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Toronto Hydro’s Outage Hub: Empowering Customers During Storm Season

Toronto Hydro is making outages easier to manage with its innovative Outage Hub. Launched just before the 2024–25 winter storm season, the Outage Hub brings together a suite of tools designed to help Toronto residents stay informed and prepared.

Read the case study: Toronto Hydro’s Outage Hub: 24/7 Support and Preparedness in One Place

Available 24/7, the Outage Hub features an interactive outage map, live chat with customer representatives, outage notifications, and a mobile app. Customers can also download an emergency preparedness guide in multiple languages, ensuring all customers have access to vital information they need when it matters most.

The campaign behind the Outage Hub was a masterclass in creative engagement. Working with Context Creative, Toronto Hydro introduced the “glowing eyes” theme—a playful yet empathetic nod to the experience of being left in the dark during an outage. This visual hook resonated with customers and stakeholders alike, adding levity to a serious message while keeping empathy front and center.

To maximize reach, the campaign launched with postcards at major Toronto events like the Santa Claus Parade and Cavalcade of Lights, then expanded to digital channels, bus shelters, city buses, and radio spots. Ad placements targeted neighborhoods with the greatest gaps in emergency preparedness, ensuring resources reached those who needed them most.

The results speak for themselves: nearly 1.8 million digital impressions, over half a million people reached, and 80,000 link clicks with a 22% click-through rate. The Outage Hub landing page drew more than 52,000 visitors with an engagement rate above 99%, and the mobile app saw 1,194 new installs during the campaign.

 

To learn more about the Outage Communications Leadership Council, please get in touch with Tim Herrick.

 

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