Winner
Fleishman-Hillard and Rockies Express Pipeline, LLC: Building the King of Pipelines

Rockies Express Pipeline (REP), a unit of Kinder Morgan Energy, hired Fleishman-Hillard in 2005 for government and community relations and public affairs for the planning, building, and implementation of a three-phase natural gas pipeline. Fortuitously, the announcement came at a time when politicians and energy experts across the US were demanding an increased focus on domestic sources of clean and reliable energy.
 
The energy company and Fleishman aimed to create a campaign that showed communities the need for the pipeline, set to run nearly 1,700 miles from Colorado to Ohio, as well as the benefits that it would bring to the local and regional markets involved.
 
“[This was] a multi-state challenge that overcame potential [not in my backyard (NIMBY)] concerns and legislative opposition,” noted one judge of the effort, which is headed to completion in 2009.
 
Indeed, the NIMBY effect meant that the PR team needed to provide government relations and community support to help with the regulatory and legislative affairs for project development, as well as help the project remain on schedule.
 
The campaign reached out to community organizers in each state who, in turn, identified key stakeholders. The PR team also created handouts and presentation materials to educate landowners about the regulatory and construction process. Campaign organizers represented the company at public meetings and open houses, and helped with presentations to elected officials. Fleishman organized a series of media tours to provide updates about the status of the project.
 
“[This was] a great campaign overall, [with a] solid use of multiple channels and strategies,” said one judge.
 
REP has gotten good feedback from nearly all the communities through which it plans to pass, garnering hundreds of positive media stories. More importantly, the effort also led to support of the project from federal, state, and local officials, after they were briefed on the positive influences the pipeline would have on their communities. In addition, the initiative had a significant online component, with the development of a project Web site used to provide information and updates.
 
“This was a specific campaign that mobilized many ‘voices' to accomplish success,” said one judge, adding that it was “an uphill battle won by a methodical approach.”

Honorable Mention
Crosby-Volmer International Communications and National Association of Broadcasters: DTV Transition Consumer Awareness Campaign

As the transition date to DTV quickly neared (the original date was February 17, 2009, but President Obama signed a bill to delay it to June 12, 2009), the National Association of Broadcasters sought to make the entire US aware of the switch, and how to make it. The campaign developed and utilized a targeted community- and media-relations effort, focusing on those groups most affected. Crosby-Volmer created a DTV Speakers Bureau, comprised of 1,100-plus broadcasters nationwide who gave nearly 7,500 talks on the subject. The DTV Road Show spread the word by bringing two giant TVs to more than 600 stops at festivals, malls, and sporting events. Toolkits were given to members of Congress, and various media were used to generate more than 11,000 print, online, and broadcast media hits in English and Spanish. “[This was a] creative campaign that utilized appropriate communication channels to make an impact,” noted one judge, while another deemed it “a very solid effort overall, focused on informing an extremely large group of stakeholders.”

Finalists

• Crosby-Volmer International Communications and National Association of Broadcasters: DTV Transition Consumer Awareness Campaign
• Edelman and API: Drilling Deeper – Energizing an Industry in the Crosshairs
• Fleishman-Hillard and Rockies Express Pipeline, LLC: Building the King of Pipelines
• Porter Novelli and San Diego County Regional Airport Authority: Public Affairs Program for San Diego County Regional Airport Authority's Master Plan Environmental Impact Report
• Porter Novelli Sacramento and California Optometric Association: A New Vision for Optometry in California

Sponsor: Qorvis Communications is one of the nation's largest independent communications firms. Formed in August 2000, Qorvis provides in-house expertise in the areas of advertising, public and media relations, public affairs, marketing communications, internet campaigns and interactive design, social media strategies, grassroots programs, investor and financial communications, and research and opinion surveys.