Brand Champions Flock to 2004 Brand Leadership Summit

More than 150 cooperative staff members, CEOs and directors were energized about building the Touchstone Energy brand at the 2004 Brand Leadership Summit April 28-29 in Savannah, Ga. This was the second annual summit and featured the launch of the Co-op Connections Card (see next news story) and the rollout of the 2004 radio and print advertising campaign.

Sessions focused on integrating the brand throughout the organization, how Touchstone Energy is helping co-ops succeed with businesses, the effective use of the American Customer Satisfaction Index, evaluating sponsorships and P.R. events, the value of employee training and a review of a number of online tools to help build the brand at the local level.

The Brand Leadership Summit also gave co-op brand leaders an opportunity to network and share best practices. As one co-op brand manager said about the summit, "It provided timely, relevant information that can be taken back home and implemented."

Plans are in the works for the 2005 Brand Leadership Summit next spring. Details will be announced in the near future.

Touchstone Energy Rolls Out Co-op Connections Card

Touchstone Energy has launched Co-op Connections, a member-benefits card program that offers co-op members the benefit of product and service discounts and participating retail businesses the benefit of increased sales.

"Co-op Connections has been developed to drive member loyalty and increase awareness of electric co-ops," said Charlie Gloeckner, Touchstone Energy director of business development.

Touchstone Energy staff will provide tools and guidance for launching Co-op Connections. Implementation is two-fold.  First, co-ops will seek local businesses willing to offer discounts to Co-op Connections cardholders. Second, members will receive their cards in the mail, sign them, and show them at participating businesses to receive the discounts.

The program is designed so that participating businesses will benefit with increased customer traffic, as well as free promotions in co-op communications and advertising materials. Cardholders of participating Touchstone Energy co-ops will be able to see a roster of businesses offering discounts by logging on to their co-op's Web site. Participating businesses will also be identifiable by a Co-op Connections sticker on their storefront windows.

In addition to local businesses, Gloeckner said Touchstone Energy is working to secure discounts from a variety of national businesses and chains, such as rental car companies, hotels and restaurants.

The program was developed with help from Crow Wing Co-op Power & Light (Brainerd, Minn.) and Clark County REMC (Sellersburg, Ind.), which have similar programs designed to build awareness for their co-ops and improve member satisfaction.

"We launched the program about a year ago and already have nearly 300 businesses participating," said Denise Adams, manager of marketing and customer service at Clark County REMC. Businesses include hotels, amusement parks, the Louisville Zoo, and premium shopping outlets, which offer varying levels of discounts to participating consumer-members. 

"Every cooperative in the nation should have a member benefit card so that we really join together and strengthen what a Touchstone Energy cooperative is," said Char Kinzer, Crow Wing Power's director of public relations. In this co-op's service territory nearly 100 businesses offer consumer-members discounts ranging from price breaks at golf courses and restaurants to $100 off per eye at Lasik eye surgery clinics.

The member benefits card not only offers valuable discounts, it provides members a sense of belonging to the co-op, she said. "The people we serve can say 'I'm a card-carrying member of Crow Wing Power.' We have our logo right in their back pocket," she added.

For more information, contact Touchstone Energy's Charlie Gloeckner at 703.907.5589 or charlie.gloeckner@nreca.coop.

Communications Kit Goes Online - New Radio Spots Posted

The Touchstone Energy Communications Kit is now accessible via the Touchstone Energy Web site. All Touchstone Energy advertising and communications materials--radio and TV spots, print images, news releases, music, etc.--are housed in the online communications kit.  The kit can be reached by going to the co-ops' only section of www.touchstoneenergy.coop, clicking the Calendar/Communications link, then Communications Materials.

New Radio Spots Hit Range of Members
The 2004 radio spots are applicable to a range of member-owners. They can be accessed through the Touchstone Energy Web site. The six new spots (available in 30- and 60-second formats) are titled:

Big business
Grandfather
Kid
Dreamer
Small business
Teacher (Spanish)

Touchstone Energy co-ops will receive CDs with the radio spots and new print images in July.

Brand Manager Tip of the Month

It's important that employees, CEOs and directors at Touchstone Energy co-ops remember that electric cooperatives are cornerstones for business development in their local communities. Touchstone Energy has created a 6-1/2 minute "Building Relationships with Business Customers" video to spotlight how the Touchstone Energy network has resulted in business wins.

Designed to help brand managers communicate the value of Touchstone Energy to co-op CEOs, directors and fellow staff members, you're encouraged to show the video to your board, CEO and every single one of your fellow employees. For an accompanying Power Point presentation expanding upon the role Touchstone Energy plays with business customers nationwide, go to www.touchstoneenergy.coop. Click on the "Cooperatives Only" button, go to "Programs and Tools," find "Presentations," and then open "Business Wins." It's good supplemental material for any presentation you might create.

