How Ovo’s Alice Tendler delivers creative power moves in a “low interest” category

Not your average brand boss, Ovo marketing director Alice Tendler is equal parts strategist and creative. She’s spent time on both agency and client sides of the fence, giving her an invaluable perspective on what makes commercial creativity work (or not) – and what makes marketers tick.

Since taking the reins at Ovo in early 2023, Tendler has appointed Saatchi & Saatchi, overseen a major brand relaunch supported by Wolff Olins which developed the visual identity and redesign, crafted a category-defying energy savings account – Ovo Beyond – and brought a refreshing dose of personality to a sector not exactly known for its warmth and charisma.

Today, the concise, fast-talking, and efficient energetic Tendler is thriving in the high-speed world of energy marketing, where Ovo is the UK’s fourth largest supplier with about 4 million customers and revenues around £8.7bn.

But what does it take to bring creativity to a category that’s not only “low-interest” – as Tendler describes it – but also burdened with so many negative vibes?

The energy market has been at the centre of public concern for years now, with soaring prices driven by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine putting millions of households under financial strain. The energy price cap, set by Ofgem, was designed to protect consumers from excessively high costs, but the cap itself has fluctuated dramatically due to multiple global energy emergencies and supply chain disruptions.

On 1 April 2025, the cap is expected to rise again by 6.4 per cent to £1,849 a year for a typical household paying by direct debit.

“Polling from Ovo shows 80 per cent of people are worried about their bills, with two-thirds (66 per cent) reporting they are more concerned than last year,” Tendler explains. “We know rising costs are affecting everyone, which is why we’ve stepped up our support.”

Ovo first responded in 2022 by launching an extra support package, which provides financial relief to those who need it most. “Since then, we’ve provided over £140m in direct support to struggling customers,” Tendler says. “The past winter alone, we’ve pledged £50m to ensure that vulnerable households aren’t left behind.”

This initiative – which has supported more than 200,000 customers in the past year – includes payment holidays, financial assistance, and energy-saving products such as electric throws to help customers keep warm without excessive heating costs. “It’s about meeting people where they are,” Tendler says. “For some, that’s direct financial relief. For others, it’s about helping them find small, practical ways to cut their bills.”

Beyond direct assistance, Ovo has been vocal about the need for a long-term solution in the form of a government-controlled social tariff to ensure those in financial distress can access energy at a reasonable price, without having to rely on emergency interventions from energy suppliers. There’s strong support for the introduction of a social tariff, according to Ovo research, with just over three-quarters (76 per cent) of people believing it would positively impact the most vulnerable households.

“We believe the UK needs a permanent social tariff for energy,” Tendler says. “Right now, support comes in waves – there’s a crisis, and we step in. But we need something structural that ensures those who are most vulnerable always have access to fair, affordable energy prices.”

The stance has been spearheaded by Ovo chief executive David Buttress, who continues to call on policymakers to introduce a targeted support mechanism rather than “short-term tactics”. “We need to make the energy system work better for everyone. That starts with targeted support in the form of a social tariff so we’re not plugging the gaps – no one needs to be left behind,” he says.

The push for a social tariff has gained traction as energy costs continue to impact millions of UK households. With the winter fuel allowance now removed for many, and unpredictable energy costs still looming, the call for a sustainable, fair pricing system has never been louder. “It’s not just about one winter,” Tendler says. “It’s about making sure the system works better for everyone in the years to come.”

Going above and beyond

Tendler firmly believes “low interest” categories force brands to be even more creative in order to succeed: “We have to work harder to earn consumer interest. That can open the door to creativity in a way that’s quite unique. In categories like ours, it’s mission-critical to be engaging.”

In her work for Ovo, this means finding fresh ways to make sustainability feel relevant – and valuable – to consumers. “We talk about it in terms of personal benefit: What does going greener mean for you? How can you gain from it?”

The philosophy fuelled Ovo Beyond, a programme that offers both immediate savings and long-term rewards for sustainability. Customers get money off their bills today, plus credits toward future eco-friendly investments like solar panels and heat pumps.

“It was about making green feel tangible – not just a future goal, but something that benefits you right now,” she says. “People don’t want to feel lectured about sustainability. They want solutions that fit into their lives and actually make them better. That’s the sweet spot for creativity.”

Tendler also believes the best creative ideas stem from understanding consumer behaviour. “If we can embed sustainability into existing behaviours rather than asking people to fundamentally change how they live, that’s when we see real engagement,” she says. “The moment we say, ‘do this because it’s good for the planet,’ we risk losing them. But when we say, ‘this makes your life easier, cheaper, and, by the way, it’s also greener,’ then we have their attention.”

