Objective of this ToolkitThe Victorian Residential Efficiency Scorecard (the Scorecard) is a Victorian Government initiative that has been designed to help Victorians better understand the energy performance of their homes. It will enable Victorians to make informed choices about improving the quality of their living environment, while saving money on their gas and electricity bills.

This toolkit is for organisations promoting the Scorecard program to help them succeed and to give guidance as to how to promote the Scorecard program. We understand promotional activities can be time consuming so we have provided this toolkit to provide simple key messages to use in promotional materials.

The Scorecard is a Victorian state government initiative. The Victorian Government administers the program and owns all rights, title and interest in the program’s trademarks.

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For more information about this program, contact the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. Phone: 136 186, email: help.scorecard@delwp.vic.gov.au or visit www.vicenergysaver.vic.gov.au/scorecard

The Scorecard brand

For the Scorecard to be a success for both Assessors and consumers, it is important that the Scorecard program has a strong standing in the community.

Organisations, businesses and Assessors will be part of the public face of the program. A consistent message from all will help protect the reputation of the program and help build understanding of the benefits of participation.

An important aspect of participating in this program as an Assessor or organisation, is representing a Victorian Government supported program.

Firstly, all Assessors and organisations must enter into a formal arrangement with the Department. You will then receive a copy of the logo along with the

Scorecard Brand Guidelines. The Scorecard Brand Guidelines outlines the requirements when using the Victorian Government and Scorecard logos. Outside of these arrangements these logos should not be used.

All promotional materials with the Scorecard branding must be approved by the Department. Please see the Brand Guidelines for more information.

To become an accredited Assessor or organisation you will have signed an agreement which explains your responsibilities. Part of the responsibility of being a part of this program is promoting the Scorecard. To ensure a consistent and appropriate message we encourage you to:

o Provide clear information on any conflicts of interest, when promoting products or services.

o Use the Scorecard templates/logos unaltered and follow the brand guidelines provided to you.

o Let us know about any public or media event you are attending in which you intend to promote the Scorecard program.

When promoting the Scorecard we suggest you consider the most up-to-date and factual information. Visit the website for recent news or contact us for specific queries.

Key Messages

To create consistency, there are key messages that are important to convey when promoting the Scorecard. These messages can be used on your brochures, social media, websites and other promotional material.

o The Victorian Residential Efficiency Scorecard, a new Australian-first program, rates the energy efficiency and hot weather performance of your

Marketing Toolkit

For more information about this program, contact the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. Phone: 136 186, email: help.scorecard@delwp.vic.gov.au or visit www.vicenergysaver.vic.gov.au/scorecard

home and provides tailored recommendations for home upgrade improvements.

o A Scorecard assessment provides a way of knowing where the majority of energy is used in your home and considers fixed appliances such as heating, cooling and hot water appliances, as well as the construction and design of your home.

o A Scorecard assessment of your home provides you with an overall star rating out of 10 that represents the average cost of energy for your home. With one star indicating low performance and ten stars indicating high performance.

o The Victorian Government’s new Residential Efficiency Scorecard is changing the way Victorians understand and manage their home’s energy performance.

o The Victorian Government administers the Scorecard program. Scorecard assessments are carried out by private accredited Assessors.

Using Promotional Tools

WebsitesA large proportion of business promotion and marketing is done online through websites. A clear, user friendly site can attract and enable customers to understand what the Scorecard is about. We recommend that a website should:

o Clearly show the status of your organisation and the status of any Assessors under the program e.g. whether Assessors are currently accredited.

o Provide statements from customers giving a testimonial about their experience with the Scorecard program and encourage customers to promote success stories.

o Promote and talk about your own experience and knowledge.

o Promote the official Scorecard website with links to energy efficiency fact sheets. See www.victorianenergysaver.vic.gov.au

Social MediaSocial Media activity can be another great promotional tool and to help get the message about the Scorecard program to the general public. We encourage you to use the key messaging and suggested lines for posts on the different social media outlets available to you such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.

Hashtags used both on Twitter and Facebook are a great way of reaching the public. We encourage you to use hashtags such as:

o #SaveEnergySaveMoneyo #VicScorecard

Do not use the Scorecard or Victorian Government logo as your handle on any social media outlets.

Responsibilities in Marketing

Please always remember to:

o Avoid bringing the Scorecard program into disrepute by disparaging businesses, Assessors, trainers or administrators publicly.

o Avoid public speculation about future changes, policies or rumours.

o Follow the Brand Guidelines at all times- do not misuse the logo by changing the size, shape or colour.

o Never use any misleading information or deceive the customer.

Marketing Toolkit

For more information about this program, contact the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. Phone: 136 186, email: help.scorecard@delwp.vic.gov.au or visit www.vicenergysaver.vic.gov.au/scorecard