2. Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
SITUATION ANALYSIS
PROBLEM STATEMENT
SWOT
IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE
COMMUNICATION PLAN
MEDIA RELATIONS
TUSCALOOSA NEWS/ ALABAMA POWER ONLINE NEWSROOM
ALABAMA POWER ONLINE NEWSROOM/ THE ODYSSEY
SOCIAL MEDIA
STADIUM VIDEO
RISE VIDEO
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
RESEARCH
APPENDIX
4
5-7
8
9
10
11-12
13-16
15
16
17-23
20
21
22
23
24-27
3. BUDGET BREAKDOWN
MEDIA PLAN
STADIUM AND RISE STORYBOARDS
FULL ARTICLES A.4.
SOCIAL MEDIA
FOCUS GROUP SCRIPT
TIMELINE
REFERENCES
Table of Contents
A.1.
A.2.
A.3.
A.5.
A.6.
A.7.
A.8.
4. Executive Summary
Alabama Power approached the College of Communication and Information Sciences
with a goal in mind to improve its perceived reputation in the greater Tuscaloosa
community. It was decided this would be a five-year campaign with funds totaling
$250,000 given in $50,000 increments.
In the spring of 2014, Capstone Agency partnered with the Digital Media Center to
form a collaborative effort to successfully execute the first phase of the campaign.
Capstone Agency formed a selective team to begin brainstorming the first phase with
the Digital Media Center to establish the direction for the campaign. In the fall of
2014, the initial team of seven Capstone Agency members began implementing the
first phase.
In first phase of this campaign, the Digital Media Center created 2 one-minute videos
that were played over a several week media buy on WVUA-TV. The videos were
created with two different concepts to appeal to a wider range of audiences.
The first video appealed to emotion, highlighting Alabama Power’s civic involvement
within the community by showcasing employees volunteering at the RISE School. The
second video focused on a rational appeal by telling the story of the Alabama Power
team that was responsible for keeping the lights on at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Both
videos were released in the middle of the 2014 football season at The University of
Alabama.
The videos were also released through WVUA-TV and WVUA-TV’s social media
accounts. Capstone Agency conducted focus groups to gather systematic research and
insights for phase one. At the end of the fall semester, Capstone Agency presented a
broad overlook of the gathered research and insights to Alabama Power employees.
The research and insights found are set to determine the future direction of the
upcoming phases of the five-year campaign.
4
5. Situation Analysis
Background Information
Alabama Power is an electric utility company operated by Southern Company, one
of the largest electricity producers in the United States. Alabama Power is involved in
generation, transmission and distribution of power. It provides electric utility service
to 1.4 million residents, commercial businesses and industries covering two-thirds of
Alabama.
Alabama Power is the second largest subsidiary of Southern Company and the
dominant electric service company in Alabama. Specific to the Tuscaloosa area, the
company is the only electricity company recommended by local guides. Alabama
Power offers many points on its website that gives insight into its organizational
culture. These points include customers first, environmental stewardship, economic
development, energy conservation and community commitment. As later sections will
show, the company works hard to meet these goals, particularly in the area of social
responsibility.
Communication
Alabama Power uses news releases, traditional advertising and social media to interact
with its customers and other publics. Its television advertisements are also available
on the YouTube channel, “APCOAdvertising.” The channel has 35 subscribers and
more than 1,000 views. Its main YouTube channel, “Alabama Power Company,” has 63
subscribers and 8,745 views.
Alabama Power’s Twitter account has 9,550 tweets and 28.4K followers. The company
did not monitor feedback from followers until recently. Twitter is currently being
utilized as a way to update Alabama Power’s customers when storms hit and electrical
service is disrupted. Twitter is also being utilized to interact with customers on a
personal level. Facebook is another important social media platform that is utilized.
The company uses its Facebook page to release information and promote company
events. The Facebook page has 22,709 likes. Customers turn to the Facebook page
to express both positive and negative feelings about the company. Alabama Power
responds to select Facebook posts from customers. 5
6. Key Publics
Alabama Power has more than 1,200,000 residential customers. It is important to note
that for a vast number of Alabama residents, there are no alternatives to using Alabama
Power other than to go without power services. This means the number of customers
it acquires and maintains doesn’t necessarily reflect superior service as in many other
industries, but rather simple necessity. While the Facebook page does contain a lot of
positive interaction (mainly from people who have received assistance outside the state
or people who had their power restored), most of the posts from customers in Alabama
are either simply reporting outages or negative feelings about high power costs.
Key Publics
1. Students and Faculty at the University of Alabama
2. Tuscaloosa Residents
3. Alabama Residents
4. Residental Customers
5. Commercial Customers
6. Industrial Customers
7. Alabama Power Employees
External Factors
Many factors contribute to the success, opportunities and challenges of the selling of
electricity for the company. These factors include maintaining a productive regulatory
environment, maintaining and increasing sales during given economic conditions and
managing and securing the recovery of costs. These costs include long-term growth of
demand within the southeast, maintaining and securing eco-friendly standards, fuel,
capital expenditures, weather and restoration following storms. Efficiently balancing
required costs and expenditures with customer prices will continue to be a challenge
for the company for the foreseeable future (Alabama Power, “2012 Annual Report [3]”,
2013)
Based on an order from the Alabama Public Service Commission, the company keeps
a reserve that allows it to maintain expenses that cover maintenance and operations
following major storm damage. The order approves a separate monthly Rate Natural
Disaster Reserve (Rate NDR) included in customers’ fees. It consists of two components:
1) establish and maintain a reserve balance for potential future storms that is an
on-going charge to customer billing, 2) allow recovery of an existing storm-related
operations and maintenance cost and any future reserve deficits over a 24-month period.
(Alabama Power, “2012 Annual Report [18]”, 2013)
6
7. On the company’s website, Alabama Power provides a “Storm Center” page. This page
includes an automated outage reporting line where customers can call to report an
outage at any time of day or night. It also provides a link to view tips on how to stay
safe before, during, and after a storm.
Alabama Power received the Edison Electric Institute’s Emergency Recovery Award for
its efforts in restoring power after over 30 tornadoes hit Alabama on April 27, 2011.
This award is presented on an annual basis to a company that displays exceptional
efforts following a disaster caused by catastrophic events. (“Alabama Power Receives
Award for Tornado Response”, 2012)
Social Responsibility/Cause Related Marketing
While focusing on economic development, Alabama Power is devoted to protecting
the environment. The company is supporting communities with five programs: Renew
Our Rivers, Alabama Wild Power, Power of Flight, Longleaf Legacy and Five Star
Restoration. The company also partners with a range of environmental groups. The
company makes an effort to research and promote renewable technologies such as
hydro and nuclear power in order to benefit the environment. (Alabama Power, “What
We’re Doing,” n.d.)
