EPB was established in 1935 for the sole purpose of providing electric power to the people of the greater Chattanooga area. Today, EPB is one of the largest publicly-owned providers of electric power in the country, serving more than 163,000 residents in Hamilton County and other surrounding counties. While EPB has always been involved in enhancing the community and increasing the quality of life for fellow Chattanoogans, many citizens viewed the utility more as a service provider rather than as a true community partner. EBP enlisted the help of Waterhouse Public Relations to improve the community’s perception of the EPB corporate brand and position the utility as a civic-minded member of the community.

Objective

To strengthen the EPB brand by promoting its efforts to enhance the quality of life for its customers, increase awareness of EPB’s involvement in all aspects of the community, and position EPB as a true community partner.

Strategies

1. Leverage media relationships to increase exposure of EPB’s community involvement by promoting the volunteer efforts of the staff and the company in education initiatives, community service, and consumer programs that have a positive impact on the quality of life in the community.
2. Build and market the Power Share brand for EPB’s program that allows customers to donate directly to other customers who may have a financial problem that prevents them from paying their utility bill.
3. Improve the perception of the corporate brand by developing new, and growing existing community relations programs, strengthening the brand and its impact on quality of life in the community, and being prepared for unforeseen occurrences that can impact future perceptions about the company.
4. Continue to build on EPB’s brand awareness and strengthen its brand image by maximizing the opportunities to communicate about EPB’s programs and activities that improve the quality of life in Chattanooga, such as the all-fiber Internet solution for business.

Results

Waterhouse PR’s ongoing media relations campaign has produced a substantial amount of positive print and broadcast coverage for EPB, and continues to achieve the campaign objectives. Throughout the campaign, EPB has been able to strengthen and grow current programs such as Power Share and Green Power due to the increase in community support. It has also increased its sponsorships within the community. Studies are showing that customers believe in EPB as delivering reliable service and being a dedicated community member. EPB was recently rated among the top utilities in the country by J.D. Power and Associates in terms of customer satisfaction from a group of 78 utilities nationwide.