Utilities Archives

PSR Scotland

CLIENT

PSR Scotland (in partnership with SSEN, SP Energy Networks, SGN, and Scottish Water)

SECTOR

Utilities

SERVICES

Brand Development, Digital Strategy, Website Design & Build, Stakeholder Collaboration

THE CHALLENGE

The Priority Services Register (PSR) is a free UK-wide service that offers extra support to people who may be vulnerable during power cuts or interruptions to electricity, gas, or water supplies.

In Scotland, multiple utility companies operated their own PSR schemes, which created confusion for customers unsure where to register or who to contact for help. For people already facing challenges, this lack of clarity risked preventing them from accessing the support they needed most.

Our challenge was to unite these separate initiatives into a single, trusted platform that:

Clearly explained the benefits of PSR registration.
Made the process simple and accessible for all.
Provided a reassuring and consistent experience, no matter the utility provider.

Our Approach

Blumilk worked with multiple utility partners – including SSEN, SP Energy Networks, SGN, and Scottish Water – to develop PSR Scotland, a centralised online hub where customers could easily learn about and register for the PSR.

We collaborated with all stakeholders to ensure the new brand and platform reflected shared values: trust, accessibility, and inclusivity. Our aim was to create something that would resonate with vulnerable customers, encourage registrations, and remove barriers to essential services.

What We Delivered

A Recognisable, Trusted Brand

Developed a cohesive visual identity that worked seamlessly alongside partner utilities’ brands.
Created a clear, reassuring tone of voice that communicated in plain, jargon-free language.
Established consistent messaging to make PSR Scotland easy to recognise and understand.

A Simple, Accessible Digital Hub

Designed and built a user-friendly website with clear navigation to guide customers step-by-step.
Ensured full accessibility compliance, including features for users with visual impairments.
Delivered a mobile-friendly design so customers could register on any device.
Integrated seamlessly with utility provider systems to connect users directly to the right support.

By putting accessibility and clarity at the heart of the design, we made it easier than ever for customers to sign up for priority support.

The Impact

The launch of PSR Scotland has transformed how vulnerable customers access help during service interruptions:

One single place to register, replacing the need to navigate multiple utility websites.
A clear, trusted brand that reassures customers they’re in the right place.
Improved accessibility, ensuring that no one is left behind.

For utility providers, this collaborative approach has increased registrations, improved customer confidence, and strengthened their ability to reach those who need support most.

At Blumilk, we know that strong branding, clear communication, and intuitive digital design can make a real difference in people’s lives. Our work on PSR Scotland shows how strategic collaboration can simplify complex services and make them more accessible for vulnerable communities.

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PSR Scotland

Yorkshire Water

CCW

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Yorkshire Water

CLIENT

Yorkshire Water

SECTOR

Utilities – Water Services

SERVICES

Video Production, Content Creation, Campaign Development

Supporting Yorkshire Water in engaging with their 5.2 million customers

Yorkshire Water ensures that all 5.2 million people in their supply area have clean and safe drinking water on tap and that their wastewater is taken away.

Yorkshire Water look after communities, protect the environment, and plan ahead to look after Yorkshire’s water, today, tomorrow, always. 24/7, 365 days a year, they provide essential water and wastewater services to every corner of the Yorkshire region and play a key role in the region’s health, well-being, and prosperity.

We’ve worked with Yorkshire Water for a number of years, supporting them engaging their communities including a recent smart meter awareness campaign that covered the Sheffield area and included ITV, Channel 4, Spotify, out-of-home advertising and other digital platforms.

Smart Meter Campaign – Customer Awareness

We were recently commissioned by Yorkshire Water to create an engaging awareness campaign for the smart meter rollout across the Sheffield area.

Working within Yorkshire Water’s brand guidelines and image style, we developed a relatable campaign that highlighted everyday water usage in the home with the smart meter in mind. Featuring authentic imagery, engaging videos, and real-life colleagues out in the field, the campaign clearly communicated the benefits of smart water meters and prepared customers for the upcoming installations.

Our in-house studio brought the campaign to life across multiple formats, including large-scale assets, TV, and radio.

We led on all stages from concept development to script creation, to sourcing the voiceover artist, while directing the production of both TV and radio adverts, ensuring a seamless and high-quality output.

