the ever curious PR guy

Prophet’s 2010-2011 U.S. Reputation Study and thoughts on energy

via www.prophet.com

By way of a recent post from the Institute for Public Relations ("Where Should PR Sit in an Organization"), I learned about Prophet's US Reputation Study, which can be viewed HERE. PDF version of the study HERE.

I liked one of the study's takeaway points:

"As developments over the last two years have reinforced, reputation drivers are influenced by macro-economic forces and industry-specific factors. This makes it critical to be mindful of these circumstances in managing a reputation program. While half of the leading reputation drivers were consistent across 2009 and 2010, those that changed centered on the “macro” forces that impact all industries (e.g., pacesetter attributes like openness and behaving in an ethical manner)."

I think reputational drivers in the energy industry are heavily influenced by macro-economic forces and industry-specific factors, and I think most people realize this. However, I find mostly that how one defines "industry" ends up affecting whether one succeeds in navigating this reputational challenge.

For example, one can view the oil & gas industry as separate from the clean energy industry, and I think most companies operating in either camp insulate themselves as such, which may make sense from a purely "operational" perspective. However, this does not make sense at all from a reputational perspective if one thinks about what stakeholders expect, which is for pretty much every sector of the energy industry to be "clean" and working toward full sustainability from energy production and delivery (and "usage" too for those companies working in this emerging area of the energy business value chain).

This expectation may be unreasonable (one may think our energy system will not be fully "clean" for some time). However, if a company completely ignroes this stakeholder expectation and does not manage it in a strategic way, chances are the company may not survive in the future.

Thus in the end, in looking at industry-specific reputational factors, I think you have to cast a much wider net in your thinking about "industry."

 

Communications case study for wind farm development

via www.thesolutionsjournal.com

I like the summary of this case study on gaining buy-in for an urban wind farm:

"The successful development of the Spanish Fork wind project demonstrates that renewable-energy entrepreneurs need to be flexible, consider the costs and benefits that may accrue to various stakeholder groups, and engage in educational outreach about the benefits of urban wind energy to the local community prior to, during, and after construction. The success of clean energy hinges not only on establishing markets for utilities and power users but also on building social movements within local communities." Emphasis mine.

 

Re-thinking "apathy" in communications and public relations

At this moment in time, there is no shortage of good ideas about how to make the world cleaner and greener. And yet, the riddle at the center of just about any sustainability effort (worth its salt) is why we are not taking action. The answer isn’t apathy, it’s dissociation.

via www.sustainablelifemedia.com

Great article HERE on some new thinking about how to deal with audiences we perceive as "apathetic" to any cause we communicators might be trying to promote.

 

Latest Gallup opinion polls on energy and environment, not very good analysis

via www.gallup.com

Gallup recently released latest US public opinion trends on energy production and supply, preference for renewables, and views on conservation and the environment, HERE.

I found Gallup's "bottom line" summary interesting:

As the [Obama] administration weighs its options, one policy Obama could champion without fear of much public resistance is developing alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power. From the high level of support Americans show for that option, it appears that it simultaneously satisfies their demand for energy and addresses their concerns about energy independence, while being sensitive to environmental concerns. [Emphasis mine]

 

It you want people to be "satisfied" about an outcome, you can only do it by actually delivering the outcome so that people can experience the results and benefits. Being that it will take decades for solar and wind power to actually play a significant role in the energy mix (and probably will never in our lifetime be the only sources of energy), is Gallup really serious in their advice to President Obama? Wouldn't this approach create unrealistic expectations on energy and thus contribute to people's growing apathy toward the government's ability to tackle energy and climate change policy?

 

Energy and the Bottom of the Pyramid

What is the Base of the Pyramid?

The Base of the Pyramid (also referred to as the Bottom of the Pyramid) refers to the estimated 4 billion people around the world who are poor by any measure and have limited or no access to essential products and services such as energy, clean water, and communications. Globally, people in this socioeconomic group earn US$1 to US$8 in purchasing power parity (PPP) per day. Yet these households often pay higher prices than wealthier consumers do for lower-quality goods and services because of uncompetitive markets.

via www.wri.org

Reading a very interesting article HERE about how the energy industry (mostly renewables) is helping to bring energy to the "base of the pyramid" in India.

If you're in the energy and climate advocacy space, you definitely need to understand the reality of the "bottom of the pyramid" and think about how to address this challenge. This is not only an opportunity for the renewables energy industry, but for the entire energy industry as well as everyone with a passion behind addressing developmental needs in the emerging nations.

Great water conservation outreach kit

My daughter recently came home from school with this really cool water conservation kit. Someone associated with our local water district visited her 4th grade class to talk about the importance of water resources and the need to conserve, and gave each kid a kit. More about the kits HERE.

We installed the shower head and measured a reduction of 30 percent in the rate of water flow. The kit comes with a plastic bag that has markings to help you measure the difference in water flow. My daughter helped me install the "water efficient" shower head and time the water flow rates from the old and new shower heads with a stop watch. But she left me hanging when it was time to dry the wet mess we made and put away the tools. She had a TV show to watch.

It's an amazing thing what happens when, in addition to communicating about an issue (like water resources), you give people a tool they can use to learn and make a difference. If you're in sustainable development or environmental communications and not doing something like this, don't be surprised if people don't pay attention to you.