Ovo Beyond’s launch campaign was built around a brilliantly simple insight: “what if people could ‘save’ energy the way they save money?” explains Tendler. “We worked with Saatchi & Saatchi to create the world’s first ‘energy savings account,’ borrowing from financial services norms. It made people sit up and go, ‘Hang on, an energy savings account? What?’”

The framing turned sustainability into something immediately valuable, says Tendler: “If I can sign up for free and start earning solar panels or free EV miles, simply for being a customer, and paying my bill every month, why wouldn’t I? It created that no-brainer reaction.”

The campaign smashed all targets, with over 600,000 sign-ups and counting. What’s more, adoption of at least one piece of green tech by Ovo Beyond customers has more than doubled since launch in July 2024.

“It showed us that people are willing to engage with sustainability when it’s presented in a way that makes financial sense to them,” Tendler says. “We always try to approach messaging in a way that doesn’t feel preachy,” she adds. “It’s about making the right choice feel effortless and obvious.”

James Norton lights the fuse

Ovo has also leant into experimental media activations that light the sustainability fuse. One such initiative, created with Saatchi & Saatchi and media agency Goodstuff, was the Alexa Power Nap Skill campaign, voiced by James Norton, which helps empower households to understand their energy usage and the greenest times to use electricity.

They also created ‘Greener Times,’ buying out-of-home media only when the grid is powered by renewables.

It’s about making sustainability feel real, immediate, and actionable,” says Tendler. “We’re not just telling people to go green – we’re showing them how, in ways that fit naturally into their daily lives."

Bringing it all to life is customer engagement programme Ovo Live, through which the brand offers customers priority booking and VIP benefits at venues, including Glasgow’s Ovo Hydro, Ovo Wembley, and partnerships with the O2.

Essentially an engagement platform inherited from SSE during Ovo’s acquisition of that business, the team quickly realised its power as a retention tool, driving brand connection, and directly impacting how connected customers feel to the brand.

Tendler has worked with the team at Saatchi’s to pull together the ideas of celebrating a live music atmosphere with the brand’s commitment to supporting climate goals, with the line: ‘OVO Live - For the Atmosphere. Because Atmosphere is everything.’

“It can provide a standout emotion-driven experience, which is obviously quite difficult in our category. At worst, we can be seen as just a bill, so this is a way of engaging people in something they're passionate about – the music, the atmosphere.”

Retaining the agency mindset

Before taking on leadership roles at Ovo, and previously BT Group, Tendler built her expertise working in creative agencies, giving her a distinctive perspective on how to balance big-picture brand strategy with bold, innovative execution.

“Working agency-side gives you quick-fire exposure to a range of different brands, cultures, business problems – and you tend to amass that experience perhaps faster than you would on the client-marketer side, in my experience, where you're deep into one category or one type of brand,” she says.

Tendler’s agency background includes a stint leading the Morrisons account at MullenLowe, and a role as business director on accounts including Honda and Adidas at McGarryBowen (now Dentsu MB), where she honed her skills in creative problem-solving and campaign execution.

“Agency life taught me resilience,” she says. “You learn to be quite comfortable with lack of control, comfortable with change. You learn to roll with whatever happens.”

Her diverse gamut of experience proved invaluable as Tendler transitioned to brand-side leadership, where she has retained the agency mindset. “When you move client-side, you can then apply the experience to find parallels that are not directly obvious, but where you've seen a problem in a different guise, you can find unexpected connections and apply the learning to other areas,” she explains.

Some of the best marketers she works with in the energy sector share a similar background, with a high proportion of her team at Ovo ex-agency, which Tendler believes speaks to the fact that Ovo, and the energy market in general, is a fast-paced culture.

“Energy is quite volatile. And that agency experience is so relevant, it just means that nothing really phases us,” says Tendler. “Maybe it's about the type of person that's gravitated to work here. It's a fast-paced culture, a bit like a start-up culture, although it's at scale.”

This fusion of agency agility with brand-side depth has been central to how Ovo approaches its marketing strategy. “The best marketing happens when you balance long-term brand-building with the ability to be responsive. My agency background taught me to embrace both.”

The Ovo difference

Ovo’s 2023 brand relaunch – created with Saatchi & Saatchi – focused on embedding the DNA of the new brand identity into every touchpoint.

