EDP

: overcoming market and bonding barriers in a liberalized context

Abstract

Being free does not always carry the meaning of granted security, especially in the context of market competition. This means that companies must keep up with the constant market changes and be updated with a more and more demanding consumer, in order to succeed in a liberalized market. Key factors have been shown to account for a company’s success in a competitive market, such as a strong marketing strategy, brand awareness and consumers that are loyal to the brand. This case study draws an example of a company – EDP –, that opened its doors for other players to enter the new liberalized energy market in Portugal and is still succeeding as market leader in several segments. The focus lies on the key changes defined in the marketing and branding strategies, and on the discovery of other factors that accounted for such continuous success. Exploratory interviews were run to gather relevant information about the company and an online survey in order to understand consumers’ perception of the changes in the market, the brand itself and their relationship with EDP. The results of the research reinforce the importance of a strong marketing strategy, the ability of being flexible in order to adapt to the market changes and, also, the power of maintaining a strong bond with consumers, based on a trust relationship built over 40 years of history.

Date of Award	17 Jul 2017
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Pedro Celeste (Supervisor)