The 14th meeting of the Marketing History Working Group took place on June 28, 2024 at the Technoseum Mannheim on the topic of “Advertising and energy saving. Marketing as consumer education”.

Price shocks and shortage scenarios have not only shaped current debates on the energy sector, but were already a recurring phenomenon in the 20th century. There were different approaches to overcoming such “energy crises” among the economic, corporate and political players concerned. Strengthening energy conservation was a central element of crisis management, whether formulated as an appeal to consumers or enforced by regulation. From a historical perspective, energy policy also had a close connection to issues of appropriate communication, addressing consumers and communicating savings targets with the help of advertising, marketing and public relations.

As part of the conference of the Marketing History Working Group, we looked at the question of who implemented, communicated and advertised energy-saving measures under which economic and political conditions and with which means and strategies. We addressed questions of public and private sector advertising and marketing strategies, organization and financing as well as content, language, media and aesthetic design. In addition, the underlying ideas of consumer education in the course of time were problematized. The focus was on both German (Federal Republic, GDR) and international advertising measures and campaigns by various players (states, companies, associations) throughout the 20th century.

You can find the program in the download area below. A detailed report will follow shortly.