Summary

Three humorous, creator-produced videos successfully increased knowledge about the newly passed Inflation Reduction Act and increased perceptions that the IRA makes electric upgrades more affordable and can save Americans money.

Study Design

A sample of 794 adults residing in rural zip codes in key U.S. states for ACE outreach and states with the highest frequency of pending new energy permits (Arizona, California, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin, and Virginia) participated in the study in February 2023.

Participants were randomly assigned to view one influencer-produced video or an unrelated placebo video. All participants then completed a series of items relating to IRA knowledge and beliefs:

1) The IRA was just signed into law.

2) The IRA makes electric upgrades (vehicles, appliances, home improvements) more affordable.

3) The IRA can help save me money.

Key Findings

All significant findings are based on a 90% confidence interval (two-tailed) and weighted to representative sampling.

• Creator-produced videos can increase favorability towards the Inflation Reduction Act.
• The most pronounced effects were on perceptions that the IRA makes electric upgrades more affordable (22-30% lift).

• Videos about the IRA may help organizations reach across the aisle: Videos consistently produced favorable effects for self-identified moderates, conservatives, Independents, and Republicans, groups that have historically opposed clean energy legislation.
• Creator-produced videos can have a greater impact on passive information consumers (those who receive news primarily from online websites and social media).