INTRODUCTION

 This document constitutes a media plan to promote the water industry in the United States. The plan discusses the public relations challenges facing the water industry today and methods of successfully meeting those challenges. Cost estimates for specific advertising elements are included as well as advertising concepts for discussion purposes.

PUBLIC RELATIONS CHALLENGES

 The Water Industry Council is young, having incorporated just two and one half years ago. To successfully fulfill the Water Industry Councilís mission of representing leading water and wastewater service providers, the mission of the water/wastewater industry in general must be better known to community leaders throughout the United States and must enjoy a good reputation in the business community. For that reason alone, itís important to begin an educational effort about the water industry and how it helps communities solve their water problems. When coupled with the fact that Malcolm Pirnie has initiated negative print advertisements aimed at the water industry, it becomes doubly important for the water industry to launch its own public relations campaign.

How the water industry is introduced to decision makers and community leaders is crucial to its success. The public/private partnerships the water industry advances are complicated. The water industryís services must be explained in simple, understandable terms. Otherwise, whatever funds used to advertise are wasted. The end products of clean water and reliable wastewater disposal are the key points on which to focus.

Being constantly vigilant in monitoring possible future public attacks on the water industry is a key component to successfully promoting and protecting the reputation of the water industry. The Malcolm Pirnie attack on the water industry is unfocused at best. A more direct and clear attack may come in the future and the water industry must be prepared to withstand and answer it. No attack can be allowed to stand unanswered.

The water industry has several audiences which should receive its message. One is decision makers and community leaders. Another is interest groups such as environmentalists. The largest single audience is the general public which is the most difficult and expensive audience to reach. Different messages must be tailored and delivered to different groups depending on the circumstances. A variety of media can be employed to effectively deliver these messages. The challenge is to choose the right medium to deliver the right message at the right time.

PUBLIC RELATIONS STRATEGY

Had the Malcolm Pirnie attack been clearer we would be recommending a direct response to it. Because it is so unclear, we recommend an advertising campaign emphasizing the positive attributes of the water industry. We would recommend also that the initial round of advertising be limited to industry trade publications. We have identified a list of leading trade periodicals in which we would recommend purchasing advertising space. A list of those publications and the cost of our placing a full page advertisement in each is attached. One round of ads in the leading 15 trade periodicals would cost just under $100,000 at the top end. Please note that these costs include all placement and insertion fees. Also, our one time fee for this entire project is $20,000 and the creative fee for each print advertisement would be $7,500. Plus production per ad will run $1,000 to $2,000 depending on production elements used and the production capabilities of each periodical. Costs for still photos not in stock would be additional. Our colleagues at the Stearns and Douglas Company will be responsible for the creative work on all print advertising.

To saturate the audience of decision makers who read the trade periodicals, we would recommend placing a full page ad in a high priority location in each periodical monthly for one full year. That way, the message is driven home emphatically and good will is built up so as to withstand a more frontal assault down the road by Malcolm Pirnie or someone else. Another method we could use to stretch the overall saturation of these ads would be to mail them with an appropriate cover letter to industry leaders and certain key decision makers around the country. Thatís a low cost way of getting the message to an even broader audience.

Each monthly advertisement could employ different visuals and different text or we could create three or four different ads and rotate them. In any event, the message would be essentially the same: The water industry is your best option for curing whatever ails your townís water system. Your townís drinking water will be pure and clean and your toilets will never back up again. And that means that youíll be re-elected to mayor or town council. Thatís an obvious oversimplification of the advertising content, but it captures the gist of it. The emphasis in any advertising we do must be on the quality the water/wastewater companies bring to every project you work on and the care you take about water, people and meeting industry standards for quality water and quality wastewater elluent. Print advertising concepts are attached.

Regarding message, we may want to consider conducting some research to sharpen the content of our ads. We work with several excellent polling firms who can develop research instruments tailored to this project, put them in the field and provide detailed analyses of the results. Often, in advertising campaigns similar to this one, we get surprising results in surveys which help us develop more precise messages for our ads. We would recommend that the water industry consider using polling research to help refine our message.

In addition to paid advertising, the water industry should engage in an aggressive free media campaign. Such a campaign would involve media events surrounding the successful takeover of a municipalityís water system and a constant stream of positive press releases and statements heralding the many accomplishments of the water industry. Also, weíd want to generate op-ed articles and letters to the editor on behalf of the industry and engage specific reporters in writing about the water industry in favorable terms. The water industryís free media efforts would be in addition to those of individual water companies. We would be pleased to be of whatever assistance you would like in this effort.

A final strategy element involves the appropriate response to future attacks. Should an attack come sometime in the future which is clear and aggressive, the water industry must swiftly and sharply respond. Any response must be at least as strong as the initial attack and must be in the same medium as the attack or a more substantial medium. In other words, if attacked in the trade periodicals, the response should be in the trade periodicals at a minimum and at the same or greater intensity. When responding to an attack, the water industry has the option of using radio and/or television to reach a broader audience quicker and heighten the level of debate.

FUTURE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

 Other advertising campaigns to consider for the future would involve radio and television. Radio is an excellent medium to use to deliver a rifle shot message to decision makers in a town or state capital. By targeting town leaders and their staffs, for instance, the media buy costs can be significantly reduced and the effect of delivering a multi-media message (print and radio, for instance) is dramatic.

Similarly, television messages can be targeted to opinion leaders and decision influencers to help leaders make the right decisions. While those media buys are more expensive, they can pay huge dividends when they achieve the desired result. In many cases, news burst media weeks (where we target almost exclusively on television news programing) can be very affordable, while achieving the electric charge and impact that is unique to television. Television images in relation to the water industry would be particularly powerful.

To put the possibilities of future radio and television campaigns for the water industry in perspective, we have attached a list of sample cities with time buy figures for one week of broadcast to the general public. Similar strength buys aimed at decision makers would be significantly lower in cost. Also, for your information, our creative fee for television is $8,500 per 30 second spot. For radio our creative fee is $5,500 for each 60 second spot. In addition, our production costs are dramatically lower than many other media firms. For radio we do not exceed $5,000 total production costs per 60 second spot. For television we do not exceed $15,000 per 30 second spot (exclusive of film shoot, photo shoot and dubbing/shipping costs) and usually each spot runs under $10,000 for full production costs (exclusive of film shoot, photo shoot and dubbing/shipping costs).

CONCLUSION

The water industry is in a solid position to raise its profile substantially over the next year or so. The use of print advertising in trade periodicals as discussed above is an economical and effective course to take toward that end. We at Joe Slade White and Company are pleased to be part of that effort and look forward to working with you on this exciting project.