Get Charged! Kit Nets ASAE Award for Touchstone Energy

The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) has recognized Touchstone Energy's Get Charged! Electricity & You campaign by awarding the program with a 2004 Associations Advance America (AAA) Award. AAA Awards recognize associations and industry partners that advance American society with innovative programs in education, skills training, standard setting, business and social innovation, knowledge creation, citizenship and community service.

Each year ASAE recognizes three levels of winners--the Summit Award, Award of Excellence and Honor Roll.  Touchstone Energy is among the winners of the second level of recognition, the Award of Excellence.  Achieving this honor automatically puts the Get Charged! program in the running for the 2004 Associations Advance America Summit Award, the highest level of recognition.  Summit Award winners will be announced Oct. 5.

Alabama and Florida Co-ops Teach Electrical Safety

Touchstone Energy cooperatives in Alabama and northwest Florida are presenting a new electrical safety program for students. The program, titled "Making Accidents Disappear," is an educational and entertaining initiative that teaches children the importance of electrical safety.

The 40-minute demonstration, shown at school assemblies, uses audience participation, comedy and magic to communicate the importance of behaving safely around electricity.

"This program is a great way to communicate a safety message in a fun and entertaining way," says Terri Faulkner, communications specialist at Dixie EC, Union Springs, Ala.

Web Sites That Wow

The Web Sites That Wow monthly feature is intended to demonstrate how a Touchstone Energy cooperative effectively uses its Web site in its brand-building efforts. This month's site belongs to Oklahoma Electric Cooperative (www.okcoop.org), which uses brand images throughout its site, as well as a consistent color scheme.

South Carolina Kicks Off Million Dollar Hole-In-One Shootouts

In true cooperative spirit, volunteers from South Carolina co-ops Berkeley Electric (Moncks Corner), Edisto Electric (Bamberg) and Coastal Electric (Walterboro) hosted the Touchstone Energy Million Dollar Hole-in-One Shootout May 7-9 at Patriots Point Golf Links in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. The shootout is one of five held statewide by the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina (ECSC). This is the second year the South Carolina co-ops have held the shootout, with the primary goals of raising funds to provide inkless child I.D. kits for every first grader in the state, as well as elevating public awareness of the Touchstone Energy core value of commitment to community. 
 
The National Child I.D. Program is a joint effort of Touchstone Energy, the FBI and the American Football Coaches Association. South Carolina's electric co-ops distributed approximately 53,000 kits last year free-of-charge.
 
Berkeley promoted this year's event through radio, TV, cable, billboard and newspaper buys, as well as on the co-op's Web site, in bill messages, the employee newsletter and local magazine pages. Berkeley also hosted a media day prior to the event that included a press conference with a spokesperson from the FBI and qualifications for two media personalities to compete in the Shootout.
 
In terms of earned media, BEC received seven radio interviews, a live remote by ESPN radio and drive time promotion from the largest country station in the market. The event was also covered by two of the three local TV stations - including a live remote during the qualifying rounds and taped coverage of the finals on Sunday.

Prairie Energy Employees Lend a Hand at Recreation Area

Fulfilling the Touchstone Energy core value of commitment to community, Prairie Energy Co-op (Clarion, Iowa) employees this month volunteered their time to help create  a new equestrian campsite with horse hitching posts, site identification and barbeque grilling areas. The employees cleared brush from new camping sites, set signposts to identify the sites, and constructed cement foundations for the grilling areas at Brushy Creek Recreation Area. Future work projects will involve digging holes for hitching posts for horse enthusiasts to use when they visit.

Freeman Fox, member service manager with Prairie Energy Co-op, explains, "With all of the state budget cuts, there is definitely a need to do service projects like this. The state parks are a value to everyone in the state. They offer great camping for local people and trails for horseback riding. We think it's important to help out and live the Touchstone Energy values."

GreenTouch is the name given to this unique partnership between Iowa's Touchstone Energy co-ops and Iowa's state parks. In addition to performing volunteer work, the Touchstone Energy co-ops of Iowa also support the state parks by sponsoring a full-color brochure that includes a map and detailed information about all of the state parks in Iowa.

Quotable Quotes

"The only time we get our co-op in front of T.V. cameras is when there's an accident, hurricane, tornado or ice storm.  Because of the recognition of the Touchstone Energy brand and the commitment to community that it brings through co-op efforts, we had seven live radio interviews and  actually had a TV station sports anchor who did the Hole-in-One shot live on the evening news. You just can't buy that!" ¾Eddie McKnight, vice president of marketing and public relations, Berkeley Electric Cooperative,  Moncks Corner, S.C.

Editor, Marty Haught
marty.haught@nreca.coop
703-907-5986