Case study: integrated communications

Client

John Deere Wind Energy

Situation

John Deere Wind Energy (JDWE), a national leader in wind energy development, needed to coordinate and promote a major groundbreaking event for its new wind farm project in Greensburg, Kansas, a community leveled by an EF5 tornado in 2007. JDWE turned to Hellman to help coordinate the event and lead public relations/social media efforts for the project on all levels, including local, national and industry.

Creative Solutions

• Developed a comprehensive communications strategy, including media relations, media kit materials, news release and media alerts.
• Assisted in event coordination, including invitations, eVites, guest list management, catering and signage.
• Supplemented traditional PR tactics with a comprehensive social media strategy, including extensive Twitter promotion and a socially optimized media alert, focusing on outreach to bloggers, the media and the renewable energy industry.

Superior Results

• Generated widespread positive goodwill for John Deere Wind Energy on a local, regional and national scale, while positioning the company as a national leader in renewable energy.

• Spurred significant conversation in the social space about the Greensburg Wind Farm. Twitter was abuzz with tweets and re-tweets and the social media alert received more than 600 views.
• Event attendance exceeded John Deere Wind Energy’s expectations with an estimated 360 attendees.
• The groundbreaking event attracted multiple media entities on both the local and national levels, including the Discovery Channel.

Tags: event coordination, greensburg, greensburg wind farm, groundbreaking, Hellman, JDWE, john deere, john deere renewables, john deere wind energy, kansas, media relations, Public Relations, renewable, renewable energy, renewables, social media, tornado, Twitter, wind, wind energy, wind energy industry