “The vital link to secure transition”, captured both the reality of today and the promise of tomorrow. And when Relevate Power relaunched with a new identity, it wasn’t about aesthetics. It was about credibility. A brand that once felt “small and scrappy” was elevated to reflect its true ambition, helping secure future investment and accelerating growth. Each case underlines the same point: repositioning is catalytic. The same pattern is visible beyond oil and gas

A strategic reset positioned Relevate Power to accelerate growth.

Will you keep moving in this direction, not just launch and leave it?

"Leaders who cut back on brand or culture in tough times don’t create stability; they create fragility."

Brandpie Energy - Issue 04

Stand still. Fall behind

Project tomorrow, instead of mirroring today

Brand fortomorrow, not today

Branding today is about becoming who you’ll be tomorrow. I n energy, yesterday’s playbook no longer works. Legacy alone won’t buy you relevance, and short-term tinkering won’t carry you through the transition. Branding is not about describing the present tense of your business. It’s about setting a destination bold enough to stretch into. A vision that gives employees, investors, and customers something to believe in and grow with Brand as your future self Too often, energy businesses treat brand as a mirror, reflecting what the company looks like in the here and now. That’s a mistake. By the time a “current state” brand is launched, the world has already moved on. . >

Deva Corriveau Creative Director, Brandpie

Brandpie Energy - Issue 04

Project tomorrow, instead of mirroring today

The trick is to be bold without being naïve. Declare where you’re going, but show the steps you’re taking to get there. Make the ambition tangible, even if it isn’t yet complete.

Too many energy companies pour millions into superficial refreshes and walk away disappointed when perception doesn’t shift. The smarter investment is in building a brand voice and visual system that communicates intent and momentum, showing that the company is not frozen in time but actively shaping what’s next. The trap of safety One of the reasons companies shy away from future-first branding is fear. What if we don’t live up to it? What if people call us out? What if it feels like overreach? But stasis is the bigger risk. Brands that only tell today’s story are instantly behind. Brands that dare to signal tomorrow earn trust. Stakeholders aren’t asking for perfection. They’re asking for clarity, ambition, and evidence of progress. The trick is to be bold without being naïve. Declare where you’re going, but show the steps you’re taking to get there. Make the ambition tangible, even if it isn’t yet complete. Build a brand that describes your current self, and watch it date overnight. Or create a brand that embodies your future self, and give your business the clarity, ambition, and magnetism it needs to thrive. Because if your brand only tells today’s story, you’ve already fallen behind.

The call to bravery The energy transition demands brands that don’t just reflect the moment but stretch beyond it.

> Future-fit brands aren’t mirrors; they’re magnets. They pull the business forward. They create an identity five to ten years ahead of where the company is today, deliberately aspirational, deliberately future-facing. This posture is what gives stakeholders confidence that you’re not just surviving disruption but shaping what comes next. Think of your brand as your future self, made visible. The question isn’t “Who are we now?” but “Who are we becoming, and how do we start to live it today?” What bold looks like Other industries have already shown the power of leapfrogging the present. Jaguar, for example, realized that the old codes of luxury no longer carried the same cultural weight. Rather than inch forward, they took a leap, pivoting their brand into a vision of modern luxury that matched where audiences were going, not where they had been. Risky? Absolutely. But brand transformation always carries risk. The inflection point. The temptation is to cling to what you know – established infrastructure, long-standing reputation, legacy assets. But legacy without reinvention quickly becomes baggage. The harder path is also the only viable one: step into the brand you want to be known for, even before the business fully delivers on it. greater danger is in standing still. Energy companies face a similar

That means: Stop treating brand as cosmetic. It’s not decoration; it’s direction. Prototype your future. Test bold possibilities before you commit.

Prototype tomorrow, today Of course, leaping into the future doesn’t mean abandoning discipline. One of the most effective strategies is to prototype future identities. Imagine what your brand would look like if you pivoted sharply into hydrogen, or if digital services became your core growth driver. Build the identity, the language, the story. Share it with key stakeholders. See what resonates, what jars, and what opens new possibilities. This is not about rushing into a rebrand. It’s about creating rehearsals for reinvention. By road-testing tomorrow, you gather insight today and prepare your organization to grow into its future with confidence. Recognition isn’t enough Many companies still conflate branding with surface-level recognition: logos, colors, typography. These are the wrappers, not the story. Recognition matters, but it’s not what makes people care. The real work of branding lies in communication: how you speak, the stories you tell, the tone you adopt, and the experiences you create. Communication

Communicate, don’t just decorate. Logos fade; stories endure.

Be ambitious, but credible. Signal tomorrow, while proving today.

Branding is not about describing the present tense of your business. It’s about setting a destination bold enough to stretch into.

is what creates resonance. It’s what convinces investors you’re credible, employees that you’re united, and customers that you’re relevant.

