Empowering Winds of Change and Stakeholder Engagement 2.

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Web 2.0 advocacy, relationship management and stakeholder engagement to strengthen reputation and influence policy.

The Situation
Until 2010 wind power in Spain had played a role most modern democracies had tried to emulate: Being the advent of healthy employment and accountable for a 200% increase of jobs in the Energy sector.
The new Pre-allocation Register which was put in place during mid-2009 and the the lack of new regulatory framework was causing uncertainty between key players. The economical crisis had caused the suspension of orders which impacted on the industrys employment ratios. Future capacity development was at risk threatening the governments commitment with Europe of achieving 20% final energy consumption from renewable resources by 2020. The overall reputation performance of the Energy sector was rapidly deteriorating. The public eye was (and is) on the Energy sector, specifically on Gas and Oil. The publics perception was being negatively influenced by macroeconomic forces as well as industry specific factors.

Eolo photography contest 2011 winner

The Challenges
The Internet hosted large amounts of conversations, communities of interest, activists and social media e-influencers that invested time and efforts advocating for carbon neutrality and for the use of sustainable energy sources.
A first e-insight report demonstrated AEE wasnt an active voice in the webs social conversation. Out of 406 total mentions regarding wind power, AEE was mentioned only in 34 of them.

Its members doubted of the effectiveness of this new, and mostly unknown, communications ecosystem.
The teams budget was modest but not their drive.
Online Media comment count by media type. Total comments: 406

They decided that attempting to control the power of social conversations was a dangerous game but engaging in the dialogue, openly, authentically and in a way that made sense for internal and external stakeholders, would pay off over time.

The Objectives
To engage decision makers, individuals, families, communities, state, corporations, e-influencers and other stakeholders to begin quickly and meaningfully supporting Spains Wind Power Associations efforts.
To raise awareness and educate the Spanish public on the urgent need to solve the sectors needs and to demand real solutions from elected officials so that Spains Wind Power Capacity building isnt stopped in order to continue with its active contribution towards the goal of achieving 20% final energy consumption from renewable resources by 2020. To become a visible, trusted and authorized voice in the sector in order to provide timely and transparent information on the main issues related to wind power, the Spanish energy landscape and the impact to individuals, communities, the environment and the nations macro-economic situation.

The Future is in your hands Picture from the Eolo 2011 photography contest.

Social Communication Architecture

After succeeding at obtaining internal stakeholder buyout we proceeded to develop a Social Communication Architecture based on an information hub (AEEs redesigned and social media and SEO optimized website www.aeeolica.es ). A destination point for content and conversion. The rest of the components of the social ecosystem

Twitter: aeeolica Facebook: aeeolica Youtube channel Slideshare Wiki

Buzz Digital Media User generated content

New website
Accountability a priority:
An employer portal and search engine where companies and professionals meet to explore employment opportunities. An associate extranet to promote collaboration, ideation, iteration and the sharing of knowledge and information.

A Working groups area where associates share, openly and transparently, their initiatives and the deliverables of working groups related to pricing, infrastructures, marine wind power, R&D, environmental issues, internationalization, infrastructures, safety and risk mitigation, training and education, workforce and employment, Policy and Regulatory issues, etc.
Performance information and direct impact on individual households.

Social Media

Klout Score

Social Media: Storytelling

Storytelling and multimedia plays an important role in todays AEE online communication. Some of the initiatives are:

What has wind power done for you? A series of videos

and testimonials that show plant workers, local community members and celebrities sharing their views on the impact of wind power in their lives. Celebrities endorsed them spontaneously! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc ISDIbZppA

Success!
The world

The e-insight report conducted just after the Fukushima plant incident showed 4,000 relevant comments that advocated for Wind Power in Spain. An increase of 1076.8% over the report in October 2010. A strong reaction in support of their causes and positions, proving their connection with the subject, as a consequence of the efforts of relationship and connection with their audiences in the online environment carried out by ESA. These interventions focused mostly on blogs and digital versions of traditional media

Wind energy: 4038 positives