The media plan for the campaign strategically reached targeted postcodes using:

Out-of-home (OOH) placements, such as kiosks in community hotspots and large roadside billboards in high-traffic areas.
Digital advertising, including a targeted TV advert on ITVx, Channel 4 streaming, and Sky VOD. This ran over the festive season, capturing families gathered for Christmas programming. We also leveraged ITV’s innovative ‘pause ads,’ which display when viewers pause their TV.
Social media coverage on Facebook and YouTube, designed to maximise visibility and engagement.

The campaign’s performance was impressive, with over a million impressions through the campaign including 419,772 impressions on META and 218,433 video views on YouTube.

Graduate and Apprenticeship Videos

We’ve recently supported Yorkshire Water in creating a series of videos that support their graduate and apprenticeship schemes available within the business. The series follows a selection of real colleagues within Yorkshire Water, explaining their different growth and development journeys.

From the script and storyboard we created, we then led a two-day film shoot that captured employees out on site and in the office who had started their careers at Yorkshire Water in either an apprenticeship or graduate role. They told their story of their progression through a relaxed interview style using ‘b roll’ style content showcasing their everyday role and activities.

In total, we produced three videos capturing Yorkshire Water’s graduate scheme and apprenticeship placements, and all varying outputs of music/non-music and sub-titles/no sub-titles. These videos have been well received and are already in-use for internal purposes, they are to be used for internal and external audiences to support and raise awareness of these great development pathway opportunities.

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Northern Powergrid

Yorkshire Water

PSR Scotland

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Northern Powergrid

Supporting Northern Powergrid in Keeping 3.9 Million Customers Well-Connected

For over seven years, we’ve proudly partnered with Northern Powergrid, the electricity distribution network operator serving North East England, Yorkshire, and North Lincolnshire. Together, we’ve worked on a range of impactful projects, delivering awareness campaigns that span internal communications, social media, outdoor advertising, direct mail, and more. Here’s a look at how we’ve helped Northern Powergrid engage with their audience and maintain a strong connection with their customers.

Look Up, It’s Live! Campaign

Safety is a top priority for Northern Powergrid, and we’ve worked with them to create a campaign that reinforces a vital safety message to the farming community. The ‘Look Up, It’s Live!’ campaign urges the farming industry to watch out for overhead power lines. Tractors and combine harvesters are a common sight in fields and on countryside roads due to haymaking and silage collection in the summer and the start of the combine season for cereal crops like wheat, barley or maize. This potentially puts farmers at risk of coming into contact with live electricity cables.

To support this initiative, we created a tailored suite of safety campaign materials. These resources have continued to be in high demand, demonstrating their lasting impact and ongoing effectiveness in spreading safety awareness.

Workforce Renewal and Recruitment

Northern Powergrid has long been committed to attracting the best talent to maintain a high standard of service. To help support their recruitment efforts, we developed a series of inclusive recruitment campaigns tailored to specific job listings. From eye-catching print flyers to targeted online visuals, we ensured each campaign was carefully crafted to engage the right candidates. For many of these initiatives, we also provided full social media management services, including audience engagement, tracking, and performance analysis, ensuring maximum reach and impact.

By leveraging precise audience segmentation, each campaign resonated with the right potential recruits, amplifying job visibility and connecting Northern Powergrid with a diverse, inclusive talent pool. The results speak for themselves: increased awareness, stronger outreach, and more meaningful connections with candidates.

Be Prepared and Priority Services Membership Campaign

Northern Powergrid’s Be Prepared and Priority Services Membership Campaign sought to increase sign-ups for their priority services, supporting vulnerable customers with tailored care during power outages. Our team provided impactful graphics and social media management to drive awareness and engagement for this critical service. Through a combination of clear messaging and targeted online promotion, we helped Northern Powergrid strengthen the support network for those in need.

Energy Heroes, School & Education Campaign

As part of Northern Powergrid’s Energy Heroes initiative, we collaborated on an educational campaign designed to empower primary school children to learn about energy efficiency and sustainability. Aimed at Year 5 students, this program encouraged young people to understand the importance of energy conservation, while also engaging families and the broader school community.