Brandpie Energy - Issue 04

Statkraft: how leader–employee alignment powers business ambition

Elisabeth Gathe, Global Brand Lead, Statkraft

Has your brand caught up with your business?

Two years after redefining its vision, Statkraft shows how alignment between leaders and employees enables brand to power business ambition.

Brandpie Energy - Issue 04

Statkraft: how leader–employee alignment powers business ambition

Statkraft: one year on Statkraft: how leader–employee alignment powers business ambition

Statkraft: how leader–employee alignment powers business ambition

In order for the vision to be effective and to drive the business forward, it has to be ambitious.

F or years, Statkraft combined little known beyond specialist circles, it faced a deeper challenge: how to ensure its brand didn’t trail behind a company expanding into new markets and adapting to shifting priorities. That inflection point came two years ago. Statkraft set out to define a vision bold enough to unite its people and steer a business in transformation. The result – “To renew the way the world is powered” – gave 7,000 employees across 21 countries a shared compass. More than words, it has become a living reference point: strong enough to endure CEO transition, market volatility, and the sharper strategic focus now underway.ay. industrial scale with surprisingly low external visibility. Europe’s largest producer of renewable power, yet A future-back approach Statkraft’s vision is deliberately ambitious. This was the intent behind taking a future-back approach: defining a vision that sets a long-term goal, then aligning leaders and staff around methods to grow into it. The aim was to give the company something to stretch towards, a direction ambitious enough to drive behavior and decisions for years to come. “In order for it to be effective and to drive the business forward, it has to be ambitious. You have to have room to grow into it because otherwise you're just describing the business as it exists today,” says Elisabeth Gathe, Global Brand Lead at Statkraft.

Has your brand caught up with your business? For other leaders, the real test is ensuring your brand doesn’t trail behind the business you have already become. Ask yourself: Do leaders and staff describe your company in the same way? Does your vision guide behavior, not just communications? Is your brand aligned to your long- term goal, not just today’s demands? Will your vision hold firm when leadership changes or markets shift?

This internal strategy gives the business a desired position to build in the landscape. It’s an aspiration reflected in Statkraft’s recent brand refresh, with the company beginning to tell a more human, connected and future-focused story. It marks a shift from fragmentation toward greater focus.s: strategy and brand moving more closely in tandem. Enduring through change That alignment has proved vital in turbulent times. In the past two years, the energy landscape has been transformed. Statkraft itself has seen the arrival of a new chief executive. In many companies, such changes can fracture focus. At Statkraft, the opposite happened. Because the vision and values had been co-created across the business, they endured. They gave continuity amid uncertainty and ensured that momentum was not lost. The brand, refreshed and repositioned, has provided stability, helping the business stay aligned through volatility. Because when your brand and business ambition are aligned, you keep momentum – whether that’s through leadership change, or a disrupted market. Statkraft’s journey shows how clarity of vision, when consistently embraced and leveraged, can power both reputation and strategy.

Having clarified this vision in 2022, it has since guided Statkraft’s brand evolution. From its 130-year history to the business it is today, the company recognized the need to adapt both to what it had become and to the demands of the new markets it now serves. The phrase “brand catching up with the business” became a guiding mantra – a reminder that the identity needed not only to reflect the present but to anticipate the future. In practice, that meant positioning the brand not simply in step with the business, but slightly ahead of it, giving employees and leaders a direction to grow into as Statkraft continues its journey. A compass, not a claim Internally, the business set a clear intention to become a leading international renewable brand, as an answer to the question of how Statkraft should be known, and what its people should strive toward. “The vision was so strong but we needed a slightly different approach to guide communications internally,” explains Elisabeth.

Is your brand keeping pace with business ambition?

The phrase “brand catching up with the business” became a guiding mantra – a reminder that the identity needed not only to reflect the present but to anticipate the future.

Brandpie Energy - Issue 04

Fix digital friction to maxamize brand recognition

Digital friction damages recognition

Stop obsessing over logos. Start fixing the clicks, taps, and swipes.

Paul Campbell Managing Partner, Digital, Brandpie

M arketing leaders love to talk brand. They obsess over recognition – logos, color palettes, typography. But recognition isn’t enough. These are wrappers, not the story. People don’t fall in love with wrappers; they connect with what a brand makes them feel, how it communicates, and how it behaves in real life.

And in 2025, real life is digital.

