12.02.10 VIEW Partnership Marketing Task Force Summary Notes

San Joaquin Valley Energy Leader Partnership (VIEW)

PARTNERS MARKETING TASKFORCE SUMMARY NOTES December 2, 2010 | 9:00 a.m.

County of Tulare RMA, RMA Main Conference Room 5961 South Mooney Boulevard, Visalia, California 93277

Attendees: Barbara Marty, City of Hanford Gail Henry, County of Tulare Leslie Cavigila, City of Visalia Courtney Kalashian, SJVCEO Maureen Hoff, SJVCEO

Mark Okino, SCE Jesse Langley, SCE Cal Rossi, SCE Maria Serret, SCE Business Solutions Troy Nguyen, SCE Business Solutions

Frank Lauro, So Cal Gas

Location: County of Tulare, RMA, RMA Main Conference Room, 5961 South Mooney Boulevard, Visalia, California, 93277 Time: 9:00 a.m.

Next Meeting: Thursday, March 3, 2011 Location: County of Tulare, RMA, RMA Main Conference Room, 5961 South Mooney Boulevard, Visalia, California, 93277

Agenda Topics for December 2, 2010 1. Welcome 2. 2010 Holiday Light Exchange 3. Brainstorming session - 2011 Marketing Events and Outreach Ideas a. 2010 ME&O review b. ME&O Ideas for 2011 4. Next Steps a. Action Items b. Next meeting – March 3, 2011 Summary of Discussion: •

The meeting was called to order at 9:12am and we went around the room for introductions.

Courtney Kalashian did a recap of the Holiday Light Exchange. The Count y of Kings ran out of lights just days after receiving their strands! A press release with exchange details was sent out the week of Thanksgiving and stories were subsequently written in the Fresno Bee, the Hanford Sentinel, and the Visalia Times Delta. A second article published in the Visalia Times Delta featured our very own Nathan Garza wearing a strand of the LEDs! This year the Partnership will not be using CSET to recycle the old lights; instead SUNSET Waste Systems in Visalia has agreed to take all of the collected incandescent lights from the exchange program on Monday, December 13th. Courtney and Maureen Hoff collected lights from those who brought them to 2011 Meeting Schedule: March 3, 2011; June 2, 2011; September 1, 2011; December 1, 2011 •

San Joaquin Valley Energy Leader Partnership (VIEW) the meeting and dropped them off with Nathan at the City of Visalia’s storage unit for recycling on the 13th.

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Courtney moved on to discuss marketing events and outreach ideas. Handouts were provided to show where we have been in 2010 and where we could go in 2011. She explained that when the partnership started it was geared towards a more community-wide approach; however, in 2011 we would like to shift this focus to the government facilities and staff. Courtney asked those in attendance if they would like to continue with some of the more popular community events instead of withdrawing our participation altogether. To clarify, Jesse Langley suggested looking at the result of VIEW’s participation in these community outreach events. Was it worth it?

Courtney also clarified that a shift from community-focused to government-focused events will still reach the community because education at the government level will trickle down to the community when employees bring home what they have learned. Leslie Caviglia and Gail Henry agreed that in no way are we saying that the efforts we have done in the past weren’t helpful or important, but it is time to spread the message in a different way by saying ‘here is what the city/county can do for you’ as opposed to ‘here is what VIEW can do for you’. VIEW can still have its magnets, chip clips, and other promotional materials but the message will be emphasized as coming from the city or county government and will be less about who we are and more about what people can do.

Courtney asked Jesse how other multi-city partnerships handle marketing when trying to deliver a message as coming from one city. Jesse said there is a range as far as figuring out where this partnership wants to go as long as everyone is represented. When in one jurisdiction it would be important to highlight them and their efforts but also remember our regional approach and reference the other entities involved (for example, it could be said ‘City of X gets to offer X program through the utilities and the partnership’). The new approach still involves everyone but is simply shifting the focus of who is in the forefront.

Courtney discussed one of the ideas she and Maureen researched for 2011. Through the use of benchmarking, as this is one of the strategic menu items VIEW will be working on in the New Year, the partnership could do its own inter-jurisdiction competition based on energy savings over a period of time for similar facilities (example: waste water treatment plant versus waste water treatment plant). The idea behind the friendly competition would be in order to engage people and get them to buy in to the partnership’s message. Gail showed some hesitation in anything that involved e-blasts (with energy saving tips) after her experience with the County of Tulare where employees’ attention spans waned after a series of emails. The big question was whether or not there was an incentive attached to maintain effectiveness. The main consensus on having some sort of competition was that it could be a good idea but it would have to keep staff time at a minimum. Gail suggested instead of a series of emails to have one that directs people to the VIEW website. Courtney added that with subtle changes to the site we could make it more interactive and useful once we figure out the exact direction we would like to go.

One specific idea for a competition was to offer an incentive for lowered home energy use. For those that decided to opt in to the program, they would receive monthly tips from the partnership and we could reward one household in each jurisdiction. Frank suggested having one day where interested parties could sign up. We would also need some sort of release giving permission to view utility bills. It was noted that utility bills show a year to year comparison so it would be easy to measure savings. Then there was the question of a prize. Jesse said that if it is

2011 Meeting Schedule: March 3, 2011; June 2, 2011; September 1, 2011; December 1, 2011

San Joaquin Valley Energy Leader Partnership (VIEW) part of a marketing campaign we could use marketing dollars. A gift card was agreed on as appropriate. Courtney said that as long as everyone thought the competition was worthwhile, she and Maureen could flesh out ideas and specifics.

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In the last remaining minutes of the meeting, Jesse wanted to shift the focus to Direct Install in preparation for the partnership meeting. He encouraged jurisdiction partners to ask questions so our meeting guests, Troy Nguyen and Maria Serret from SCE’s Business Solutions, could prepare for and tailor their DI presentation. Leslie and Gail were both concerned about outreach to the smaller communities and ensuring that those businesses who receive DI information are indeed visited by the vendors. Courtney shared Porterville’s last DI experience where businesses were not well-informed and heard about the efforts after the fact. She was curious as to whether a representative from the local government could walk around with the DI team to help dismiss any skepticism on the part of the local business owners. Maria didn’t seem to think this would be a problem. Cal Rossi recommended getting the word out about DI through the Chambers’ ambassador program. There is currently a membership drive and placards will be hand-delivered. This would be a great opportunity to pass out DI information.

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Before the close of the meeting Courtney noted that included in the meeting packet was the list of AgTAC on location classes that had been requested by each jurisdiction. We will revisit this topic.

ACTION ITEMS: • •

Courtney Kalashian and Maureen Hoff will flesh out ideas for an inter-jurisdiction competition.

Incandescent holiday lights will be recycled on Monday, December 13th at SUNSET Waste in Visalia. For lights collected after this date, Courtney and Maureen will make arrangements for collection and recycling in January after the Partnership meeting.

2011 Meeting Schedule: March 3, 2011; June 2, 2011; September 1, 2011; December 1, 2011