CASE STUDY

Verizon FIOS
Delivering Choice to New Jersey

With more than $75 billion in annual revenues, Verizon Communications Inc. is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. Verizon has a diverse work force of 217,000 in four business units: Domestic Telecom provides customers with wireline and other telecommunications services, including broadband. Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 51.3 million voice and data customers across the United States. Information Services operates directory publishing businesses and provides electronic commerce services. International includes wireline and wireless operations and investments, primarily in the Americas and Europe.

The Challenge

In New Jersey, arcane laws that require cable companies to obtain a ‘municipal video franchise’ per municipality before delivering fiber optic-quality cable TVare preventing and delaying consumers from having real cable choice. Even though Verizon already serves 526 New Jersey municipalities, the company needed to negotiate with each of these towns individually for another franchise – each of which could take 12 to 18 months. Verizon’s ability to provide digital and high-definition TV service to consumers through its Fiber to the Premises network would be significantly delayed. Thus, delaying real choice for the consumer.

Verizon understood the only real option was for the state of New Jersey to recognize the barriers to choice that these laws were creating and to pass legislation that would enable a company to receive a single video franchise to cover its entire service territory. Consumer support was critical to a successful campaign.

Winning Strategies Approach: Grassroots mobilization through the web

Verizon approached Winning Strategies to develop a grassroots mobilization effort to educate consumers about the issue and provide them tools to support the cause of more choice for NJ consumers.

Winning Strategies blended its strengths in Public Relations and Web Development to come up with a suitable solution, TVChoiceNJ.com. Analyzing the situation, the team knew that the web was a key component to reaching out into the community and building the grassroots coalition that Verizon needed. Additionally, once consumers were educated it was important to provide them with a voice and a method to deliver that voice to the decision makers.

Through a “Take Action” component of the web site, consumers were guided through a series of simple steps to get in touch with their state and local representative regarding this issue. For those only interested in being kept up-to-date on legislation and information about the campaign, there was a spot to register for weekly E-newsletters. In the registration prompt there was a checklist where the user indicated what they were interested in doing in the future (attend a rally, contact a legislator/ Mayor, call talk radio). This allowed the campaign to further mobilize consumers based on interests. Additionally, Winning Strategies created a highly specialized section targeted to Mayors and Legislators. This was a password-protected section where only these targets could go to find pertinent information specialized to them.

Results
Based on the TVChoiceNJ.com Web site, the campaign has achieved astounding results. As of March 2006, the Web site accounted for more than 10,500 registrants, a virtual herd of online supporters who either utilized the “take action” feature or signed up to receive updates via weekly E-newsletters. Forty thousand letters advocating consumer choice in cable were sent to 554 mayors and 119 legislators. Additionally, 95 mayors actively logged on to TVChoiceNJ.com seeking information specialized to them.

The cable choice and competition legislation, allowing Verizon to receive a single video franchise, has passed through the legislature, its first major hurdle accomplished.