Infographic Slides

Putting the Spotlight on Key Details + Data Points

In terms of media interactions, visual aids can often make all the difference when editors are looking for key stats and quantitative details to include in their coverage. We compiled the most relevant information about both the EchoWater Project and the Harvest Water Project to share with the media about the exciting progress happening at the plant.

These two slide decks were designed and developed to match the design aesthetic of the e-vite and signage graphics, which gave us the flexibility to utilize them as rotating graphics on TV monitors during the event.

EchoWater Project Fact Slides:

Harvest Water Project Fact Slides:

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Editorial Outreach

A Multi-Pronged Approach

• SAVE THE DATE
  • We kicked off our media efforts with a Save the Date invitation to 15 key media targets in Sacramento and surrounding areas on April 20th, to give them ample notice of the event date. This was followed up with another invite reminder on May 1st.

• MEDIA ADVISORY
  • The following week, we distributed the Media Advisory to our full list of media contacts in the surrounding Sacramento area on May 10th, inviting them to experience the EchoWater Project in person at the media event, with a follow up email distributed on May 17th.
  • The advisory was delivered to 86 targeted local media with a combined 40% open rate, leading to an impressive number of confirmed visits from 4 local outlets including CBS13, KCRA, ABC10, and the Elk Grove Citizen (more info below).

• SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS RELEASE (SMNR)
  • To officially announce the completion of the EchoWater Project, we distributed a news release to local, Bay Area, national and industry trade contacts on May 15th, with a follow up distribution on May 22nd. This yielded a total of:
    • 39% combined open rate (well above the ~20% industry standard)
    • 46 total clicks

• WIRE DISTRIBUTION: The EchoWater Project news release was also distributed through wire distribution for an even larger online presence. See the stats below:
  • 219 release views
  • 4,300 release web crawler hits
  • 20 clicks
  • Sent to 1,185 targeted influencers (media): 476 in Energy & Environment, 487 in Government & Politics, and 472 in Health (minor cross over on lists).
    • NOTE: These media contacts sign up to receive wire news in their respective industries.
  • 129 pickups re-posting/syndicating the release on various localized newswires for a 50,899,484 potential UVPM audience.
    • NOTE: We find "pickups" by using a proprietary algorithm to search the thousands of sites in our distribution network for full text, verbatim postings of your content. This type of coverage notes that it's a release and is primarily used for SEO and algorithm credibility.

• • View the release landing page here
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• HARVEST WATER SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS RELEASE (SMNR)
  • To officially announce the launch of the Harvest Water Project, we drafted a news release to share the news with the media. Given the time constraints of the project in relation to the California Water Commission's timing on confirming Proposition 1 grant funding, the Regional San Communications Department team finalized and distributed the release on June 21st.
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• EXECUTIVE MEDIA GUIDE
  • An EMG was created to ensure all staff members on site were prepared with all needed information ahead of media correspondence. The document included:
    • Merlot, Regional San and speakers' contact information
    • Directions and a site map
    • EchoWater and Harvest Water fact sheets
    • Editorial profiles for attending media
    • Run of show
    • EWP news release

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Harvest Water Video

Speaking to the Future

Although video production was completed under a separate scope, the EchoWater Event provided us with our first opportunity to share the Harvest Water explainer video with key stakeholders and partners, highlighting the Harvest Water program as the next great pursuit for Regional San and the entire Sacramento region.

To further explain the benefits of the Harvest Water Project ahead of its official launch, our award winning PR.0™ video team created a 4:09 minute video diving deeper into the long-term benefits to local farmers and its ecological advantages by replenishing groundwater supplies. The video includes interviews by Regional San General Manager Christoph Dobson, Director of External Affairs and Policy at the Nature Conservancy Jay Ziegler, and two farmers who plan to participate in the program once it's fully active.

In addition to its digital publication on YouTube, the video debuted live during the EchoWater Event for all attendees and media representatives to see. Most recently, the video was also included in the Harvest Water Project news release, as well as in a variety of custom editorial pitches to local, national and industry trade media.

The VNR received 846 total views on YouTube as of 6/22/23.