Alabama Power sends repair crews to other areas of the nation when disasters strike
to lend a helping hand in restoring power. In one case during the week of Feb. 2-8,
2014, Alabama Power sent 20 plus service trucks to Lancaster, PA, during a mass
power outage caused by an ice storm. Lancaster residents turned to the Alabama Power
Facebook page to express thanks and gratitude for their help.
The Learning Engineering and Applying Principles (LEAP) program was started by
Alabama Power to promote the study of engineering and technology in middle and
high school students (LEAP, “About LEAP,” n.d.). The program started in 2007 with a
focus on the Birmingham area, but has since expanded.
7
8. Problem Statement
[
The citizens of the greater Tuscaloosa
area, specifically those in the University
of Alabama community are relatively
unaware of Alabama Power’s positive
initiatives targeting local communities
and engaging with its customers.
[
8
9. SWOTOpportunities
Maintaining a productive regulatory
environment
Increasing sales during given economic
conditions
Maintaining and securing eco-friendly
standards, fuel, capital expenditures,
weather and restoration following storms
Strong level of community involvement
Strengths
Provides a service that constitutes a basic
need
High engagement with customers over
social media
Efforts to respond efficiently to disasters
Threats
Possibility for increased competition from
different utility providers
Increased state or federal regulation
Public discontent with relatively high electricity
price
Weaknesses
Higher utility charges for residents and
businesses compared to surrounding states
Negative reactions can persist into the long term
Easy to blame for external factors that are out of
their control
Weather events can have severe impact on
business
9
10. Implementation
TimelineJanuary 2014 - May 2014
August 2014
September 2014
October 2014
November 2014
December 2014
January 2015
February 2015
Five year campaign overview created
Finalized contract details
Capstone Agency team formed
Phase I planning begins
Communication plans book created
Planning of implements finalized
Media buys and spots are determined
Two 1-minute videos created
Phase I plans finalized
Launch date of implementation determined
Teasers released prior to launch date
Videos released on WVUA-TV
Two 1-minute videos approved
Team members present plans for Phase I to Alabama Power
Campaign is actively implemented
Phase I implementation concludes
Focus groups are conducted
Focus group results analyzed
Team meets with Alabama Power to discuss results from focus group
Direction of future phases of five year campaign is discussed
Results from focus groups are analyzed in-depth
Capstone Agency team members for Phase II selected
Overview of Phase I for campaign book is created
Capstone Agency team members give formal presentation to Alabama
Power
10
11. Communication Plan
Goal
Increase positive perception of Alabama Power amongst members of the University of
Alabama community by reaching into the greater Tuscaloosa area.
Objective 1
Launch a messaging campaign of Alabama Power within the Tuscaloosa DMA in a
campaign that ran from Oct.18- Nov. 9, 2014
Strategy 1
Use stories of Tuscaloosa community members in order to connect the community
back to Alabama Power and highlighted its positive influence
Tactic 1: Create rational and emotional videos that appeal to the Tuscaloosa
community in order to test which approach is most effective
Tactic 2: Run videos exlcusivley on WVUA-TV in order to penetrate the targeted
audience
Tactic 3: Distribute videos online to maximize exposure to the targeted audience
Strategy 2
Use WVUA-TV’s social media and deliver information to the targeted audience
Tactic 1: Tweet via WVUA’s twitter account, which has approximately 7,881 followers
Tactic 2: Post via WVUA’s Facebook fan page, which has approximately 8,476 likes
Tactic 3: Post via WVUA’s YouTube account, which has approximately 870 subscribers
11
12. Strategy 3
Engage the UA community to share the videos
Tactic 1: Engage other organizations inside the College of Communication and
Information Sciences to share videos
Tactic 2: Engage University media outlets to share videos
Tactic 3: Engage with Kappa Alpha Theta sorority to share RISE video
Strategy 4
Convey the positive Alabama Power influence on the University of Alabama campus
and Tuscaloosa community utilizing traditional media
Tactic 1: Write and distribute a press release that explains the campaign and campaign
media before the launch of the videos
Tactic 2: Write, distribute and pitch the story of the “unique experience” students
gained in the partnership with Alabama Power
Tactic 3: Capstone Agency team members write and publish stories on their
experience during the campaign to help raise awareness of the campaign’s positive
influence
12
14. Media Relations
Purpose
The purpose of using media relations for the Power of People campaign was to engage
publications to convey the community outreach of Alabama Power. The articles and
videos highlighted the two angles of student partnership and community outreach
efforts.
Method
Tasked with the goal of pitching the campaign’s story to various news outlets,
the Capstone Agency team considered publications in both the Tuscaloosa and
Birmingham areas where a story about Alabama Power and its video campaign
would best fit. Using this idea, the media relations team wrote various stories that
highlighted different angles of the campaign that suited different publications. In
particular, the team wanted to highlight how the Power of People campaign created a
unique, working partnership with several organizations. Alabama Power’s support gave
students at the Digital Media Center at The University of Alabama, Capstone Agency
and WVUA-TV the opportunity to gain real life experience with a real client.
Implementation
Given the stories with various angles about the campaign, the campaign was
successfully pitched and published in different outlets, including The Odyssey,
Alabama Power’s Online Newsroom, Platform Online Magazine and The Tuscaloosa
News.
Results
Because the campaign was focused on reaching Tuscaloosa area residents, especially
students and faculty, pitching to campus-circulated publications was the logical step.
It served the campaign well to receive coverage in the Tuscaloosa News because of its
concentration in the Tuscaloosa area and in counties immediately outside of it.
While the angles of the RISE events and the working opportunity between Alabama
Power and UA students will always be one of human interest, using them again in
Phase II would be redundant. During Phase II some goals for greater success would be
creating new, relevant and interesting angles for publication as well as reaching other
campus publications like the “Dialogue”, the UA faculty and staff newsletter, University
Relations and other small but audience oriented publications.14
15. Tuscaloosa News
Media relations contacted The Tuscaloosa News to inform the media outlet of the
partnership between Alabama Power and Capstone Agency. This highlighted the
work of the students, the Power of People Campaign and the videos released through
WVUA-TV. The Tuscaloosa News reaches thousands of households in Tuscaloosa
County and the surrounding areas.
October 18, 2014
*Please see the Appendix for full article
The Alabama Power News Center is a site allowing customers and the general
public to access information about Alabama Power including its current projects
and services in various communities across the state. Media coverage of the Power
of People campaign on this site highlighted the efforts of Alabama Power in the
Tuscaloosa community and at the University of Alabama.
Alabama Power
Online Newsroom
October 27, 2014
15
16. *Please see the Appendix for full article
Platform Online
Magazine
Platform Online Magazine is an online student publication pertaining to public
relations. The magazine published a blog about Alabama Power and the five-year
plan between the Digital Media Center and Capstone Agency. The post showcased
the work of the students in Capstone Agency, the promotional videos and Alabama
Power’s community outreach.
October 28, 2014
The Odyssey
November 20, 2014
Media Relations sent a media pitch and press release concerning the Power of People
Campaign to the Greek Student newspaper. This enabled Alabama Power to reach a
large percentage of students at the University of Alabama.
