Winning Hearts and MindsThe UK experience

Alison HillHead of Communications

BWEA

Learning the lesson the hard way …

Consensus agreement on offshore

UK industry standards and best practice

Communicating the reality

We know that there is a high level of support

We know that there are many myths about wind energy

We know that knowledge increases support

Familiarity breeds content – the inverse Nimby syndrome!

Campaign objectives

• Give people who support wind power a voice

• Challenge the myths about wind power

• Reposition wind power as the first step in the

‘renewables revolution’

• Demonstrate that wind is a mainstream energy business

Approach

3 key elements:

• Champions – celebrity and local• Campaign website – information and sign-up• Supporting materials – images, postcards, badges etc

Combined with ongoing media stunts to raise awareness

Embrace champions - celebrity

• Chris Tarrant

• Guy Berryman, Coldplay

• Tom Dixon, Head of Design, Habitat

• Wayne Hemingway, Designer

• Julia Barfield and David Marks, Designers

of the London Eye

• Zac Goldsmith, Environmentalist

• Bishop of Liverpool

• Tim Wheeler, Ash

• Sian Lloyd, weather reporter

Embrace champions - celebrity

• Simon Schama, historian

• Lord Norman Foster, architect

• Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London

• Anita Roddick, Businesswoman

• Kevin McLoud, presenter, Grand Designs

• Polly Toynbee, journalist

• John Tomlinson CBE, opera singer

• Mary Archer President, NEF

• Brian Cox, actor

• veteran broadcasters Vincent Kane OBE and

Magnus Magnusson KBE … to name but a few

Embrace champions - local

• 42 local champions

• All over the country

• Happy to speak out:

at country launches, to local media, and to concerned residents

near wind farm proposals.

Campaign website

• www.embracewind.com

• the basis of our call to action

• 20,000 people have signed up to wind … and counting

• Captures names to go on four wind turbines across the country

• Mechanic to email local MPs – 3,500 letters sent so far

Campaign launch20 September 2004

Media coverage: launch

• National media coverage in:– Independent on Sunday– Financial Times x 2

– Scotsman

– Guardian x 2

– Press Association

– Steve Wright Show, BBC Radio 2

– BBC Online

• Radio interviews on 69 regional stations

• Regional press coverage in 18 papers

• Magnum Photographs as centre page spread in Guardian G2 post-launch

Favourability

• All articles contained at least one key campaign message

• 8 positive articles

• 5 balanced articles including negative comments from Noel Edmonds, David Bellamy and local action groups

Advertising Embrace

Advertising

• Undertook first ever billboard advertising campaign for wind

• Selected 350 tactical sites at 120 locations throughout the UK

• In areas with wind farms in different stages of planning

• Ran from 1 November for 2 weeks

• Photo launch of ad campaign in Edinburgh with 4 MSPs, BWEA and SRF – exclusive with Glasgow Herald on Sunday and lots of regional press interest for Monday

Favourability

• 10 positive and 12 balanced stories

• Negative comments from: – Local groups (5)– David Bellamy (1)– Ramblers Association Scotland (1)– John Hayes, Shadow Minister for Housing & Planning (2)– Noel Edmonds (1)– Local MPs (1)

• Independent analysis shows value for money compared with concurrent campaigns

A bigger EmbraceThe NOP Wind Tracker

NOP Wind Tracker

• a regular assessment of opinion to wind energy in UK

• Repeat 3 questions, originally asked for launch poll:

“Wind farms are necessary so that we can produce renewable energy to help us meet current and future energy needs in the UK”

Wind WeekendAugust Bank Holiday Weekend

Thousands put their hands up in support …

• 6,000 people visited 15 wind farms across the country

• 143 items of coverage – higher even than launch (127)

• 95% positive• 2 negative articles … not

safe to ‘touch a turbine’

A Political Embrace

Public Affairs and Party conferences

• Public affairs activity integrated into Embrace

• Embrace at Party conferences – stand at Labour

• Letters and badge sent to every MP, MSP and Welsh AM – some now wearing in public!

• Briefings and MP visits to wind farms being set up

Analysis

Media coverage - favourability

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Positive Neutral Negative

466 items of coverage in total: 90% positive, 6% neutral, 4% negative

Coverage by media type

020406080

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Nat

iona

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Regio

nals

Cons

umer

Trad

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Nat

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Survey of journalists

6 national and 4 regional broadcast and print journalists• 70% aware – 30% not aware – 100% want more info• They said:

– It’s a local story– Editorial policy re wind/nuclear has ultimate influence over copy– Right wing bias of media makes national coverage hard to obtain– Most people are in favour of wind farms

• We need external hook or event to make it newsworthy

• We need more in-depth analysis, facts and figures to challenge anti’s mis-information campaign

Summary of achievements

Established Embrace the Revolution

• A campaign to unite the wind industry

• A campaign the government can support

• A campaign to build on

• A campaign that has had media circulation of 96 million

Headline results

• Secured support from 35 high profile celebrity champions and 42 local champions to speak out

• 466 media stories – 90% positive

• 300 posters in targeted local areas seen by 3 million people

• 86,000 website hits generating over 20,000 supporters and 3,300 letters to MPs

• Attitudes remaining stable between 74% to 80% who agree:“wind farms are necessary to help us meet current

and future energy needs in the UK”

Support Embrace

• We know that attitudes won’t change overnight

• But we are confident that our strategy is right

• Why? Because we are

– Giving people the opportunity to experience wind energy– And the facts to understand it– And the chance to speak out in its favour

Public and political support is key