EPA’s ENERGY STAR program is, hands down, one of the most successful government-industry partnerships ever developed. In the early days of this program, no one had ever heard of ENERGY STAR. EPA wanted to launch this label to the public, but was having trouble raising awareness and getting support from manufacturers, retailers and utilities. In 1995, Julie Colehour led the communications team that was hired by EPA to launch the ENERGY STAR brand. Julie co-authored the original marketing plan and Bryan Cohen and Molly Brumley worked on the media relations efforts. The overall strategy was to build demand among consumers, while leveraging ENERGY STAR’s manufacturer and retailer partners to support the brand. The launch included media events in the top 28 markets in the U.S. supported by PSA advertising and co-branding promotions. At the end of the 18 months, ENERGY STAR had achieved 28 percent national awareness among consumers. C+C continues to support ENERGY STAR working towards a goal of 80 percent national awareness by 2010.