Executive Vice President Mark Sokolove spoke at CSP Today's conference in Las Vegas, NV on June 26, 2013 to discuss how the industry can best communicate CSP's value to critical audiences.

1. 1
Communicating CSP’s Value:
Generating Attention to Reach Critical
Audience Segments
CSP Today USA
Las Vegas, NV
June 26, 2013

2. Table of Contents
2
1. Positive Growth, but Still an Uphill Climb
2. Ways to Win Them Over/Best Practices
3. Lessons Learned/Success Stories

3. Let’s Start With The Positives…
3 out of 4 Americans support
the development of utility-scale
solar on public lands
http://www.seia.org/cs/news_detail?pressrelease.id=1670
Source of clean,
reliable and
dispatchable power
Strong job
creation
potential

4. All projects, regardless of merit, need or value,
start with varying degrees of opposition
• Property value and proximity to housing
• Environmental issues
• Land/Ag. use issues
• Restrictive taxes & policies
• Price of natural gas
• RPS rollback attempts
What We’re Up Against
4

5. Ways to Win Them Over:
Five Campaign Components
5
1. Create a strategic campaign playbook
2. Use consistent message throughout your
organization
3. Define what attacks you can live with
4. Reach out proactively to grasstops and
grassroots
5. Use multiple tools and channels to reach
various audiences

6. Ways to Win Them Over:
Communications Planning Methodology
6
Messengers Channels Message Audience O utcome
Communications Flow
Planning Process

7. Ways To Win Them Over:
Building Grasstops Support
7
• Outreach to elected officials
• Press and editorial board tours, power
plant visits
• Local business leader engagement
• Local educational institutions

8. Ways To Win Them Over:
Building Grassroots Support
8
• Letters to the editor
• Email campaigns
• Flyering
• Town halls and
workshops
• Door-to-door

9. Ways To Win Them Over:
Media Channels To Use
• Earned media
• Paid advertising
• Microsites
• Social media
• Peer-to-peer contact
9

10. Ways To Win Them Over: Powermapping
10
Grasstops
• Interest group leaders
• Local elected officials
• 3rd party validators
Grassroots / Community
• Local networks
• Recreational networks
• Church networks
• Professional networks
• Neighborhood networks

11. Senator, Chair,
Commerce & Labor
Committee
Director,
Governor’s
Office of
Energy
County
Commissioners
Assemblyman
BLM Las
Vegas Field
Office
Mayor
Area Chamber
of Commerce
Executive Director,
Nevada Cattlemen’s
Association
Neighborhood
associations
Religious organizationsPresident,
Sierra Club
Ways To Win Them Over: Powermapping
the Grasstops
11

12. The wind farm
“means jobs and tax
revenue for the local
community and that of
course, is good for this
school district.”
Local school
superintendent
Message
and Messenger
Channels Outcome
• Local
parents
• Residents
concerned
about the
budget
• Property
owners
Audience
• Local media
outlets
• Community
meetings
• Social
networks
• Increased
public
support for
your project
How It Works Together
12

15. 15

16. Lessons Learned: Be Clear & Consistent
Across Channels
16

17. Lessons Learned: Communicate Locally
“We've got sun in abundance here in the
San Joaquin Valley. We must continue
to strive to maximize our potential as
food producers, but there's more than
one way to fuel America's needs. And
the valley's west side is the ideal place
to do it.”
17

18. Lessons Learned: Matching Tactics & Tools
To Your Audience
18

19. Ways to Win Them Over:
Five Campaign Components
19
1. Create a strategic campaign playbook
through communications planning
2. Use consistent message throughout your
organization
3. Define what attacks you can live with
4. Reach out proactively to grasstops and
grassroots
5. Use multiple tools and channels to reach
various audiences

20. 20
Thank You
Mark Sokolove
mark@tigercomm.us
@msokolove