Results

KCRA

After attending the event, reporter Heather Waldman featured the story on air during the 6pm newscast on Friday, as well as online with a written piece titled “Newly completed EchoWater Project to improve water treatment, groundwater sustainability.” The video segment was also published on the KCRA YouTube channel that reaches over 187,000 subscribers. The segment details the project’s importance to the Sacramento region and mentions its completion on schedule and under budget, with great B-roll shots of the plant and interviews with Christoph and Secretary Garcia.

KCRA broadcasts live to the Sacramento, Stockton and Modesto regions, with the online coverage alone garnering a total readership of over 1.8M and an ad equivalent value of $3.5k.

See the full segment and online article here.

CBS13

Reporter Shawnte Passmore covered Friday’s event and plant tour for a story titled "California needs the water: Wastewater treatment upgrades means farmers will tap into new supply,” which was picked up by both CBS Sacramento and CBS Bay Area both on-air and online. The segment included several interviews, including Christoph, Secretary Garcia, and even a local resident stating his positive opinion on the project.

CBS13 broadcasts live to the Sacramento, Stockton and Modesto regions, and the feature was also rebroadcast by CBS Bay Area. Taking both regions into account, this feature garnered a total readership of over 4.1M, with an ad equivalent value of $77.3k.

See the full segment and online article here.

ABC10

Reporter Brenden Mincheff attended the EchoWater Event and plant tour, resulting in an online news segment and online feature titled “An upgrade to a wastewater treatment plant is helping California achieve a climate resilient future.” The segment was broadcast to the Sacramento, Modesto and Stockton areas.

The positive coverage emphasized the importance of the project by stating, “the EchoWater Project, a $1.7 billion upgrade to an existing wastewater plant, is expected to improve the health of the delta and improve groundwater storage.” The feature included several interviews captured at the event, including Christoph and Secretary Garcia.

ABC10 broadcasts live to the Sacramento, Stockton and Modesto regions, with the online coverage garnering a total readership of over 769k and an ad equivalent value of $1.4k.

See the full segment and online article here.

Elk Grove Citizen

Following his attendance at the EchoWater Project Event, EGC reporter Lance Armstrong featured the story, including key details of the project, statists on the tertiary treatment process, the new name reveal, and several quotes throughout by Christoph, Elk Grove City Council Member Darren Suen and Regional San Board Chair David Sander.
​ The feature is set to garner more than 13,304 in total readership, particularly since it has been featured on the site’s home page. Lance has shared that he is working to have it published through additional outlets as well.

See the full coverage here.

KFBK

While iHeart radio host Kitty O’Neal was not able to attend Friday’s event, we coordinated a phone interview with Christoph earlier in the week, resulting in an on-air segment that aired twice on Friday afternoon (in the 4pm and 6pm hours), as well as online coverage of the project. The feature stated that the project was “immense upgrade was completed in spring 2023—on schedule and under budget” resulting in a “safe and reliable supply of treated water for discharge to the Sacramento River”.

KFBK is Sacramento's top-rated radio station, with a dominant presence among the region's over 2M terrestrial and streaming listeners. Although an exact listener count is difficult to confirm, the fact that Kitty ran the segment twice during afternoon drive time hours means it was heard by some of the network's most loyal and consistent listeners during one of the peak times of the day.

Hear the full segment and view the online article here.

Sacramento Business Journal

Following his interview with Christoph, Ben van der Meer published the EchoWater Project story to SBJ, titled "$1.7 billion EchoWater Project hits finish line in Sacramento County", which was also featured on the homepage of the site as well. The article includes a number of quotes and insights from Christoph, and Ben included the mentions of Dragados and Balfour Beatty as well.

With more than 3.4 million unique views per month, this online coverage is set to garner a high number of views for the project within the Sacramento business environment.

See the full article here.

California Local

By coordinating a video interview between Christoph and California Local writer Sam Boykin, we were able to secure two articles for the online news platform. The first feature covers the completion of the EchoWater Project, and the second looks ahead to the Harvest Water Project. The articles featured additional quotes by stakeholders that Sam interviewed separately, including Patrick Pulupa and Mike Wackman. Read the EchoWater Project coverage here.

Read the Harvest Water Project coverage here.

Maven's Notebook

Through the distribution of the EchoWater Project news release and media alert to the editors at Maven’s Notebook, a publication that focuses on California’s water supply, the story was picked up and featured online to its nearly 3,000 readers.