“Ovo is a little bit different to others in our sector,” Tendler explains. “It’s a bit cooler, a bit techier, a bit offbeat. The category norms are either cuddly or corporate – and we’re neither.”

Instead, the team focused on building an identity that is rigorous yet flexible. “We stick to real consistency in our brand assets, which has helped drive brand recognition at an incredible pace. But we also allow for creative flex – we haven’t created brand guidelines for every possible application. Sometimes, you just have to use instinct and let creativity breathe.”

The results speak for themselves: Ovo’s brand attribution now sits at an enviable 85 per cent, outperforming advertising norms.

And beyond branding, Ovo is also redefining the customer relationship. “We want to go further than the transactional nature of energy companies,” Tendler says. “Our goal is to make Ovo a brand that people actively engage with, that customers feel an emotional connection with. We don’t just want to supply energy; we want to help people feel empowered in their energy choices.”

Steer, don’t meddle

Tendler believes a good agency relationship is about knowing when to shut up and listen. And she’s leveraged her own agency experience to shape Ovo’s approach to bringing together creative and media partnerships with Saatchi & Saatchi (appointed in April 2023), and Goodstuff respectively – also through Le Shop, the Publicis Groupe-owned agency, which augments the Ovo internal creative studio.

“I try really hard to be the kind of client an agency actually wants to work with.” But that doesn’t mean “being nice all the time,” Tendler is keen to point out.

Rather, it’s about respecting their time, answering emails promptly, “and not compressing deadlines because you’ve sat on feedback for too long.”

But her biggest rule? Don’t meddle.

“Adding value as a client is about steering. Not tinkering or meddling in the detail. Some clients look at a campaign and think, ‘What’s wrong with it? What can I change?’ I prefer to assume the agency has delivered great work that they’ve spent lots of time on, and then ask: ‘What do we absolutely have to change?’”

Tendler believes great creative work dies when clients over-analyse. “It’s about trust. If you don’t trust your agency to do great work, then you’re working with the wrong agency.” This approach has helped Ovo’s partnerships thrive, including its collaboration with Saatchi & Saatchi, which has driven an increase of more than 10 per cent in brand awareness since the 2023 relaunch.

That year, Ovo’s marketing outperformed competitors (when adjusting for spend and starting position) says Tendler: “For every £1 spent, Ovo was 40 per cent to 337 per cent more effective than other brands in the category.”

More than just a bill

Tendler’s vision for the future is clear: she wants Ovo to be more than just a utility company – a household name with a real role to play.

“I want Ovo to play a bigger role in people’s lives – not just a bill that arrives in their inbox or on their doormat, but that has some emotional equity in helping people's lives run well,” she says.

“Whether it's having a warm home, a home that's working well with smart tech installed – playing a more emotive role, and critically, helping customers feel that there is a greener future for them that's within reach, and that's actually to their advantage.”

With creative campaigns that consistently push the right commercial buttons, Ovo is powering up. And if there’s one thing Tendler has already proved, it’s that being in a low interest category doesn’t have to mean being boring.

The world according to Alice Tendler

Who is your creative hero or favourite piece of creativity?

“Wallace & Gromit – Gromit is actually my all-round hero but as a piece of creativity it’s just amazing storytelling, characterisation and craftsmanship. I would have just put the plasticine down in exhaustion after the first scene.”

What’s been feeding your imagination lately?

“Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner… but this city is everything to me. Each phase of my life, and now my children’s lives, is interwoven with memories of plodding these streets and tube platforms. It represents hundreds of years of creativity, ingenuity and diversity – and hundreds to come.”

What do you think has been your boldest creative play?

“At Ovo... watch this space...

“Looking back, EE Hope United for the Women’s Euros in 2022. A mass market brand reminding men that misogyny was their problem to solve felt scary-brave.”

And how did it pay off, and what lessons did that teach you?

“Using players to talk honestly about online trolling really stood out in all the football noise and for a giant telco to advocate for online safety was incredibly well received. Relevance – to culture and your brand’s role – is everything.”

What do you enjoy most about being a marketer?

“One foot in art, one foot in science.”

What makes a good creative marketer?

“The ability to connect the two [art and science] and communicate with people who perhaps have both feet in one camp.”

What makes a good creative agency partner?

“Real commitment to understanding your business and a shared, intuitive understanding of what’s right and what will perform for the brand.”

And what frustrates you?

“Poor communication – lack of it, crossed wires, friction, anything that slows down the process unnecessarily.”