SACRAMENTO - Edelman has won a hotly contested pitch for the California Energy Commission's $4.3 million public education campaign about solar energy.
The governor's plan will provide 3,000 megawatts of additional clean energy and reduce the output of greenhouse gasses by three million tons, which is the equivalent of taking one million cars off the road.
The agency will create a campaign aimed at two audiences: new home builders and consumers. The PR campaign's goal is to show the value of going solar. It is part of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's "One Million Solar Roofs Plan."
Edelman's Sacramento office is the lead on the account, but its three other California offices - Silicon Valley, San Francisco and Los Angeles - will work on it as well. About five staffers will work primarily on the account, said Steve Telliano, general manager of Edelman Sacramento. Work begins in January.
The plan, which has had considerable press coverage, is intended to lead to one million solar roofs in California by 2018. The $4.3 million is the figure for three years of PR work. The plan includes $2.9 billion in incentives to homeowners and building owners who install solar electric systems.
"Our goal is to show the value of going solar," Telliano said.
Finalists Edelman pitches against included Ogilvy PR Worldwide, Katz & Associates, and Astone Marketing. In all, 17 firms returned the state's RFP to compete for the business. The commission is scheduled to vote tomorrow in Sacramento to award the contract, which is expected to be a formality. The winner was selected during the last week of October.
Several other companies worked with Edelman in winning this account, such as: advertising and PR firm Barcelona, multicultural firm Adi Lieberman & Associates, printer SourceOne, and polling organization Maslin Maullin & Associates.
