The Clarksville Department of Electricity (CDE) is a municipal provider of electric power to over 50,000 customers in Tennessee’s fifth largest city. For several years, the department studied the feasibility of installing fiber optics network-wide to provide electric customers with state-of-the-art features, including setting their own billing date, instant service connect and disconnect, instant outage detection and real-time tracking of customers’ electricity usage over the Internet.

 

The big question was how to pay for it. CDE surmised that over the high-capacity fiber optic lines they could offer additional services like telephone, cable television and ultra high speed broadband Internet for their customers. If just 25 percent of their customers signed on for these services the new telecommunications company could break even. But the new hurdle was how to legally allow a municipally-owned company to compete in the private sector.

 

Despite having a solid business plan approved by the state comptroller, CDE’s bid through the Clarksville City Council to re-charter itself as an authority missed by the smallest margin possible, leaving them back at square one. Their only option now was to get a referendum before the citizens of Clarksville and hope the majority of people would vote to allow CDE to offer new services. CDE had conducted an independent survey of its customers and determined that they held a high customer service rating, so they felt confident in the referendum passing but needed to be sure it would. CDE contacted Waterhouse Public Relations for help.

 

Past experience with another city’s venture into telecommunications had Waterhouse PR prepared for a tough fight from incumbent providers. The political arena is a familiar venue for Waterhouse PR, so the fact that this fight was being taken to the polls, relatively uncharted territory for a municipality in the U.S., only steeled Waterhouse PR’s staff even more.

 

To positively influence public opinion in the face of heavy negative campaigning by incumbent service providers.

 

Waterhouse PR engaged community leaders and civic groups, making sure these key influencers were aware of the benefits of the services CDE sought to provide. Business development, education, medicine and general lifestyle improvement led the initial messaging blitz as CDE principals conducted one-on-one meetings with area business leaders and presentations for various civic groups.

 

Based on research conducted on other communities, the primary attacks from incumbent service providers were most often: 1. Local municipal utility companies are not sophisticated enough to run telecom businesses; 2. It’s unfair to use tax dollars to compete with private industry; 3. There are enough competitors in the market already; 4. Failure of a public system is inevitable and customers’ electricity rates will go up to bail it out.

 

As the election grew closer, the messaging strategy shifted to accommodate this information, and as a result CDE was more than prepared when Clarksville’s incumbent local cable television service provider decided to start a messaging blitz of their own to try to influence a “no” vote. Their message matched what we presumed it would be.

 

CDE and Waterhouse PR put out a simple message: “Technology. Service. Choice,” reaching out to the citizens who wanted better telecom and cable TV products, better and local customer service, and more companies to choose from for their services.

 

Through strategically placed letters to the editor, newspaper and radio advertising, direct mailers, customer service on-hold messaging, bill messaging and bill stuffers CDE systematically dismantled the competitor’s negative claims, rendering the campaign ineffective.

 

On Nov. 7, 2006, CDE employees and supporters anxiously awaited election results. Close to midnight, the results came in and showed an overwhelming 72 percent support for CDE.