In 2023, the campaign faced a challenge in school recruitment, so our approach had to be fresh and impactful. We produced a suite of vibrant, engaging materials, including custom illustrations, interactive booklets, and mailers, all designed to capture the interest of children and educators. Our creative team also supported the launch and management of a social media campaign, creating dynamic online content to amplify engagement and attract schools.

The refreshed campaign collateral helped reinvigorate interest in Energy Heroes, resulting in enhanced recruitment efforts and increased engagement with students, parents, and teachers. The program gained renewed visibility, reinforcing Northern Powergrid’s commitment to educating the next generation on sustainability.

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National Grid

ATCO

Cadent

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National Grid

CLIENT

National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED)

SECTOR

Utilities – Electricity Distribution

SERVICES

Brand Refresh, Customer Engagement Campaigns, Safety & Education Initiatives, Regulatory Reporting, Sub-Brand Development

Trusted partners to the UK’s largest electricity distribution network

We are proud to support National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) as a trusted partner, helping them communicate their brand purpose and initiatives across a broad range of vital projects.

NGED is the UK’s largest electricity distribution network operator, supplying power to over 8 million homes and businesses across the Midlands, South West, and Wales. Formerly Western Power Distribution and now a division of National Grid, we have worked with NGED for over 4 years, helping deliver updated marketing and communications collateral throughout their huge rebrand in 2022.

We collaborate closely with NGED’s brand and communications team, and the wider teams throughout the organisation, to deliver a full range of customer communications.

We help NGED engage their audiences on key issues. From safety and the Priority Services Register (PSR) for vulnerable customers, to community education, engagement with schools through their ‘Circuit Squad’ resources as well as sustainability, environmental initiatives, and DSO (Distribution System Operator) communications.

Our role is deeply involved in guiding the creation of resources and materials that are visually compelling, accessible, and strategically aligned.

This collaboration allows our creative and design teams to bring NGED’s messages to life within a corporate framework while stretching our creative vision to resonate with specific customer audiences. For instance, we developed distinctive sub-brands for NGED’s DSO team and Circuit Squad for school outreach, giving each initiative a strong and recognisable identity within NGED’s brand family.

Our work spans multiple formats, including animations, social media graphics, community event materials, and annual reports. These regulatory reports and strategy documents require us to transform complex data into digestible infographics, reader-friendly charts, and accessible, engaging content.

Impactful Reports

We work on a number of regulatory and non-regulatory strategic reports, including:

Major Connections Annual Report
Annual Vulnerability Report
Annual Environment Report
Business Plan Commitments Report
Social Contract Report
Stakeholder Feedback Reports
Annual Innovation Report
Distribution Network Options Assessment (DNOA) Report
Climate Resilience Strategy

Through our partnership, we are committed to helping NGED build strong connections with their communities, educating customers, and enhancing understanding of critical initiatives that supports their vision for a more sustainable and resilient future.

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PSR Scotland

Yorkshire Water

Northern Powergrid

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CCW

CLIENT

Citizens Advice Consumer Council (CCW)

SECTOR

Utilities – Consumer Advocacy

SERVICES

Rebrand & Visual Identity, Internal Engagement, Campaign Development, Multi-Language Adaptation (English & Welsh)

Taking a long standing company from a ‘who’s that?’ to a household name.

CCW (formally The Consumer Council for Water) is the independent representative of household and business water consumers in England and Wales.

CCW has a long-standing reputation of knowledge and experience when it comes to dealing with household and business complaints, however until UMA started working with them back in 2019, that reputation was only held by people ‘in the know’ within the industry and not by the direct public, and their brand had been the same since 2005.

A huge proportion of consumers didn’t even know they existed, or what they could do to support them.

So, how have we helped CCW?

Brand Identity

CCW approached Blumilk to create a new brand solution that was robust, future proof and felt more like a consumer facing organisation rather than a government led or regulatory body. There was also consideration around how the brand would translate to Welsh audiences.

Previously, they had two logos running in parallel with the name and strapline translated in both English and Welsh which came with confusion! The brand development needed to ensure that all consumers in England and Wales understood who CCW is and as well as how and when to contact them.

Our team quickly determined through a strategic and industry specific approach that the CCW brand, positioning and outwardly facing collateral simply did not sit hand in hand with the amazing work they did for consumers and we began the journey with CCW to take them from Consumer Council for Water and suggested a name/brand change to make them CCW, the voice for water consumers that they are today.