The piece titled “Sacramento’s New Wastewater Treatment Upgrade Will Help Recharge Groundwater—Will It Also Help the Delta?” details the benefits of the project, both immediate and long-term, including its use for crop irrigation.

Read the full article here.

Wastewater Digest

Through distribution of the EchoWater Project release to the editors at Wastewater Digest the Regional San team was able to coordinate an interview between Christoph and Editorial Director Bob Crossen. The news was featured online in an article titled "Regional San completes $1.7B treatment facility expansion," and utilized a number of the details from the news release, including the quote by Christoph.

The publication targets water professionals and has a reach of over 227k readers.

Read the full article here.

Civil Engineering Online

The publication's editor Jay Landers responded to our news release distribution with interest in interviewing a Regional San representative for an upcoming story on the EchoWater Project. The Regional San Communications Department team coordinated a conference call between him and Mike Crooks.
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​Although we have not yet seen this coverage go live, Civil Engineering Online has a reach of over 78,000, with readers in the field of environmental, structural, civil and geotechnical engineering.

Merlot Marketing Coverage Totals

• Total Impressions: 12.4M+
  • NOTE: Does not include PRWeb news wire impressions
• Total Editorial Features
  • TV Segments (Sacramento): 3
  • TV Segments (Bay Area): 1
  • Radio Segments: 1, which aired twice
  • Online Articles: 11 (and counting)

Additional Results

State Water Resources Control Board Pitching Efforts

In conjunction with our pitching efforts on behalf of Regional San, the State Water Resources Control Board also shared updates on the EchoWater Project with key editorial contacts. Here is a brief summary of features we noted as a result of their efforts:

Treatment Plant Operator

The EchoWater Project story was featured both online and in the print April 2023 issue, in an article titled "A California Project Proves It: Big Plant Improvement Projects Are All About People, Notably Operators". The article focuses on the water treatment details, the numerous projects that took place, and the team who worked on the project.

Read the full online article here.

Smart Water Magazine

The publication featured the EchoWater Project story online, with several details regarding the water treatment process, the funding, and the project's benefits to California. The article included several quotes throughout by members of the Regional San team, including Yana Garcia, E. Joaquin Esquivel, and Christoph Dobson.

Read the full article here.

ADDITIONAL PITCHING - Merlot Marketing

Over the course of this campaign, our team continued to custom pitch via phone and email, and we worked diligently to craft a variety of audience-specific pitch angles. Several publications showed interest in the project and some even mentioned they may use the story in future issues.

Below we've listed a number of contacts that have opened our emails, or that we've had direct conversation with, who have not yet published the story or let us know it was not the right direction for them at this time.

• Comstock's Magazine: The president and editor have reviewed the project details and plan to follow up if they have any additional questions.
• The Sacramento Bee: Interested in the story, but were unable to attend the event due to low staffing.
• Municipal Sewer & Water: Editor is currently reviewing the project details and let us know he will follow up if he needs additional information.
• Inframation: Currently focusing exclusively on privately financed projects.
• American Public Works Association: The editor showed interest in the story, but the water issue will not be published until February 2024.
• Hydro Review Weekly: Let us know they are not interested in covering wastewater treatment.
• CalMatters
• Capitol Morning Report
• Lincoln News Messenger
• San Francisco Business Times
• East Bay Times
• Sacramento Observer
• Sactown Magazine
• Bonneville Sacramento Radio Group
• Sacramento Magazine
• Capitol Public Radio
• FOX40
• California Water & Power
• Ag Alert
• Los Angeles Times
• Professional Remodeler
• National Public Radio (NPR)
• TIME Magazine
• Informed Infrastructure
• Water Technology Magazine
• New York Times

Agency Capabilities Summary

Merlot Marketing is a full-service agency and offers the following services as requested, budgeted and approved:    

• REDiscover™ Session: Brand Survey, Brand Engineering & Brand Blueprint   Strategic Marketing Plan Development
• Public Relations/Media Relations
• Content Marketing/Social Media
• Media Planning/Buying (incl. Adwords, Social Ads, etc.)
• Creative/Graphic Design
• Market Research 
• Events/Promotions    
• Interactive Solutions