Challenge

From the outset, the Tasmanian-based company, Roaring 40s (R40s) was portrayed by protestors as opportunistic interlopers, money hungry, arrogant and by making lease payments to the selected private land-owners and not others, as ‘having turned families against families’ in a tight-knit rural community.

While the groundswell of protest grew and the protest leaders actively targeted local media raising issues such as noise-related health concerns attributed to wind turbines and damage to local roads caused by heavy vehicles and equipment, the upper management of Roaring40s was noticeably quiet. The Waterloo Wind Farm was R40s first South Australian project, but with plans for a number of other similar SA projects, it was critical for the company to get this right.

Solution

We undertook a number of strategies to connect Roaring 40’s with the local community by encouraging the company’s management to rethink their ‘no comment’ policy and be proactive in the inevitable debate.

We intended to use the debate to drive and attract positive media comment about renewable energy as well as encourage national media to attend the official launch more than 100kms out of Adelaide.

Our approach to the project was broken into two distinct phases:

• Phase one: a June 2010 visit by then Federal Climate Minister Penny Wong, aiming for a ‘soft’ introduction to the issues surrounding the development and reiterating the Government’s positive support for green energy
• Phase two: Targeting the formal commissioning and official opening of the Waterloo wind Farm in February 2011.

To complement these phases:

• Media training was carried out with CEO Steve Symons to ensure the message around the value of the project was both clear and reasonable with appropriate acknowledgement and rebuttal of key protest issues
• Steve Symons was offered to key local media to discuss the development and publicly counter protestors’ concerns
• Previously unacknowledged Letters to the Editor of the local paper were selectively responded to
• Newsletter content was revised, as were information sheets
• A major official opening was organised with the Premier of South Australia Mike Rann invited to attend and endorse the value of the project. Local, state and national media were invited to attend
• Media briefing packs were prepared with key facts, stats, DVD vision and stills of the construction progress
• A Community Open Day was developed and promoted for the Saturday after the official opening to let the community see exactly what had been happening, talk to company representatives, ask questions and have a good look at the project up close. The local Lions Club ran a sausage sizzle, kids’ entertainment was provided and live music combined to create a carnival atmosphere, where supporters and protestors were equally welcome to attend.

Result

While it’s difficult to quantify changes in perception of R40s and its operations without formal research, the company’s new willingness to acknowledge protestors’ concerns was extremely beneficial, judging by anecdotal feedback from the local community after the Open Day in ongoing conversations with company staff.

The company also felt their newly proactive stance had been responsible for a decrease in protest calls to the Head Office.

Additionally:

• Media coverage resulted in 53 media articles, 265% of the objective
• Media coverage analysis showed 87% positive/balanced media coverage across print, radio and television (target 75%) with 42% (target 30% ) coverage in “tier 1” media ie: metro, national.
• More than 320 people attended the “Open day” (target 200 plus) receiving favorable feedback (at least 7/10) from 50% of those attendees.