GARY RASP
Your communications strategy needs to keep pace.
The energy industry is in a state of flux. Rasp Energy can help.
The electric utility industry is undergoing unprecedented change at a staggering pace. Challenges include manifold advances in technology, a diverse and evolving customer base, and an elusive regulatory landscape.
Rasp Energy specializes in developing strategic communications plans that can help blunt market uncertainties, enhance customer relations, and keep your organization ahead of the curve.
Gary Rasp, principal and owner of Rasp Energy, is a seasoned communications strategist with more than 25 years’ experience working for investor-owned utilities, regulatory agencies, electric grid operators, trade associations, and other market participants.
Gary’s unique perspective is drawn from work as a journalist, press spokesperson, university communications director, direct mail consultant and market research specialist. He has a keen understanding of the players, the policies, and the politics of the electric utility industry at a time of unprecedented change.
Gary works with energy clients to customize a communications strategy designed to address their specific circumstances and organizational objectives. As needed, his network of other communications experts, graphic designers, market researchers, and others, can be sourced to supplement client work.
“I have developed and implemented numerous strategic communications plans for a variety of energy clients. The consistent thread throughout these experiences is that all tactics and initiatives are integrated and driven by an overarching strategy."
"I have strong writing and editing skills, deep experience in media relations, and a knack for crafting research-based messages that resonate with target audiences – essential to defining your public image in an increasingly competitive marketplace of ideas.”
Having a clear-cut strategy for communicating with your customers and other stakeholders is essential to your organization’s success. That said, your strategic approach can’t be assumed or made up out of thin air – it should be derived from an well-founded understanding of how you are perceived; what your customers and others think of your overarching mission, how effectively and efficiently you operate, and whether you are successful in fulfilling your priorities. Importantly, it’ not enough to know what your customers think of you, you need to understand why they perceive you the way they do. We can help by conducting market research that informs your communications strategy and shapes your approach to customer relations. Over the years, Gary has worked with public opinion pollsters to provide statistically verifiable snapshots of stakeholders’ views. Ideally, quantitative data from public opinion surveys should be supplemented with qualitative research obtained from focus by groups of customers and others.
The energy industry is undergoing an unprecedented period of change. Electric utilities in particular face challenges that, if not managed properly, threaten their historic business model and financial well-being. Challenges include a diverse and evolving customer base, rapid-fire advances in technology, and an elusive and uncertain regulatory landscape. In this climate, the need for strategic communications is a necessity, whether you operate in a retail-choice market or a regulated environment. Municipal utilities and member-owned electric co-ops don’t face direct competition, but also are confronted with many of the same challenges. Rasp Energy communications can help you craft and communicate key messages for customers, regulatory agencies, and other target audiences. Having a sound communications strategy is more important than ever as your organization navigates the shifting terrain of public perception in an increasingly competitive marketplace of ideas.
In most cases, you don’t see a crisis until it hits; once it arrives there’s no room for hesitation – you must confront the situation immediately. Crises can take many forms – an environmental catastrophe, an extended power outage, management malfeasance – but regardless of the circumstances, your organization must be prepared to manage the crisis quickly, with confidence and control. We can help you prepare for unexpected by walking you through the fundamental steps your organization must undertake during times of crisis. The future of your business may depend on developing a crisis communications plan designed to limit the damage from unforeseen events. Don’t wait until it’s too late.
While social media has irrevocably altered the landscape of public outreach, the importance of effectively communicating with journalists remains critical. Gary Rasp has more than 25 years’ experience in media relations – as a reporter, press spokesperson / media liaison and public affairs strategist. Understanding how reporters work and how to work reporters is key to effectively conveying with your customers and the public at-large. Many stakeholders continue to rely on credible news outlets for their information and analysis, and reporters remain an important conduit to your audience. We know how to ethically and artfully interact with journalists in clear, consistent and creative ways. We can also provide media training of executive management, particularly important during times of crisis, when customers expect to hear first-hand from company executives
As Communications Director for the University of Texas at Austin’s Energy Institute, one of Gary’s primary responsibilities was to enhance ‘energy literacy’ within the news media and the general public. In addition to regularly connecting university energy experts with reporters working for print, broadcast and online news outlets, Gary organized an annual workshop for credentialed journalists who cover energy and the environment. The two-day program featured presentations and panel discussions from university researchers exploring an array of energy issues, providing reporters and editors a rare opportunity to learn from leading energy experts up close in an informal setting. The result was considerable news coverage of topics presented during the event, along with a greater appreciation among journalists of UT Austin as a go-to source for expertise on topical energy issues.
As a consultant to the electric grid operator for much of the Midwest U.S. (MISO), Gary managed the onslaught of media queries in the immediate aftermath of the August 2003 blackout that left 50 million people powerless for several days. The goal of this strategy was to limit reputational harm MISO might suffer from the crisis, while at the same time imparting a forthright and transparent response to questions from the news media and full compliance with investigators seeking causes of the blackout. The result was limited damage to the organization’s brand and a lasting impression of openness that served the MISO well during the build-up to the launch of its wholesale energy market a few years later.
While at UT Austin, Gary was tasked with developing a strategic messaging plan for the public roll-out of a comprehensive research project (The Full Cost of Electricity). The study, which synthesized expert analyses from researchers across the UT campus, examined the total direct and indirect costs associated with the generation and delivery of electricity. Gary’s approach featured strategic messaging that distilled technical findings from the study into language accessible to the public at-large, along with targeted media outreach. In addition to highlighting the deep expertise of researchers, the plan bolstered UT Austin’s reputation as a world-class energy university. The result was an extraordinary amount of positive news coverage of the study, and enhanced awareness of the vital role researchers play in solving complex energy challenges facing society.
"Gary understands how journalists work, and knows the value of connecting reporters with subject matter experts who can enlighten and inform their coverage. He also has a real flair for conveying complex scientific information in language the public can understand."
"While working together at global PR firm Burson-Marsteller, Gary provided a steady presence at a time when our client's reputation was on the line. He put out the fires, offered sound advice, and maintained a disciplined approach to messaging."
"Gary did an outstanding job crafting a communications strategy to promote the Energy Institute's Full Cost of Electricity study. His work ensured our research got plenty of attention and paved the way for excellent news coverage."
512-585-2084
Gary@RaspEnergy.com