GCI: Aleutian Fiber

VIDEO /
Image /
INTRODUCTION /

Closing the digital divide for customers in the extremely remote Aleutian Chain became paramount for GCI in recent years, and for the greater good, too; the region is an economic driver for the state of Alaska, bringing in millions of dollars from commercial fishing and international shipping. Enter: the GCI AU-Aleutians Fiber Project, a $58 million, 800+ mile subsea fiber-optic cable project bringing the best and fastest available terrestrial broadband service for the first time to the region.

Tactics /

Content Creation

Community Relations & Events

Earned Media

thompsonpr
thompsonpr
thompsonpr
Campaign TItle
Aleutians Fiber Project: Groundbreaking Phase

The Challenge

When it comes to projects of this scale, community buy-in is essential, as is stakeholder relations across multiple audiences. GCI, with the help of T&C, would need to utilize all the tools in the team’s PR tool belt to make breaking ground for this project successful.

The Approach

The objectives of the groundbreaking campaign were to ensure the project completed milestones and met federal reporting requirements; prevent the spread of misinformation and proactively address concerns; create local feelings of ownership in the project; and foster key relationships.

20

Stories
The campaign efforts resulted in more than 20 media stories, including 11 of those among local media, a key focus for the communications team.

15

Press Releases
Nine blogs and 15 press releases with project updates or news were published on the company’s site about the project over the yearlong timeframe.

Win-Wins

The in-person and virtual open houses were well attended which allowed the team to proactively address concerns as well as ensured the project completed milestones without delays due to community pushback. These events also met federal grant requirements, tackling three campaign objectives at once.

Services Provided /

Content Creation

To convey the project progress, the team created a website with a timeline to provide project updates. To convey the magnitude of the project, the team created a number of branded maps that portrayed the breadth of the project. To help emphasize the project was being built by Alaskans for Alaskans, the team profiled key members of the project team and featured that content on the website. They frequently updated the project’s webpage with new photos of the region, linking to project blogs, and updating recent coverage links.

Community Relations & Events

The team coordinated several donations in the community, totaling nearly $38,000 to organizations like the Museum of the Aleutians. This would support the nonprofit’s work to make its collection available to a wider community by developing additional web content, a natural fit given the nature of the AU-Aleutians Fiber Project.

Earned Media

The team incorporated the project into its earned media efforts, including distributing at least one AU-Aleutians Fiber Project release a month over the course the year. Topics were targeted to mainly local media, with some national-news-making stories included.

Tactic #1

Content Creation

To convey the project progress, the team created a website with a timeline to provide project updates. To convey the magnitude of the project, the team created a number of branded maps that portrayed the breadth of the project. To help emphasize the project was being built by Alaskans for Alaskans, the team profiled key members of the project team and featured that content on the website. They frequently updated the project’s webpage with new photos of the region, linking to project blogs, and updating recent coverage links.

Tactic #2

Community Relations & Events

The team coordinated several donations in the community, totaling nearly $38,000 to organizations like the Museum of the Aleutians. This would support the nonprofit’s work to make its collection available to a wider community by developing additional web content, a natural fit given the nature of the AU-Aleutians Fiber Project.

Tactic #3

Earned Media

The team incorporated the project into its earned media efforts, including distributing at least one AU-Aleutians Fiber Project release a month over the course the year. Topics were targeted to mainly local media, with some national-news-making stories included.