Sample Public Relations Article

Published in Energy Markets – December 1999

MARKETING TO TOMORROW’S LEADERS

By Deborah Greenspan, M.A.

        Let's face it, it’s the bottom line that counts: profits must be made.  Toward that end, energy companies collectively spend billions on improving technology and infrastructure, yet in 1997 invested a meager one percent of revenues on intangibles like "goodwill" and "community relations."  In a deregulated market, the need to create a presence--a brand name--is inescapable, and utilities that don't reach out to potential customers will lose them to companies that do.
        Marketing is expensive.  Media campaigns can cost millions, and they are not always successful.  A large utility company recently invested $10 million in such a campaign and persuaded 1% of their target market to change energy providers. That may be one of the reasons why companies like KeySpan Energy, Mississippi Power Co., First Energy, Northern States Power and many others have chosen another way to reach the communities they serve.
        In today's multi-media world there are many ways of putting a name before the public and attempting to make sure it will be remembered: television, radio, newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, brochures, direct mailings, and of course, the Internet.  It all depends on how much a company wants to spend.  A determined campaign with a large budget can virtually assault the public on every channel until the corporate name and logo is as well known as Coca-Cola's.
        It's expensive, and consumer loyalty gained through such methods is just as easily lost to competitors determined to fight fire with fire.  After all, to consumers there may not be much difference between one utility and another.  Other than lower prices, they all seem the same.  On the other hand, an advertising campaign that generates not just name recognition but a name attached to an image that sets the company apart from others can attract new customers and keep them.
        The media blitz is not the only way.  Truly lasting repute may come from less dramatic but far more cost-effective methods of public relations and community outreach.  A name that has been attached to a good deed can gain more than recognition; it can gain esteem, honor, respect and loyalty.  Do we remember Andrew Carnegie for the fortune he made in steel or for the philanthropies to which that fortune has been applied: Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Hall, the Carnegie Foundation?  Do we remember the Guggenheim family for the money it made in mining, or for giving us the Guggenheim Museum of Art?  A corporate name coupled to a philanthropic image can be a powerful combination.

CREATING IMAGE
        How is that image created?  For almost thirty years, utilities and other major corporations have been sponsoring a videotape series for secondary and elementary school student to enhance science education.  Founded in 1970 with six corporate clients and twelve school districts, Science Screen Report is now produced in cooperation with the National Science Teachers Association and The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.
        Today, more than six hundred major corporations provide free science videos to more than 3,500 school districts nationwide.  An estimated 15 million students and their teachers view these videos annually.  Corporate sponsors, including Lucent Technologies and Allied Signal, join utilities in sponsoring the creation and distribution of videos that then supplement schools’ permanent media libraries.
The latest developments in science including energy, medicine, engineering, space research, robotics, biotechnology, computers, and more are brought to light in fifteen minute cutting-edge video presentations that aim to open minds, stimulate thought, and bring relevancy to topics that might otherwise be remote and inaccessible to children and teenagers.
         Corporations such as Brooklyn Union, Exxon, CIBA-GEIGY, United Technologies, and others get involved by purchasing copies of the Science Screen Report and Science Screen Report for Kids and donating them to school systems in the cities in which they do business.  The companies receive an opening and closing credit on each video similar to that used by PBS, which lets the students and teachers know who their benefactors are.  The videos become part of the media library at each school and are used continually throughout the year, so the corporate name and logo get a great deal of exposure.
        And does it work?  Do these students and teachers remember who brought them this valuable information?  Do they positively associate the names of these corporations with high-tech solutions and concerned social action? Don Kallus, a teacher at Midland Senior High School in Texas does.  "The views presented," he says, "...show that the purveyors of high technology do consider the consequences of their actions, and, in most instances, have the public welfare in mind.  The reporting is concise, clear, informative, and generally unbiased...."  Science Screen Report, says teacher, Elvis Nolen of Franklin County Schools in Benton, Illinois, "accentuate the positive and...minimize the negative...."
        Children, however, don't choose their energy provider; how effective can it be to put this message before them?  A spokesperson at GTE says that "Science Screen Report is one of the best community relations programs we have used in recent years..." and so and so of xyz energy corp. stated that "for long term public relations, Science Screen Report ...." The fact is that children grow up, and teenagers may be just a year or two from establishing their own households.  Furthermore, teachers are already consumers and their influence over the children in their charge is immeasurable.
        Science Screen Report, as good as it is for boosting the corporate image and making inroads into the community, isn't all about making money however.  Its primary purpose is to upgrade the science education of American children, thus enabling them--and this country--to compete in the global community of the 21st century.  Without a strong scientific community, this nation will surely lose ground.
        Students who view these videos gain knowledge and a wider perspective on life in a technological age, and children who don't get this kind of information in their homes are exposed to a range of topics that is literally breathtaking.  Science Probes Wetland Resources, Stepping Stones to Our Universe, The Microelectronics Future, Electric Power from the Sea, and Immunology--How the Body Defends Itself are just a few recent titles.  As Dr. Donald Hess of the Granite School District in Salt Lake City, Utah put it, "Science Screen Report provides 'what's new in the world of science: it is so up-to-date."
        Over the years, Science Screen Report has received tens of thousands of letters from students and teachers attesting to their interest in the videos and their gratitude for the program.  Many students write to tell the company of scientific competitions they entered or career changes they made because a video sparked their interest, and teachers have written to ask for the videos because they'd seen them when they were in high school.
        High school student Joanna Skevis of Coral Springs, Florida thinks very highly of the program.  Unlike dry textbooks, Science Screen Report videos "make science seem real and accessible."  She, like many of the fifteen million other children who view these videos, intends to go on to major in science in college.  She is a future scientist or science teacher, and might even be employed by your company one day.
        Every year Science Screen Report offers seven new videos produced by experts in the field of communication using the latest in video technology.  The program is complete with live action video, and the latest in computer graphics and animation.  A thoroughly researched Teacher's Guide accompanies each issue providing lesson strategies for teachers, questions for thought, discussion and further study, vocabulary words, definitions, a bibliography and contacts for more specific information.  And, as each new video is designed to have a ten-year shelf life it's a "gift that keeps on giving."
        Politicians debate and bemoan the state of science education in the nation's schools, but some corporations have stopped talking about it and started doing something about it. By giving students the chance to ponder the subjects explored by the Science Screen Report, they make a positive impact on science education in this country that is undeniable.  And, as more and more corporate sponsors pick up and carry the ball, this influence expands.  One day, largely due to this program, America may find competing scientifically on a global scale as easy as A-B-C, while the companies whose names and logos adorn these videos gain honor, esteem, and of course, profits.

Copy