16
18. Social Media
Purpose
Social media assisted in the Power Of People campaign by promoting two videos
which told a story of Alabama Power employees’ realtionships with the company. The
goal was to attract the attention of UA faculty and students enabling the audience
to recognize Alabama Power not only powers the stadium, but gives back to the
community. Using WVUA-TV to share Alabama Power’s message shows that the
company wants to make a connection within the Tuscaloosa community. The social
media posts ran from Oct. 16 to Nov. 2, 2014.
Method
For the campaign, Capstone Agency used WVUA-TV’s social media platforms to post
about the Power Of People campaign and share the two videos. WVUA-TV promoted
both videos on Vimeo, Facebook and Twitter. Since WVUA-TV has its Facebook
and Twitter linked together, all content created had to be fewer than 140 characters
including links, pictures and hashtags. In order to ensure the Power Of People message
was being delivered in a consistent manner, only one hashtag was used throughout the
social media campaign; #ALPowerOfPeople.
Since Capstone Agency used WVUA-TV, a news outlet for social media, all
content had to be newsworthy and non-biased. Social media content typically
described the video, or used quotes from the video and always included the hashtag,
#ALPowerOfPeople.
Implementation
During the first week of promoting the two videos through the social media
platforms, WVUA-TV shared them twice a day. After the first week, Capstone
Agency collaborated with the Digital Media Center. The team decided to only post
once every other day for the rest of the campaign. Major posts were made on
Saturdays and Sundays to reach our target audience. On Saturdays, the stadium
video was shared for gamedays in Tuscaloosa. On Sundays, the RISE Center
video was shared.
18
19. Results
The social media plan for the first phase was successful. Overall, both the Stadium and
RISE video received coverage via social media without any negative feedback. During
the first week of the campaign users watched, commented, shared, liked, favorited and
retweeted the video post with their friends on social media. As expected, interaction
between WVUA-TV followers and the videos declined after week one. Sharing the
same story and video continuously for the following two weeks inhibited interaction
from WVUA-TV Facebook and Twitter followers. At the end of the campaign,
Capstone Agency looked at the insights for social media. The campaign generated
enough interaction from WVUA-TV’s Facebook followers to collect data. The data
from WVUA-TV’s Twitter account were insufficient because there was no interaction
from followers.
The next few pages contain charts that give more information about each video and
how WVUA-TV’s Facebook audience responded to both videos. More insights from
Facebook can be found in the appendix.
Recommendations
After evaluating the social media plan for phase one, Capstone Agency recommends
using a different social media outlet for the next phase. Having a third-party news
outlet share the videos limited the number of audiences for Alabama Power. It also
limited ideas for content since all content had to be neutral coming from WVUA-TV,
a news outlet. Facebook users following WVUA-TV are interested in news-related
stories, while fans of Alabama Power may not be interested in WVUA- TV or vice
versa. Another recommendation is to not have the social media Facebook and Twitter
accounts linked. Having to keep all posts under 140 characters including the hashtag,
pictures and video links put a limitation on the posts going through Twitter and onto
Facebook. Twitter and Facebook audiences differ in many ways, so each platform
needs its own content.
Capstone Agency also recommends creating shorter videos for the future. An
additional recommendation is for Alabama Power to post the videos created to its
YouTube account and to share the videos on its own social media accounts as well.
The best way for Alabama Power followers to learn about the campaign is for Alabama
Power to share the message a few times. In addition, Capstone Agency was not able
to pay to sponsor any content of the two videos on social media because there was
not a budget set aside for sponsored content. In the future, plan to allot some of the
budget towards sponsored content to reach other audiences that are not following the
campaign.
19
20. Stadium Video
1st Week 2nd Week 3rd Week
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
Audience Reached
Video Views
More than 30 Seconds
4,927.6
2,271
619
2,648
753
92.6 1,324
567 67
Above is a chart that explains the Stadium video shared on Facebook, into three dif-
ferent categories: the average number of audience reached per post, the average video
views per posts and the average number of people that watched the video for more
than 30 seconds. This chart represents how much coverage the Stadium video received
via social media during the three-week campaign. The “audience reached” column
shows how many people saw a post on Facebook about the Stadium video. The “video
views” column displays the number of Facebook users that watched the Stadium vid-
eo. The “more than 30 seconds” column represents how many Facebook users watched
the Stadium video for more than 30 seconds.
As the chart indicates, WVUA-TV social media followers stopped showing as much
interest in the Stadium video after week one of the campaign. The reason for this is be-
cause most of WVUA-TV’s followers had already seen the Stadium video twice within
the first week; therefore, they had no reason to watch the video again during week two
or three in the campaign. By the third week of the campaign, most of their followers
just scrolled through a post about Alabama Power and the stadium. Viewers became
uninterested in the same content being shared two to three times a week.20
21. RISE Video
The chart above displays how much interaction the RISE video received through
WVUA-TV’s Facebook page. The chart shows the audience reached, the overall video
views and views that were watched for more than 30 seconds. Over the 3-week cam-
paign, the interaction received from users declined after the first week. At the begin-
ning of the campaign, the video was new content on Facebook, so WVUA-TV follow-
ers were interested in learning about how Alabama Power employees volunteer their
time at the RISE School.
After the first week, most of WVUA-TV’s Facebook followers had seen the video
twice. Since the users kept seeing the same video over and over again, users started to
lose interest by week two and three. Overall, posting the RISE video on Facebook did
increase video coverage.
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
Audience Reached
Video Views
More than 30 Seconds
3,765.6
1,183
222.6
2,195
793
93
2,333
711
74
1st Week 2nd Week 3rd Week
21
22. Facebook
Below are two sample posts made on WVUA-TV’s Facebook page for the Power of
People campaign. One is about the RISE video, and one is about the Stadium video.
These two posts were the most successful from the campaign because of the high
interaction received from Facebook followers.
22
23. Twitter
Below are two sample posts made on WVUA-TV’s Twitter handle for the Power of
People campaign. One post is about the RISE video, and one is about the Stadium
video. These two posts were the most successful from Twitter because of the
interaction recieved from Twitter followers.
23
25. ResearchPurpose
Alabama Power has sophisticated quantitative measures to evaluate consumer
sentiment. To supplement that initial research as well as test the initial reaction to
Phase I of this project. Capstone Agency analyzed qualitative measures.
Method and Implementation
Three focus groups were held between November 10 and November 19, 2014. Each
group was an hour. The first group consisted of students who live in off-campus
apartments; the second group consisted of students who live on-campus housing; and
the third group consisted of UA faculty members. There were 14 total participants.
The students who participated were carefully screened to represent the overall UA
student population consisting of both males and females ranging from freshmen to
seniors with a wide variety of majors. The general group structure was set up in a way
that first discussed the participants’ electricity bill payment habits. They were then
asked to openly state their current knowledge and perceptions of Alabama Power as a
corporation. Next, the participants were asked to recall any Alabama Power ads seen
in the past and describe the type of media and channel that got their attention. Ater
that, they were shown the two videos in the campaign, the one about the RISE Center
and the other about the stadium. Following each video, participants were asked their
impressions and thoughts on the video and what they liked and disliked. In the end,
the group brainstormed recommendations for Alabama Power to better reach out to
the UA community.