Our creative team brought the new name to life taking theclient through a series of considerations including colour palettes and typefaces typically used in the utilities industry,as well as ensuring the new brand was colourful, friendly and inviting for consumers.

Employee Engagement

Before the new brand was launched to the outside world, CCW recognised the direct impact this would have on colleagues within the organisation, so we worked with them to find the right way to tell the new brand story that reflected CCW’s company personality and brought out the inner brand ambassador in everyone there!

The process included smaller facilitated workshops led by Blumilk’s strategists to understand not only what CCW meant to their colleagues, but what their role was in the company and how they saw a new brand evolving.

The final internal launch was an event with colleagues in attendance from all over the county, hosted by the Blumilk
team who presented the new brand to the company, guiding them through the process behind the brand and answering any questions.

Colleagues all understood the vision and purpose and most importantly, everyone was on the same page before the external launch.

The launch included:

Customer Awareness Campaign

We worked with CCW to develop, film and run a campaign to see if we could help them encourage people all over the UK to drink tap water instead of purchased bottled water, introducing Go Tap!

We had two key messages to consider for the campaign:

The Environmental Impact:

Drinking tap water instead of bottled can help to reduce the production of single use plastic, and therefore reduce carbon footprint and support the wellness of the planet. Carbon emissions for bottled water are 900 times higher than for tap water, making tap the environmentally friendly option.

The Economic Impact:

Bottled water can cost up to three hundred times the price of tap water, and in our current economic climate with everyone feeling the pinch financially, the option to have a drink from the tap instead of purchasing a bottle could save money.

But, does tap water actually taste as good as the purchased water you drink from a bottle?The only way to answer this question was to ‘Take the Taste Test Challenge!’ and our campaign, Go Tap!’ was born.

A cross section of the public from all over the UK were then invited to taste both tap and bottled water and see if they could tell the difference and which they preferred. Filming took place across a day and a wide demographic audience were approached, given both options to try and decide which option they thought was tap water. Most were unable to tell the difference and agreed that tap water tasted just as good as bottled.

For those that take the challenge, five hundred special limited edition water bottles were also being given away as further encouragement to drink tap water.

The campaign ran across social media as a series with fantastic results. The campaign created a lot of topical conversation and with over 100k views on Facebook and the message to ‘GO TAP’ certainly gained momentum.

“Blumilk have been a joy to work with and have provided us with a level of service above and beyond our expectations.

They instinctively understood our organisation’s needs, helped us overcome several barriers with determination and positivity, and provided indispensable advice and guidance when we needed it most.”

Amanda Caton,

Executive Head of Communications

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PSR Scotland

Northern Powergrid

CCW

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Cadent

CLIENT

Cadent

SECTOR

Utilities – Gas Distribution

SERVICES

Educational Campaigns, Workbook & Character Design, Interactive Learning Materials, School Engagement

Partners to the UK’s biggest gas distribution network

Cadent is the UK’s largest gas distribution network, bringing gas to 11 million homes and businesses. They manage a network of more than 82,000 miles of pipes, most of them underground, which transport gas throughout the North West, West Midlands, East Midlands, East of England and North London.

We have had the privilege of collaborating with the team at Cadent for numerous years now, supporting their internal communications and customer engagement initiatives. From creating compelling campaign brand marks and dynamic motion graphics to designing engaging educational materials for schools and customers, we have helped support and amplify Cadent’s important work.

Make The Right Call – Customer Engagement Campaign

Cadent approached us with a critical mission; to educate the public on the correct number to call in case of a gas leak. While the information was vital, the challenge lay in conveying it in a way that was both informative and engaging for the vast audience across the regions they cover.

Working with the creative team and our strategists, we embarked on a journey to bring Cadent’s message to life, forming a video that not only informed viewers about the appropriate number to call but also presented various scenarios in which a gas leak might occur. Leveraging captivating motion graphics, we seamlessly integrated the brand colours and identity into the narrative.

The animated video had nearly 200,000 views on YouTube alone and it became Cadent’s second highest viewed video ever.

Smell, Act, Call – Customer Engagement Campaign

“Smell gas? Act! Call 0800 111 999. Save the number in your phone today.”

