When the seven U.S. and Canadian companies sponsoring a $2.6 billion natural gas pipeline needed an information pipeline to educate audiences about this ground-breaking project, PR became their godsend.
By last week, executives with the Alliance Pipeline had secured the go-ahead from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in the U.S. for the pipeline that will travel underground from British Columbia to outside Chicago. They are waiting for calls of approval in Canada from the National Energy Board and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, which are expected any day.
Also positioned at their phones to get that call is Padilla*Speer*Beardsley, a Minneapolis-based PR boutique getting a chunk of the more than $500,000 that was earmarked for the pipeline project's PR. PSB's work has been down-in-the-trenches, with the agency at most of the 30 open houses held in communities that will be affected by the pipeline.
Media relations, in this case, served as the mortar for Alliance Pipeline's PR inroads into geographic nooks where the pipeline will be installed. Working with nearly 500 media outlets (most of them regional newspapers) required that PSB visit with editorial staffs, provide project experts to answer questions and conduct advance briefings at open houses.
From the beginning, those spearheading the project crossed into communications territory rare in an arena filled with deep-pocketed entrepreneurs who rarely seek public opinion unless they're forced to. Consider, for instance, that PSB helped early on to identify 80 non-government organizations, such as the Sierra Club, to find out what opposition they might face and what environmental issues are sensitive.
Before the End of the Line
The Pipeline Alliance story is a unique study in communications because of its broad-stroke nature. This organization faced scrutiny from nearly every angle. Not only did it need to speak to federal constituents, but its audiences were from two different countries.
Also on the sidelines were the local press in states and provinces where the pipeline will be laid and policy makers, from county commissioners to state politicians, who would become defacto spokespeople for the massive undertaking.
Alliance Pipeline and PSB have found it just as important to establish a rapport with Marian Gibson, the administrator for the village of Channahom, Ill. (population: 6,500) as they have in working with the Mouse River Journal, a weekly in Towner, N.D. (circulation: 2,000).
The firm worked on communication initiatives key to the project, from a Web site launched May 10, 1996, when the project went public with its plans, to a "Project Update" newsletter unveiled last year, according to PSB's Kevin O'Connor.
The publication seeks to answer the many questions that have cropped up at public forums and one-on-ones held with community leaders, chambers of commerce and farm bureaus in 39 of the 42 counties through which the pipeline will cross.
The PR Pipeline
Of about 6,000 affected landowners, project planners have secured easement agreements from more than 80 percent in the U.S. and 95 percent in Canada. It will likely battle through lawsuits or negotiations with the others, which speaks volumes about how tedious these ventures can be.
Understanding the success of the communications for this project requires a look at the lengthy timeline. The project concept gained ground in 1995 when 23 shippers backed the notion of a 36-inch pipeline extending 1,900 miles that would make the delivery of natural gas more viable - and more profitable.
The logic behind the project is that more gas at a higher pressure can be moved through a smaller pipe at a lower cost. The system is expected to contain about 1100 BTU/per cubic foot, nearly 10 percent more energy than traditional gas pipelines. A $1.5 million feasibility study - thousands of pages and multiple volumes - providing the fodder that was needed to proceed.
"We were largely a new entity known to nobody," Pipeline Alliance Director of Communications Jay Godfrey recalls of the importance of outreach PR. "We had no assets, no history, to speak of, so we needed to have a full team in place. I wasn't looking for great PR per se. I was looking for a firm with knowledge of communications, the environment, socio-economics, people who could work with others."
PBS helped analyze responses to surveys collected at open house meetings. A majority indicated that citizens think that the pipeline will have positive effects on their communities. That kind of reassurance becomes a linchpin when millions hang in the balance. "Our message was, 'To build a pipeline in your land makes us neighbors,'" says Godfrey. "We recognized the value of involving people at Day zero - not at Day one or Day 10." (Alliance, 403/517-6310; PBS, 612/872-3746)
Padilla*Speer*Beardsley
Headquarters: Minneapolis, Minn.
Employees: 85
Revenues 1997: $6.7 million
Major Clients: Rockwell Automation, Lutheran Brotherhood, Alliance Pipeline, Lifetouch Inc., HealthPartners, Metropolitan Airports Commission