Current Knowledge and Perceptions
Most student participants could identify Alabama Power as their electricity provider
but had limited knowledge of what the company does other than provide power. This
was especially true with the on-campus students because they do not directly pay their
power bills. The students also have not heard much about Alabama Power’s charitable
contributions or community involvement. Faculty members displayed more negative
attitudes towards Alabama Power. They felt that Alabama Power is hard to approach,
non-transparent and too politically associated. A positive perception found common
among all focus groups was that Alabama Power responds quickly when disasters hit.
Results
25
26. Awareness of Advertisements
Two students from the focus groups had seen the stadium video on social media
and one faculty member had seen the RISE video on WVUA. While there was some
success reaching the audience, there were also noticeable problems with limited media
coverage. Very few students watch WVUA; some faculty members watch it but only for
a few minutes for news or weather.
Feedback on the Stadium Video
The stadium video appealed especially to on-campus students who felt the ad had
quality footage and they could personally relate to the stadium and football concept.
However, the video was too lengthy for them to stay interested the entire time and
the voiceover made it sound like a political campaign. The off-campus group did not
favor this video. The association with UA athletics made sense to them but was not
interesting enough. They thought the tagline “the Power of People” in the end did not
echo with the content because the video focused on lighting up the stadium rather
than the people. Faculty were not impressed with the UA association. The video gave
them the feeling of too much corporate messaging.
Feedback on the RISE Video
The RISE video held an emotional appeal to the off-campus group. Students liked
seeing Alabama Power employees help each other and the RISE Center. They expressed
the slogan “the Power of People” fit better with this video. At the same time, one
student was confused how Alabama Power made contributions to the RISE Center
because it sounded like it was the employees’ idea to volunteer. The group agreed that it
would work better if Alabama Power initiated the volunteering program.
The on-campus group, on the contrary, couldn’t connect to this video as much as the
stadium video. The students aren’t required to pay their powerbills therefore decreasing
the awareness of Alabama Power and its role in the community. The content seemed
irrelevant to them and lacked explanations. One student pointed out that the video was
clearly an attempt to tug at heartstrings to get you to like the company.
This was also the faculty group’s opinion. They stated Alabama Power was taking credit
for its employees’ sacrifice. The participants were particularly not happy with the fact
that it was during the employees’ lunch hours when they went to rock babies at the
RISE Center because they did not receive time off to do it.
26
27. Recommendation
The general attitude of the focus groups is that traditional commercials are not the
best way to reach and connect with the UA community. It is preferred Alabama Power
make tangible service efforts and clearly communicate its message to the audience in
order to maintain a positive image among the community. A few examples brought
up by the focus groups are to install charging stations in libraries, move towards a
green campus with alternative energy sources, establish a scholarship program, to
hold events on campus, to work with community nonprofits and give them a break
on connection fees, etc. Additionally, more diversity of media outlets is strongly
recommended to better reach the target audience such as popular TV channels, public
radio, and online streaming websites such as Hulu and YouTube.
27
29. Budget Breakdown
Video Production $25,110.00
Pre-Production Service $7,060.00
Production Services $11,750.00
Post-Production Services $6,300.00
Media Costs $19,575.00
Ads on WVUA $19,575.00
Capstone Agency Fees $5,315.00
Printing $315.00
Total Cost: $50,000.00
39.15%
Ads on WVUA-TV
Production Services
Pre-Production Services
Post-Production Services
Capstone Agency Fees
Printing
23.50%
14.12%
12.60%
10.00%
0.63%
A.1.
30. Media Buys
A.2.
Objectives
• Run paid media on a continuous plan from Oct. 18 to Nov. 9
• Achieve a reach of 74.7 and a frequency of 4.8 among UA faculty and staff as well as
the Tuscaloosa community targets (represented by the 25+ DMA)
• Achieve a reach of 26.8 with a frequency of 3 among UA student target
(represented by the 18-34 DMA)
Strategy
A paid and earned strategy was used to reach the Tuscaloosa area. The campaign ran
from Oct. 18 to Nov. 9 using a continuous media strategy. Using only WVUA-TV as an
outlet will allow a concentrated reach within the Tuscaloosa community from a local
video outlet.
18-34 Reach: 26.8 Frequency: 3.0
25+ Reach: 74.7 Frequency: 4.8
32. Stadium Storyboard
A.3.
Frame #1
Frame #2
Frame #3
Frame #4
Video:
Open, timelapse of Bryant Denny Stadium, fade out
to next frame.
Audio:
Instrumental piano music begins playing.
Video:
Cut to ELS of lights turning on in Bryant Denny
Stadium.
Audio:
Instrumental piano music continues to play.
Sfx:
Lights clicking on
Video:
Cut to tight MCU shot of Greg Long.
Audio:
Instrumental piano music fades as man begins to talk.
Greg:
“My name is Greg Long, I’ve been with Alabama
Power for 32 years. I’m the Operations Manager for
the Tuscaloosa region.”
Video:
Cut to cover shot of stadium.
Audio:
Greg talking over faded instrumental piano music.
Greg:
“There is a lot of things that goes into preparing for
a game at Bryant Denny relative to restoring power
should it go out.”
33. Frame #5
Frame #6
Frame #7
Frame #8
Video:
Cut to MCU of Greg standing in the center of the
stadium.
Audio:
Greg continues talking over faded instrumental piano
music.
Greg:
“The amount of power that is consumed in the
stadium during game day would be the equivalent to
about 700 homes, the power they would use.”
Video:
Cut to MCU of men working.
Audio:
Greg continues to talk over faded instrumental piano
music.
Greg:
“The planning and the preparation that goes into
game day here, we do that everyday for our customers
throughout the regions that we serve.”
Video:
Cut to ELS of the field goal.
Audio:
Man contines to talk over instrumental music.
Video:
Cut to CU of Greg Long.
Audio:
Instrumental piano music fades as man begins to talk.
Greg:
“Helping people is why we do what we do and our
whole team at Alabama Power feels that way.”
34. Frame #9
Frame #10
Video:
Cut to Tight MCU shot of Greg Long.
Audio:
Instrumental piano music fades as man begins
to talk.
Greg:
“My name is Greg Long, I’ve been with
Alabama Power for 32 years. I’m the operations
manager for the Tuscaloosa region.”
Video:
Cut to the Power of People and Alabama Power
logo.
Audio:
Instrumental music fades out.
35. RISE Storyboard
Frame #1
Frame #2
Frame #3
Frame #4
Video:
Open, cut to ECU of Teri Terry.
Audio:
Light instrumental music playing in the background
as Teri Terry narrates her personal story of the RISE
Program.
