Energy, utilities and waste sector case studies

Who we are

• Tribe is an award winning public relations agency based in the east of England and working with

clients in the UK and internationally.

• We have an impressive record working for clients in the energy and waste sectors, particularly in

the oil and gas supply chain, biomass, onshore wind, and in domestic and commercial waste

• Our energy expertise is strengthened by our association with Hugh Massam of E=, a Cambridge-

based communications consultant with more than 20 years’ experience in the energy sector,

working with major players like Shell and E.On.

• Our team, one of the largest in the east of England, comprises PR professionals with both in-house

and agency experience, former journalists, brand and CSR experts.

• We are proud to have won the Chartered Institute of Public Relations Consultancy of the Year

(East region) five times in seven years, and to be named Consultancy of the Decade at the 2013

event.

• We have attained the Public Relations Consultants Association Consultancy Management

Standard.

• We are members of the East of England Energy Group eeegr

What we do

•Public relations strategy and planning

•Media relations and press office

•Profile raising and thought leadership

•Issues and crisis communications counsel and management

•Stakeholder, influencer and community relations, including consultation support

•Campaigns and initiatives

•Digital PR - social media, online & TribeTV

•TribeTraining, including key spokesperson training

We manage our clients’ reputations, raise awareness and build understanding by getting them seen, heard and talked about in the right way, by the right people in the right places.  

API TechnologiesBosalBirkettsBlue Sky Leisure GroupCamelotCity and Islington CollegeColbondDura CompositesEast of England Co-operative Society East of England Energy ZoneEnvirocoEmpire CinemasForest Fuels Foster RefrigeratorFX HomeGood EnergyGreene KingJeyes

Clients: past and present

Low Carbon Innovation Fund

Learning and Skills Council

Lotus Cars

May Gurney

National Apprenticeship Service

Norfolk County Council

Norwich City Council

Norwich Research Park

Progress Power

Shell

Sport England

STG Aerospace

Teknomek

Treco Ltd

Unilever

Warings Furniture

Windcrop

WREN

Red indicates energy, utilities and waste sector clients

Windcrop became the largest installer of small-scale wind turbines in the UK. It redefined the energy market by providing an accessible and easy way for landowners to generate their own on-site renewable energy at no cost.

Our results:• Regular news coverage generated helped support

growth from small start-up company in Norfolk to the UK’s largest installer of small-scale wind turbines

• Case studies placed in target media including Poultry International, Smallholder and Farmers Guardian

• Interviews organised and features placed with national trade titles including Energy Engineering, Power Engineering and Energy Now

• Expert comment response to topical stories featured in national trade titles including Renewable Energy Installer, Energy Broker and Eco Today

• Connections made with Government decision-makers on radar interference

“The team at Tribe is a pleasure to work with and has always provided us with excellent support. From reactive press releases through to creating customer case studies, Tribe has been a real asset to us, providing great advice and increasing our profile within our industry.” - Katie Attfield, marketing assistant, Windcrop

The East of England Energy Zone was established to raise the profile of the region in the oil and gas sector and to build its position as a UK leader in offshore energy.

Our results:

• Researched and wrote features – including an 8 page supplement - on ports, skills, supply chain and the region for major industry titles

• Coverage to date includes a 50-page feature in Wind Energy Network and a one-to-one interview in Lloyd’s list.

• As a result of the marketing activity, the client has secured significant interest from major companies in the sector and is in talks with most, if not all, of the industry leaders

Open Energi has UK-designed and built products including Dynamic Demand Response™, which provide high energy-spend companies with revenue from electricity-hungry equipment through a fit and forget system. The revenue comes from the National Grid’s Balancing Services, a £1.1B market in the UK.

As a new, relatively complex product in a niche market with better-known competitors, Open Energi wanted help to articulate and differentiate its offer and focus its marketing and PR efforts.

E= worked directly with Open Energi’s Executive to define and sharpen its core ‘elevator pitch’, target audiences, PR strategy and messaging.

‘’…the work done so far has been really useful and we will definitely engage you further…’’ - Ged Holmes, Commercial Director

National infrastructure services company May Gurney delivers essential front-line services to the public and regulated sectors, operating in highways, rail, environmental services and utilities.

Our results:• Defined the group PR strategy and PR plans for

each business division, ensuring salient key messaging for specific audiences

• Provided 24/7 press office support, crisis communications and media training for senior management team

• Produced a documentary-style film to highlight the company’s household waste collection process, which was screened to media and customers at Future Resource

• Media coverage generated in 2009 alone achieved a return on investment of 17:1

“Always ready for a challenge and doing everything in a professional yet friendly way, Tribe provided excellent reactive press office support to our in-house team, and delivered proactive PR plans. Importantly, they helped us prove the value of PR to our senior management team.” Andrew Slater, head of marketing communications

Progress Power Limited (PPL) proposes to develop a gas-fired power station at the former Eye airfield in Suffolk. It would be capable of generating up to 299MW of electricity, enough to power the equivalent of 400,000 homes.

Tribe’s task is to identify local stakeholders, manage regional media relations and support the public consultation before the application for a Development Consent Order for this Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project is submitted to the Planning Inspectorate.

Results: • Positive engagement with key political and

community stakeholders• Widespread regional coverage of the project, with

predominantly positive or neutral articles featuring comments from the project team.

• More than 450 attendees to public exhibitions, including councillors from each town within a three kilometre radius attended, as well as representatives from Mid Suffolk District Council and Suffolk County Council.

Enviroco is a leading UK waste management company specialising in the oil and gas sector. Our role was to build and maintain awareness and understanding of Enviroco’s services. 

Our results:• Regular stories on contract wins, staff awards and

training and services in target industry media• Researched and wrote a bank of case studies to be

used by media and on Enviroco’s website• Built relationships and held briefings with editors and

journalists on key trade titles including Platform and CIWM

• Produced a video to demonstrate an innovative tank cleaning process

“Enviroco appointed Tribe on recommendation. Tribe provided us with professional advice on all matters PR, delivered as ever by a knowledgeable and friendly account team. We have benefited greatly from their guidance and support.” John Coull, Commercial Director, Enviroco

Established in 2005, Devon-based Treco have over 500 biomass-only installations across the UK, making them pioneers in an emerging sector.

They sought help to raise their profile nationally, then to launch a major new range that took them into a new client sector.

Results: • Delivered a solid strategy defining tight target

audiences, to maximise a limited budget and use the company’s own rural roots

• Gained coverage in rural media including a fullpage case study in Farmer’s Weekly

• Boosted inhouse abilities through boilerplates and other tools

• Product launch covered in trade and specialist media, providing a return on investment in media coverage alone of at least 6 to 1 and thought-leadership opportunities around emerging renewable-energy issues

''We recently worked with E= to raise our profile in some defined markets and to launch a major new range for us, as our first foray into supporting our inhouse marketing through outsourced PR. It took a while to get going, but the strategy work helped with focus, the results are starting to show now and looking great!...‘

- David Knox, Marketing Manager, Treco

Contact us

Patrick Peal

Managing Director

T: 01603 417722

M: 07775 894462

E: patrick@tribepr.com

W: www.tribepr.com

Twitter: @TribePR

Hugh Massam

E= Principal Consultant

W: www.eequals.co

Twitter: @eequalsuk