Your brand is every click, tap, and swipe For energy providers, brand and user experience are not separate worlds. They are the same thing. A brand isn’t experienced in glossy ad campaigns or at industry events – it’s experienced when someone logs into your app, tries to pay a bill, or attempts to charge their car on the go. These are the moments of truth and the data proves how often they go wrong: 73% of utility customers report frustration with mobile app complexity [J.D. Power 2023 Utility Digital Experience Study], while 68% of EV drivers abandon charging sessions due to app-related issues [ChargePoint User Experience Report 2024]. Customers don't separate that frustration from the brand. The friction is the brand. Just like an airline is ultimately judged not by its TV ads but by how painless it makes booking, check-in, and in-flight experiences. Energy companies are judged by the interfaces they put in front of their customers. Recognition without usability is nothing more than empty decoration. AI is raising the bar on user expectations AI has fundamentally changed what people expect from digital interactions. When >

Brandpie Energy - Issue 04

Fix digital friction to maxamize brand recognition

4 % uplift in conversions often comes from a better user journey. 73 % of consumers say experience drives their loyalty.

Digital experience audit

88 % of consumers often won't return after a bad user experience. [Gomez] 400 % conversion rate increase good UX design can acheive. [HubSpot] Experience auditing: Forensically examine every customer touchpoint, revealing friction points you can't see from the inside. Map emotional journeys alongside functional ones to understand where customers feel frustrated versus delighted. User research and testing: Validate solutions with real users before development begins. Test early, test often, then continuously optimize based on actual performance data rather than assumptions. Experience strategy: Don't just make things look better. Make them work better in service of your brand promise. Integrate brand positioning with user experience design so every interaction reinforces what makes you different. Unified brand and design systems: Create cohesive design systems that ensure every touchpoint, from mobile apps to web portals to in-car interfaces, feels like part of the same connected brand experience. Branding is no longer skin-deep This is the uncomfortable truth: your customers experience your brand not in campaigns but in clicks. Every glitch is a crack in your promise. Every seamless interaction is proof you can be trusted. So yes, recognition matters - but not nearly as much as reputation earned through responsiveness. Not nearly as much as loyalty built one smooth tap at a time. If you’re serious about brand, stop polishing the wrappers. Start redesigning the experience. Your brand is your interface.

> ChatGPT can instantly answer complex questions and voice assistants can control entire smart homes with a simple command, every other interface feels clunky by comparison. This creates a massive problem for energy companies still relying on multi- step processes, confusing menus, and buried information. While AI delivers answers in seconds, energy customers are still clicking through five screens to check their usage or download a bill. The gap is widening daily. Every seamless AI interaction trains users to expect less friction everywhere else, making traditional energy interfaces feel increasingly antiquated and user-hostile. The cost of digital friction The impact of poor design and experiences is measurable: 88% of consumers often won't return after a bad user experience. Companies investing in UX see returns of $100 for every $1 spent [Gomez]. Good UX design can increase conversion rates by up to 400% [HubSpot]. For energy companies, these numbers translate to real impact. When customers struggle with bills, outage reporting, or EV charging apps, that friction directly erodes brand trust and customer lifetime value. competitive advantage requires design- led thinking that combines systematic rigor with creative insight and relentless user focus. Something we at Brandpie have a depth of experience in doing for businesses. To help drive that change, these are some of the common activities we find helpful for businesses: How do businesses address this? Transforming digital friction into

Every click counts. Every drop-off costs. Make your website work harder.

Brandpie’s digital audit pinpoints where your journey fails and gives you the plan to turn it into a growth engine.

A brand isn’t experienced in glossy ad campaigns or at industry events – it’s experienced when someone logs into your app, tries to pay a bill, or attempts to charge their car on the go.

How Brand Rebels are turning uncertainty into opportunity

AI promises speed and scale but without human oversight, it flattens creativity into mediocrity. Here’s how Brand Rebels are turning risk on its head.

A rtificial intelligence (AI) is unavoidable. It’s in the decisions. The question for marketing leaders is how you stop it from eroding the very thing brands exist to protect: difference. At our recent Brand Rebels roundtable, CMOs, brand heads, and communications leaders debated what AI really means for brand. Their unfiltered verdict? AI is both the accelerant and the acid. Handled well, it frees creativity. Left unchecked, it reduces everything to a blur of sameness. Here are the six tensions we uncovered, and what marketers must do about them. 1 boardroom, in workflows, in the pitches that shape billion-dollar The tightrope: innovation vs. control The most immediate tension is between moving fast and staying safe. “We’re in the exploration phase,” said one marketing leader “but governance and risk loom large. Microsoft and Google have advised us on what’s ‘safe,’ but compliance can feel like a brake on innovation”. This is the paradox: while AI opens doors to faster execution and sharper insights, unchecked usage – an image that slips through, a misaligned tone of voice, or a hallucinated fact – can torch trust in a heartbeat.>

The AI dilemma:

turn uncertainty into advantage

Will Bosanko CEO, UK and Europe, Brandpie

Brandpie Energy - Issue 04

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