Teri:
“I’m Teri Terry, I’m an employee of Alabama Power
Company, Ive been with them for 34 years…”
Video:
Cut to LS of Teri and Ian.
Audio:
Light instrumental music continues to play in the
background as Teri tells story.
Teri:
“…and i have a son Ian that is a RISE School
graduate.”
Video:
Cut to CU of old pictures of Teri and Ian.
Audio:
Light instrumental music continues to play as Teri
narrates her story.
Teri:
“Ian was my very first child and so I was young and
excited about being a new parent.”
Video:
Cut to CU of woman talking.
Audio:
Light instrumental music continues to play as Teri
narrates her story.
Teri:
“…and then we got the news that Ian did have Down
Syndrome.”
36. Frame #5
Frame #6
Frame #7
Frame #8
Video:
Cut to tight MCU of Teri and her co-worker at
Alabama Power.
Audio:
Light instrumental music contines to play as Teri
narrates her story.
Teri:
“I had so many friends at Alabama Power…”
Video:
Cut to cover shot of the Stallings Center, Home of
the RISE Program sign with the Stallings Center in
the background.
Audio:
Light instrumental music continues to play.
Teri:
“…and they knew that Ian was going to the RISE
School and they relied a lot on volunteers…”
Video:
Cut to MCU of Ian pushing students down the hall
of the RISE Center in a cart.
Audio:
Light instrumental music continues to play as Teri
narrates her story.
Teri:
“…and so there was a group of Alabama Power
employees…”
Video:
Cut to CU of Alabama Power employee holding a
baby while volunteering at the RISE Center.
Audio:
Light instrumental music continues to play as
woman narrates her story.
Teri:
“…and we would spend our lunch hours rocking
babies and feeding them bottles.”
37. Frame #9
Frame #10
Video:
Cut to ELS of Teri Terry and Ian leaving the RISE
Center.
Audio:
Light instrumental contines to play as Teri
concudes telling her story.
Teri:
“…and so Alabama Power employees were a part of
the RISE School during lunch hours…and we got so
much out of it, and even now people say, “Hey! Let’s
go back and rock some babies.”
Cut to the Power of People and Alabama Power
logo.
Audio:
Light instrumental music fades out.
Teri:
“You know, yes, you always say there’s power in one,
but when you have a company like Alabama Power,
you just…you just really cant fail.”
38. University of Alabama PR
Students’ Campaign for Alabama
Power to Debut Saturday
Article from Tuscaloosa News
Some University of Alabama students
are getting hands-on experience in their
major fields by creating a pubic relations
campaign showing how Alabama Power
Co. and its employees interact with the
university and the Tuscaloosa community.
The campaign called “Power of the
People” will debut two videos exclusively
on WVUA-TV on Saturday.
The videos feature two Alabama Power
employees, Greg Long and Teri Terry,
who highlight their connections to the
UA campus. Long’s video, “Keeping the
Lights On” will show him on the field
inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The videos are the start of a five-year partnership involving Alabama Power and UA
students and organizations — Capstone Agency, a student-run public relations firm;
the Digital Media Center; and WVUA-TV.
“The best way I’ve been able to learn public relations is through real experience,” said
Julia Johnson, a Capstone Agency account executive. “This campaign with Alabama
Power has allowed me to execute the things I learn in the classroom. It’s my hope that
other students in Capstone Agency and at the University of Alabama have experiences
like I have had with this campaign. Public relations can’t truly be taught with textbooks
— only by experience.”
Alabama Power approached Capstone Agency in February about developing a
partnership that would help the company to communicate with the university and
Tuscaloosa communities while providing a hands-on educational opportunity for UA
students.
A.4.
39. “We were looking for a creative way to reach the university community and our
customers in the Tuscaloosa area,” said Hallie Bradley, Alabama Power’s manager of
community initiatives.
“We believe this partnership not only helps us communicate our involvement in
supporting the university and the Tuscaloosa community. It’s also is a great way to
give UA communication students some real-world experience,” said Mark Crews, vice
president of Alabama Power’s Tuscaloosa-based Western Division.
The first two videos will run on WVUA until Nov. 9 and can viewed online at WVUA’s
Facebook and Twitter accounts.
40. Article from Alabama Power Online Newsroom
Capstone Agency, Digital Media Center, WVUA work on campaign
Oct 27, 2014
“THIS RELEASE IS FROM CAPSTONE AGENCY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
ALABAMA”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Brittany Downey
October 14, 2014 Senior Media Relations Strategist
Capstone Agency
832-922-5982
bsdowney@crimson.ua.edu
Alabama Power Partnership Benefits UA Students
Capstone Agency, Digital Media Center, WVUA work on campaign
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – Alabama Power has partnered with University of
Alabama students and organizations to create the “Power of People” campaign. With
the help of Capstone Agency, Alabama’s student-run public relations firm, the Digital
Media Center and WVUA-TV, the student-produced campaign launched October 18
with the run of two student-produced videos.
The first phase of the five-year partnership kicked off with the highly anticipated
Alabama vs. Texas A&M football game. The videos aired exclusively on WVUA-TV
and will continue to run on the station until November 9. The videos feature two
Alabama Power employees, Greg Long and Teri Terry, and highlight their connections
to the University of Alabama campus.
Alabama Power Partnership
Benefits UA Students
41. “The best way I’ve been able to learn public relations is through real experience,”
Capstone Agency account executive Julia Johnson said. “This campaign with Alabama
Power has allowed me to execute the things I learn in the classroom. It’s my hope that
other students in Capstone Agency and at the University of Alabama have experiences
like I have had with this campaign. Public relations can’t truly be taught with
textbooks ‑ only by experience.”
The work on the campaign began back in February, when Alabama Power
approached Capstone Agency about formulating a partnership that would help the
company to communicate with the university and Tuscaloosa communities while also
providing an educational opportunity for students.
“We were looking for a creative way to reach the university community and our
customers in the Tuscaloosa area,” said Hallie Bradley, Alabama Power’s manager of
Community Initiatives.
“We believe this partnership not only helps us communicate our involvement in
supporting the university and the Tuscaloosa community; it’s also is a great way to
give UA communication students some real-world experience,” said Mark Crews, vice
president of Alabama Power’s Western Division, which is based in Tuscaloosa.
The videos are accessible online at: https://vimeo.com/107644310 and https://vimeo.
com/107644251. For more information on the Power of People campaign, please
contact Brittany Downey at 832-922-5982 or bsdowney@crimson.ua.edu.
A still shot from the video “Keeping the Lights On” featuring Alabama Power
employee Greg Long, produced in partnership with University of Alabama
communications students.
42. Power Plan
Article from Platform Online Magazine
Posted: October 28, 2014, 12:30 a.m.
by Brittany Downey.
My friend Julia put it best when she said, “Public relations is truly taught by
experience.” As we all know well, our world is full of trial and error, preparing for the
worst and sighing in relief when it all goes right. Effective public relations takes work,
cooperation and patience. It also takes the right opportunity to grow.
