The majority of the British public favour renewables. A YouGov poll in October 2012 revealed that 72% and 55% respectively support greater solar and wind energy development. However, this support is not reflected by the UK’s national media - which is consistently negative about renewables. At CCgroup, a clean tech PR agency, we decided to find out just how bad this negative portrayal of renewables is. We analysed the sentiment of all articles mentioning renewables published by the UK’s top five national newspapers in July 2012 - 138 articles in total. Over half of the articles published in the month are negative or very negative. But most disconcerting is the renewable energy industry’s lack of voice – less than 10% of articles included a quote or viewpoint from anyone in the renewables community. How can an industry hope for fair treatment in the press when their voice is being systematically ignored? Our research uncovers the extent of this issue and suggests ways in which renewable energy companies can address the imbalance through better PR - being more vocal, more proactive, and more challenging. The full report and results are available here: http://info.ccgrouppr.com/media-and-renewables

1. © 2013 CCgroup
How to talk
renewables so
farmers and
landowners listen
How the UK national media
treats renewables

2. © 2013 CCgroup
Support for renewables
• A YouGov poll from October 2012 revealed
widespread support for renewables
• 72 per cent of respondents were in favour
of greater solar energy development
• 55 per cent stated their support for more
wind energy development

3. © 2013 CCgroup
• Despite the majority of the public
favouring renewables, the media
consistently report on renewables
negatively
• Media coverage consistently fails
to reflect the views of the wider
population
• A democratic deficit has emerged
The democratic deficit

4. © 2013 CCgroup
Why does this matter?
• National media content provides the
lens through which the public
perceive and understand the world
• It plays an important role in setting
the tone for political decision making
• It can directly affect stakeholders’
commercial confidence in an
industry
• It determines how strong the ‘voice’
of renewables is and how the
industry is portrayed

5. © 2013 CCgroup
Worst case scenario
• On-going negative coverage erodes
public support for renewables
• This in turn gives rise to political
uncertainty and lack of commitment
• Investor confidence begins to decline
placing question marks over future
investment in the industry and
emerging technologies

6. © 2013 CCgroup
Our research
• To determine mainstream media
attitudes we collated all articles on
renewables published by the top five
national newspapers (by circulation)
in July 2012
• 138 articles in total were analysed
• We measured the overall sentiment
of each article as well as the
portrayal of different renewable
technologies

7. © 2013 CCgroup
Mainstream media attitudes
• 51% of analysed were negative or
very negative about renewables
• Only 21% of articles were positive
or very positive
• 28% of articles adopted a neutral
position
• Worryingly, less than 10% of articles
included a quote or viewpoint from
a spokesperson for the renewables
industry

8. © 2013 CCgroup
Mainstream media attitudes
• Over 80% of renewables coverage
analysed was in ‘broadsheet’ titles
• Almost 55% of articles in broadsheets
about renewables were negative or
very negative
• Reporting dominated by
reactive, negative stories

9. © 2013 CCgroup
Mainstream media attitudes
• Wind was covered over five times
more frequently than solar or marine
• Wind was most negatively portrayed,
with 58% of articles taking a negative
view
• Solar & marine were covered less
negatively, but failed to register
regularly on media’s radar

10. © 2013 CCgroup
Evolving communications: Style
• Be clear and differentiated
Ensure your messages standout, making
both the rational and emotional arguments
• Educate your audience
Teach them something new, valuable and
relevant
• Get involved
Speak up and start telling positive stories
about your business
• Be Mean
Seize, capitalise and amplify pro-industry
and anti-competitor news

11. © 2013 CCgroup
Evolving communications: Platforms
• Earned media
Use Inspirational, challenging and
educational thought leadership to attract
positive attention
• Paid for media
To achieve high impact, ensure campaigns
are closely targeted and avoid one-offs
• Owned media
Provide intelligent content through owned
channels to deliver campaigns that achieve
controlled cut-through

12. © 2013 CCgroup
How? Demands a team with…
• Knowledge of renewables – but with
fresh, positive perspective
• Expertise communicating commercial
communications campaigns in complex,
technical environments
• Ability to create exceptional, unique
content across platforms
• Access to a range of complimentary
skill-sets
• Relationships with traditional and non-
traditional influencers

13. © 2013 CCgroup
Introducing CCgroup
• We are a commercially driven PR &
marketing consultancy - founded in 1985
• Our team members have been working in
fast growth renewables since 2006
• We work in partnership with a range of
CleanTech companies –
manufacturers, service providers and
VC-backed organisations – to deliver
commercial success through campaigns
that:
• Boost sales
• Build value, and
• Position for exit

14. © 2013 CCgroup
• The full results and analysis of our research
can be seen in our whitepaper ‘How the UK
national media treats renewables’
• Download it here:
http://info.ccgrouppr.com/media-and-
renewables
• Get in touch! Email us at
cleantech@ccgroupr.com or call us on
020 7535 7203
Get the full report