We were delighted to work with Cadent to publicise this life-saving message with clear, concise instructions on what to do if you smell gas. Our team created an animation that has reached over half a million views (and counting!) on YouTube. We aimed to deliver an accessible message while refining the campaign mark.

Cadent set out to raise public awareness of gas safety through a focused campaign titled “Smell, Act, Call”. A key campaign requirement was to subtly develop the campaign mark whilst ensuring clarity and accessibility across all content. The “act” stage of the campaign needed to be emphasised as an important part of the process if you can smell gas.

We designed and created a dynamic, engaging animation to capture the essence of the “Smell, Act, Call” message. Using clear, accessible visuals, we ensured the message was direct and memorable. We seamlessly incorporated the campaign mark, with a little enhancement but maintaining the original design. To ensure accessibility across all of Cadent’s customers, the campaign was also adjusted across a series of postcards that we translated into 6 different languages.

UMA really understands the essence of our industry and capture this in their creative designs and campaigns. I’ve been especially impressed with the animations they’ve created for us depicting our sustainability journey, as well as gas emergency messages to help and support our customers.

They’ve created and developed identities for our important gas safety campaigns which has created impact and real awareness of key topics.

Communications Specialist – Brand & Campaigns

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ATCO

Northern Powergrid

National Grid

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ATCO

CLIENT

ATCO Gas & Pipelines Ltd

SECTOR

Utilities – Energy Infrastructure

SERVICES

Technical Report Refinement, Customer-Focused Copy, Brand-Aligned Design, Layout & Visualisation

ATCO is a major provider of integrated energy, housing, transportation, and infrastructure solutions.

They provide customers with innovative solutions in the sectors fundamental to global growth and prosperity: housing, real estate, energy, water, transportation, and agriculture. With a dedicated team of 20,000 people and a 75-year history, ATCO is a global player, working in more than 100 countries worldwide.

We recently worked with ATCO Gas and Pipelines Ltd, based in Calgary, Canada, a company dedicated to safe, reliable and environmentally responsible delivery of natural gas to customers across Alberta.

ATCO contacted us after discovering us via our website and specific expertise in making regulatory documents visually appealing, having a strong presence, while adhering to regulator’s report guidelines.

Our team embraced the time zone differences with efficient project management to ensure the project ran seamlessly and exceeded expectations.

ATCO initially contacted us to support them in creating a regulatory report that would engage with stakeholders to explain the benefits of the Yellowhead Mainline.

The Yellowhead Mainline will be a significant driver of lower-carbon economic growth in Alberta, expanding the capacity and enhancing the efficiency of Alberta’s natural gas network.

The project consists of building approximately 200 kilometres of high-pressure natural gas pipeline and related control and compression facilities that will run from Peers, Alberta, to the Fort Saskatchewan area. It was paramount that stakeholders were presented with clear information on the infrastructure.

Collaborating

Collaborating closely with ATCO’s team, we copy-edited their technical document detailing the benefits of the mainline to align the content with a customer-focused tone of voice. This process involved refining phrasing, simplifying complex sections, and restructuring the text into easily readable, accessible, and digestible segments.

With access to the full Yellowhead Mainline Report, we expanded on the Benefits document by providing additional clarity and explanation where necessary to enhance its effectiveness for customer understanding and ensuring information is adapted for the audience.

Key content, such as quotations, statistics and other project highlights were emphasised during the document’s design stage to ensure it was engaging and readers could quickly grasp the main points ‘at a glance’. While adhering to ATCO’s prescriptive brand guidelines, we introduced a fresh approach to the document’s overall design, setting it apart from their existing materials whilst keeping familiar elements. The client was delighted with the final outcome and we look forward to future opportunities to support their customer communications.

“Working with the team on the Yellowhead Mainline benefits report was a smooth and efficient process. They took a technical document and made it more approachable and visual without losing the key details, which was important for us. Throughout the project, they provided consistent communication, which made managing the different stages straightforward. Despite the time zone differences, they were flexible and accommodated our deadlines to ensure we stayed on track. Looking forward to collaborating with them again on future projects.”

Patrick Bain, Director,
Yellowhead Mainline at ATCO Gas & Pipelines

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ATCO

PSR Scotland

Cadent

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