Alabama Power recently awarded a grant to the new Digital Media Center at The
University of Alabama. In conjunction with this grant, Capstone Agency, the
University’s student-run integrated communications firm, joined forces with WVUA-
TV and the Digital Media Center to create the Power of People campaign. Along with
a few other talented teammates from Capstone Agency, Julia and I were given the
opportunity to develop and implement the campaign as college students. Seems a little
unconventional, right?
Wrong.
I’ve learned most of what I know from my work in Capstone Agency. It’s given my co-
workers and me a much-needed opportunity to learn and work in the public relations
field before even completing our degrees. On the Power of People campaign, in
particular, we were working with a large company, and that meant large expectations.
But, in the end, we pulled it off and we learned a lot.
There’s no “I” in team
With every campaign there are ups and downs. Tasks are thrown at you out of the
blue and last minute details can get missed. Without the help of your co-workers,
campaigns can quickly go sour.
43. Three days before our presentation to Alabama Power, the need for a news release
arose. What would usually take about four days needed to be expedited in 24 hours.
Without the help of my team, it wouldn’t have been accomplished; but with their help,
the news release was picked up and appeared in the local newspaper just three days
later.
Communicate well, communicate often
Check, double check and triple check that everyone on your team is on the same
page. You’re a part of a team from the beginning to the end — or from research to
evaluation in our PR world. You might as well become comfortable with everyone.
Make sure team members are kept up to speed on what they miss.
Julia, as our account executive, learned a lot about communicating with the team.
For example, scheduling college students seems impossible. Not everyone could meet
at the same time, which led to many late nights and early mornings. Teams inside
Capstone Agency, WVUA and the Digital Media Center were consistently kept in the
loop. Julia really perfected the concept of “no man gets left behind,” which is critical
when it comes to reaching your deadline and making your mark.
Be grateful
Working for a client is a blessing and occasionally, yes, a curse. Sometimes a client’s
ideas align with your strategies, and other times they don’t. You’ll agree and you’ll
disagree, but you must always remember to remain grateful. Without your client, you
wouldn’t be working. Without your client, your talent wouldn’t be shown.
Alabama Power’s partnership with Capstone Agency, the Digital Media Center and
WVUA created a unique opportunity for several spheres of students to grow. The
faith that clients, like Alabama Power, have in our team and organizations at large
speaks volumes for the quality of students working in public relations today. Without
collaboration, we wouldn’t keep growing. Without collaboration, we wouldn’t be
working.
44. Power of People
Article from The Odyssey
Capstone Agency, the student-run integrated communications firm at The University
of Alabama, is helping implement the first phase of a five-year partnership with
Alabama Power called the Power Of People campaign. Alabama Power approached
the College of Communications and Information Sciences, last year, with a goal to
help provide students with first-hand experience on a communications campaign
experience.
“Working on this campaign has been such an amazing learning experience,” said
Assistant Account Executive, Morgan Chandler. “It has taught me to not look at
corporations on just a surface level, but to look at what they are doing behind the
scenes.”
Part of the campaign consists of two videos that are being aired on WVUA-TV. These
videos highlight the work that Alabama Power provides for the Tuscaloosa community.
Capstone Agency and the Digital Media Center partnered together to create the series
of videos. This opportunity provided students with a unique learning experience with
the creation of the communications campaign. In one of the videos, Teri Terry, an
Alabama Power employee, talks about the support Alabama Power provided for her
and her family when her son was diagnosed with Down syndrome. While her son
was a student at the Rise Center, Alabama Power employees would spend their lunch
hours rocking babies and playing with the children there. Now, Terry’s son works as an
employee at the Rise Center and she is very grateful for the assistance Alabama Power
provided her during his childhood.
Alabama Power employees recently made an appearance at the Rise Center, attending
their annual Halloween party and passing out goodie bags filled with candy for the
children. Alabama Power has participated in the event for the past several years, and
their employees have said that this is one of their highlights of the year.
“This year was my first volunteering at the Rise Halloween Party. It was such a treat to
be able to spend time with the kids and see all of their creative costumes. Rise has done
so much for the Tuscaloosa community and I am thrilled that the Alabama Power
Service Organization partners with Rise throughout the year to make events like this
happen,” said Alabama Power employee, Anna Catherine Roberson.
45. The University’s Greek system is even doing its part to help the Rise Center. On
October 19, Kappa Alpha Theta hosted a fall festival for children and their families of
the Rise Center. The day was filled with fun activities for the children and their families
to participate, including Halloween-themed arts and crafts.
“It’s always been a blast to interact with the children of the Rise Center. Our fall festival
allowed us to entertain local kids while raising money for a great cause,” said Kappa
Alpha Theta President, Elisa Richards.
At the festival, Alabama Power’s Rise video was shown for all of the families. Many
attendees were touched by Teri Terry’s personal story of her journey with her son.
Families were able to relate to her story and found it to be very inspirational. As Teri
Terry says, “ You always say there is the power in one, but when you have a company
like Alabama Power you really can’t fail.”
It’s the volunteers like Alabama Power and the members of Kappa Alpha Theta that
make the Rise Center so special and welcoming to its students. The Rise Center does
so much for the greater Tuscaloosa area that it is very moving to see the community
giving back to them. Alabama Power has not only helped the students at the Rise
Center, but has also helped students at The University of Alabama by giving them
unparalleled experience creating a communications campaign, something most
students across the country will never receive as undergraduate students. It is
experiences like this that make the Tuscaloosa area a welcoming community.
46. Social Media
Facebook
The graphs below describe the Facebook interaction received from followers on the
Power of People posts made from WVUA-TV’s account. The social media campaign
ran from October 16, 2014 through November 2, 2014.
At the start of the campaign, WVUA-TV’s Facebook had 8,482 likes.
A.5.
Twitter
At the start of the campaign, WVUA-TV’s Twitter had 7,885 followers.
47. 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
10
13.3
31.6
Average Stadium
Video Likes
1st Week 2nd Week 3rd Week
This chart indicates how
many likes the Stadium video
received throughout the
campaign on Facebook. Once
again, during the first week
the Stadium video received
the most interaction. After
week one, the number of
likes received continued
to decline throughout the
campaign. The number of
likes fell in week two and
three because Facebook users
are not likely to interact with
the same type of post more
than once. If a social media
user sees the same content
over and over again on a news
outlet, then the users become
uninterested in the content.
Social Media
The adjacent chart displays how
many WVUA-TV social media
followers shared the Stadium
video on Facebook throughout
the three-week campaign. At
first, a good amount of followers
shared WVUA-TV’s Stadium
video with their friends.
However, after Facebook users
saw the video continuously, users
felt no need to re-share the same
video or story. The first week
was the only week where users
felt inclined to share this video.
By week two, the Stadium video
was old news to WVUA-TV
followers. Those who shared the
Stadium video in week two or
three were Facebook users that
saw the video for the first time.
