ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the business and branding of Enel, the Italian energy giant and world’s biggest power company. Could Enel’s success in conquering international markets be traced to Italy’s traditions of art, design and business? The initial discussion looks at the development of punctuation and typography, which were, to a large extent, Italian inventions. Typography is important to branding, but a brand is more than its design, name or logo. It is “a deliberate blend of strategy and design”. Enel’s rebrand was characterised by bold use of colour, signalling its international ambitions, particularly a play for the Latin American energy market. The chapter also examines ideas in Theodore Levitt’s influential article “Marketing Myopia”, as relevant to Enel’s reinforcement of its dominant market position. This is followed by a discussion of how electricity grid companies should engage with local communities, and an analysis of the energy prosumer phenomenon.
