For biodiesel use to continue to grow and expand in North Carolina it is essential to undertake and evaluate the effectiveness of various marketing strategies. This project directly supports the goal of expanding soybean use by increasing demand for biodiesel- a value added product made from soybeans. Different marketing strategies will be implemented to increase awareness about the benefits and availability of Biodiesel with the effectiveness of these methods evaluated through comparative analysis, surveys and other subjective and objective criteria.
Year 1: Biodiesel Billboards (2006-2007)
In order for markets to grow for renewable, cleaner burning fuels such as soy biodiesel, the public must become more aware of the availability and use of these fuels. North Carolina is proud to be the home of several retails stations for biodiesel blends, however, sales must increase in order to attract other marketers to offer new sites and for current stations to continue and prosper.
NC Solar Center’s Clean Transportation Program will work with the North Carolina Outdoor Advertising Agency (NCOAA) and NCSU’s College of Management to develop and evaluate a public service campaign featuring “biodiesel billboards”. NCOAA will donate the billboard display space located throughout North Carolina to help deliver a message to the motoring public about the benefits and availability of biodiesel. It is anticipated that fifteen billboards will be displayed for three to four month each highlighting the benefits of biodiesel and the NC Soybean Producers Association website which features locations and distributors of biodiesel around the state. NCSC will work with the NCOAA to site billboards around the state close to existing distributors or proposed retail sites, and graduate students of the College of Management will develop survey tools to research the effectiveness of the billboard campaign.
Promotional material for this campaign is found on Biodiesel in North Carolina
Year 2: Bioheat is Better (2007-2008)
The “Bioheat is Better” project will research the effectiveness of implementing a consumer and industry campaign to increase the use of biodiesel blended fuel oil as the heating oil of choice for North Carolina residents and marketers. Bioheat, or fuel oil blended with soy biodiesel, is an environmentally preferable choice for consumers and attractive for fuel distributors alike due to a federal tax incentive that provides a one dollar per gallon credit for every gallon of soy biodiesel blended with heating oil.
Following the lead of northern states and other organizations a “Bioheat is Better” campaign will be implemented in North Carolina. The campaign will include the development of print and web based materials and four meetings around the state to educate consumers and fuel distributors about the attributes of bio-heat. Bioheat is better for heating systems because biodiesel contains virtually no sulfur and sulfur is the leading cause of maintenance issues in home heating systems. It also reduces NOx emissions, is less toxic, and is less likely to catch on fire accidentally.
NC Solar Center’s Clean Transportation Program will oversee the design and printing of “Bioheat is Better” brochures and marketing materials. Materials will be distributed through Clean Cities Coalitions in the Triangle, Charlotte and Asheville regions and sent to members of the NC Petroleum Marketers Association. Four meetings geared toward heating oil fuel distributors and facilities managers will be hosted in various parts of the state before the winter “heating oil” season. Press releases will be sent to local media to launch the program at the advent of cooler weather. The effectiveness of this campaign will be researched and evaluated through follow up surveys with recipients of educational materials and meeting attendees and the demonstration of increased biodiesel sales to home heating oil distributors.
Year 3: Biodiesel Bus Wrap (2008-2009)
The biodiesel bus wrap project would evaluate the effectiveness of raising interest and awareness of biodiesel use by covering a bus or 2 smaller vehicles in colorful graphics that ‘tell’ viewers a story about soybeans being used for fuel. A theme for the story may be “fuel for thought” and highlight the four E’s associated with biodiesel use- Ease of use, benefits to the Environment, Emissionsreduction and benefits to NC’s Economy.
The vehicle wrap will feature the NC Soybean Producers Association website.
A potential site for the Biodiesel bus wrap project is Raleigh Durham International Airport (RDU). All RDU diesel equipment (including buses) have been using B20 for the past few years. Wrapping vehicles that are operating on biodiesel is presumed to be an effective way to increase awareness. Vehicle wraps attract a lot of attention and the color fuel graphics hold up under normal wear for two years or more.
NC Solar Center will work with the NC Soybean Producers Association to determine the most effective vehicles to host the vehicle wrap and will also work with College of Management students to research the effectiveness of vehicle graphics to raise awareness and interest in soy biodiesel.