0
5
10
15
1st Week 2nd Week
17
1
0.5
Average
Stadium
Video Shares
48. 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
1st Week 2nd Week 3rd Week
Average RISE
Video Likes
32.3
30
14
The adjacent chart shows
how many WVUA-TV
Facebook followers liked
the RISE video posts. As
expected, the first week was
when the video received
the most likes on Facebook.
After week one, the number
of likes given by users fell.
When users saw the same
video during week two
and three, users were not
inclined to like the same
video and story. However,
more of WVUA-TV’s
followers gave more likes
for the RISE video versus
the Stadium video.
0
3
6
9
12
15
Average RISE
Video Shares
1st Week 2nd Week 3rd Week
14.5
1 1
The chart to the right indicates
how many WVUA-TV Facebook
followers shared the RISE video
with their friends. During the
first week, multiple followers
shared the video because
the story of Alabama Power
employees giving back was fresh
news. After the first week, users
shared the RISE video if it was
the first time they saw the video.
Facebook users do not like to
re-share the same story, unless
it was updated. It was expected
that over the three-week time
period, shares from WVUA-TV
followers would decline.
49. This graph shows the demographics reached through WVUA-TV’s Facebook during
the Power of People campaign. It is important to note that the campaign was imple-
mented through WVUA-TV’s Facebook page so all posts reached WVUA-TV’s target
audience.
This chart shows the breakdown of likes, comments and shares received from WVUA-
TV’s Facebook followers during the time of the campaign.
It is important to note that the social media portion of this campaign was used
through WVUA-TV’s account, so this graph shows details about all of WVUA-TV’s
posts, not just content related to Alabama Power.
50. The following charts shows the number of people reached during the time of the
campaign through WVUA-TV’s account.
It is important to note that the social media portion of this campaign was used through
WVUA-TV’s account, so this graph shows details about all of WVUA-TV’s posts, not
just content related to Alabama Power.
51. Focus Group Script
Group 1: Off-Campus Students
Participant Information:
# Gender Class Standing College
1 Female Senior Human Environmental Sciences
2 Male Sophomore Communication & Information Sciences
3 Female Junior Communication & Information Sciences
4 Female Senior Social Work
5 Female Senior Commerce & Business Administration
6 Male Junior Commerce & Business Administration
Current Interaction with Alabama Power
• All could identify Alabama Power as their electricity provider
• Some get bills delivered to mailbox; some get electronic bills
• Some pay their bills directly; some write checks to the apartment complex
• There are varying ways they pay electricity, online and by checks
• Most of them live with roommates. Usually one person pays the bill and
others write checks to that person
• Getting bills every month is somewhat stressful. This month’s bill is so much
higher than last month’s
• On how good a value they felt they get from electricity on a scale of 0-10, five
of them said 7-9 and one said 4-6
Knowledge and Perception of Alabama Power
• A majority of them didn’t know much about Alabama Power except that
Alabama Power generates energy and sells it
• Largest and sole electricity provider in Alabama
• Effective when disasters hit
• #2 said Alabama Power grants community money to build infrastructure
• #6 associated coal ash with Alabama Power. Frustrated about not having a
choice to choose an electricity company
• #5 complained about a personal experience with Alabama Power’s customer
service
• None of them had heard of any charitable contributions Alabama Power does
A.6.
52. Awareness of Alabama Power Advertisements
• #5 got an email from Alabama Power that looks like something about
helping people, but she did not look at it
• #5 saw an Alabama Power commercial on Hulu over a year ago
• #1 saw the stadium video but did not remember much
• #2 remembered the slogan “Always On”
Thoughts on Stadium Video
• “700 homes” stood out
• Association with UA athletics made sense because, as a dominant company,
Alabama Power doesn’t need to advertise their products
• Felt the ad is more emotional than rational in its nature
• The slogan “the Power of People” did not make sense with the ad because the
video focuses on the stadium rather than people. There aren’t even people in
the seats
• Would rather have had Alabama Power’s company logo at the end. It would
be more recognizable
Thoughts on RISE Video
• Felt it’s an emotional ad and liked that Alabama Power employees help each
other and the RISE Center
• #5 liked the video because she is familiar with the RISE Center
• The slogan “the Power of People” fit better with this video
• #3 didn’t get how Alabama Power helped with the RISE Center because it
sounded like it was the employees’ idea. Others agreed it would work better
if it was Alabama Power who initiated the program
Recommendations for Alabama Power
• A lot of people don’t know how to pay bills. Alabama Power could make it
easier for people who can’t read or don’t have computers to pay their bills
• Put charging stations at every table in libraries and include cords
• A discounted rate for students
• Provide education materials that explain electricity bill fluctuations
• Move towards a green campus with alternative energy sources
• Sponsor a student to kick a field goal at football games and it will be good
publicity for Alabama Power at the same time
• Create programs for students with relative majors to volunteer or intern at
the company
• Provide scholarship programs
53. Group 2: On-Campus Students
Participant Information:
# Gender Class Standing College
1 Female Senior Communication & Information Sciences
2 Female Sophomore Communication & Information Sciences
3 Male Freshman Commerce & Business Administration
4 Female Freshman Education
5 Female Sophomore Communication & Information Sciences
6 Female Sophomore Communication & Information Sciences
Knowledge and Perception of Alabama Power
• Because the students live on campus, they don’t pay their bills and don’t have
specific opinions about Alabama Power
• Alabama Power is a power company that keeps the lights on
• “The only time you deal with them is probably when you are over-charged”
Awareness of Alabama Power Advertisement
• Only one girl saw the stadium video on social media and that was because
one of her friends who works at Capstone Agency shared it
Thoughts on Stadium Video
• Overall good ad. Nice quality footage and is visually appealing
• It is good to put a face to Alabama Power
• Could personally connect to the stadium and football concept
• Liked the slogan “the Power of People”
• Perception of Alabama Power improved after watching the video
• Would possibly share the video on Facebook if there was an article attached
• The negatives: it’s a little too long for a TV commercial; the voice makes it
sound like a political campaign
54. Thoughts on RISE Video
• Felt the content is a little irrelevant to what the company does
• Some of the on-campus students did not know much about Alabama Power
so this video confused them on what the company actually does as a job
• Felt the video is not “realistic” enough and can not connect to it
• #5 could tell that Alabama Power is “trying to get you to like them” through
this video. The video maybe helped improving the perception, but “you
probably won’t remember it when you are overcharged”
Recommendations for Alabama Power
• Putting more charging stations on campus is a great idea
• Be more personable and visible about what they do
55. Bill Paying Habits
• #1 receives bills online and uses auto payments; #2 also pays online but likes
to receive bills in the mail as a reminder
• Both surprised at a higher power bill after relocating to Alabama. #2 felt that
a higher bill is due to lack of efficiency and lack of competition
• Disliked the lack of options when choosing power company
• On the value of what they pay for power on a 0-10 scale: #1 said 10 because
“I get what I need”; #2 said 4 because of comparative high cost.
Group 3: Faculty
Participant Information:
# Gender College Years Lived in Tuscaloosa
1 Female Human Environmental Sciences 16
2 Female Human Environmental Sciences 3
Views on Corporate Social Responsibility
• Extremely important
• Companies should inform the public about corporate social responsibility
efforts
• Wants transparency and reports on what company is doing – online reports,
reports to media
• Companies should enact programs to encourage efficiency
Knowledge and Perceptions of Alabama Power
• Alabama Power is “a box that sits down there”
• Needs more of a community spirit
• Felt that Alabama Power engages in too much “big boy partnering” and
“won’t support” the little guy and is hard to approach
• Alabama Power not transparent; flexes political power
• Felt that Alabama Power selling appliances is a ploy to make money
• Company logo is usually seen together with University of Alabama’s logo
• Felt that if University of Alabama pays so much for power, “Alabama Power
better be sponsoring everything”
• Alabama Power responds quickly when things happen, such as tornadoes
56. Recommendations for Alabama Power
• Do things that show results – don’t spend money on ads
• Speak at local churches because communities need ways to connect with
Alabama Power
• Work with community nonprofits and give them a break on connection fees
• Hold events at the beginning of semester to welcome faculty and students
• Hold events towards the end of semester when people are worn out to “pep
people up”
Media Consumption
• #1 watches WVUA but only the first few minutes of news; #2 watches
WVUA only during tornado seasons, and uses DVR and skips commercials
Thoughts on RISE Video
• Overall negative attitudes towards the video
• The fact that it was lunch hour when employee went to RISE Center stood
out. “Individuals sacrificed, not Alabama Power. Alabama Power didn’t give
them time off to do it” “When did they have time to eat lunch?”
• “The employee is the one who found it, not Alabama Power.” Felt that
Alabama Power is taking credit
• The video was a blatant attempt to tug at heartstrings with a distorted
message
• Alabama Power is “not participating in their own message”
Thoughts on Stadium Video
• Not impressed with the University of Alabama association
• “Big boys handshaking each other”
• Felt Alabama Power should instead go to people who do not have electricity
and light up 700 homes in Tuscaloosa for free and then show that instead
• Alabama Power needed to show something real, such as line workers in the
wake of a storm-caused outage
• Did not echo with the tagline “the Power of People”
57. March 21, 2014
Alabama Power Meeting
with Capstone Agency
April 18, 2014
Alabama Power Meeting
with Capstone Agency
August 22, 2014
Alabama Power Meeting
with Capstone Agency
September 4, 2014
Shooting of videos
September 30, 2014
Videos completed
September 30-
October 6, 2014
Videos approved by
Alabama Power
October 3, 2014
Capstone Agency presentation
to Alabama Power
October 16, 2014
Tuscaloosa News press
release
October 18, 2014
Launch of Videos; Conference
call between Alabama Power
and Capstone Agency
October 22, 2014
Kappa Alpha Theta RISE
event
Timeline
A.7.
58. October 23, 2014
Alabama Power meeting
with Capstone Agency
October 27, 2014
Focus Group forma sent
to Capstone Agency
October 27, 2014
Alabama Power News-
room press release posted
October 28th, 2014
Alabama Power and
RISE Center Event
October 28, 2014
Platform Magazine Blog
entry posted
October 29, 2014
Odyssey article sent
for aproval
October 18-
November 9, 2014
Videos aired on WVUA
November 2, 2014
Odyssey article deadline
November 4, 2014
Focus Group forms
due to directors
November 10-
November 19, 2014
Focus Groups conducted
November 20, 2014
All research reports
turned in
November 25, 2014
Research completed
November 30-
December 5, 2014
Rough draft Plan Book
turned in for edits
December 3, 2014
Alabama Power meeting
with Capstone Agency
January 6, 2015
First team meeting back
from Christmas break
February 1, 2015
Award entry for
campaign sent
February 9, 2015
Final draft of Phase 1
Overview Book completed
February 10, 2015
Book sent for approval
from Stephen Bradley
February 16, 2015
Alabama Power and Capstone
Agency meeting
November 12, 2014
Odyssey article published **Capstone Agency team meets every Tuesday and Thursday evening
59. References
Alabama Power. (2013). 2012 annual report. Retrieved from
http://www.alabamapower.com/aboutus/pdf/APC%202012%20ANNUAL%2
REPORT.pdf
Alabama Power. (n.d.). About us. Retrieved from
http://www.alabamapower.com/about-us/home.asp
Alabama Power. (n.d.). Background. Retrieved from
http://www.alabamapower.com/about-us/background.asp
Alabama Power. (n.d.). Generating plants. Retrieved from
http://www.alabamapower.com/about-us/plants/home.asp
Alabama Power. (n.d.) Job employment form. Retrieved from
http://www.job-applications.com/alabama-power-application/
Alabama Power. (n.d.). History. Retrieved from
http://www.alabamapower.com/about-us/history/home.asp#my-overlay
Alabama Power. (n.d.). Storm center. Retrieved from
http://alabamapowernews.com/storm-center/
Alabama Power. (n.d.). What we’re doing. Retrieved from
http://www.alabamapower.com/environment/what-doing/
Bennet, L. (n.d.). Why Republicans oppose the sale of the TVA. Muckety.
Retrieved from http://news.muckety.com
Ford, R. (2014, February 8). Lancaster, Pennsylvania thanks ALABAMA POWER
for coming this past week to our area, to restore electric to so many without
it!!! We cant thank you enough!!!!! [Facebook Timeline Post] Retrieved from
https://www.facebook.com/AlabamaPower/timeline?filter=2
LEAP. (n.d.). About LEAP. Retrieved from http://www.readytoleap.org/pages/about-
leap Mann, G. (2014, February 7). I am very upset with Alabama Power!! My
power bill has more than doubled for one month and the representative at
Alabama Power states that it is because of the cold weather! This statement to
me is totally bogus! I believe... [Facebook Timeline Post] Retrieved from
https://www.facebook.com/AlabamaPower/timeline
PowerSouth Energy Cooperative. (n.d.). Corporate overview. Retrieved from
60. Capstone Agency Team:
Julia Johnson, Account Executive
Kendall Sellers, Transitioning Account Executive
Elisa Richards, Senior Digital Media Strategist
Candice Ji, Research Director
Kyle Tindle, Research Assistant
Brittany Downey, Senior Media Relations Strategist
Claire Whorton, Creative Services
Digital Media Center Team:
Elizabeth Brock, Director of Center for Public Television and Radio
Amy Eifler, Programming Creative Services
Faculty and Staff:
Neely Portera, Director of Development Communication & Information Sciences
Dr. Joseph Phelps, The Reese Phifer Professor and Chairman
Teri Henley, Capstone Agency Advisor
Capstone Agency was honored to begin the Power of People campaign for Alabama Power in
the Tuscaloosa area and our team is looking forward to continuing with the five-year plan.
