Objective: Secure approval for a $700 million expansion project at the Bakersfield Big West Refinery from the Kern County Board of Supervisors.

Assessment: In order to stay competitive, Big West needed to upgrade its 75-year-old Bakersfield Refinery to produce clean gasoline and diesel fuels. The company faced a protracted approval process and there were growing concerns that some of the county supervisors were opposed to the project. In an effort to force a project labor agreement, statewide construction and local public safety unions initiated a "greenmail" campaign to scare the public, pressure elected officials, and focus media attention on potential risks. A high-powered San Francisco law firm specializing in greenmail publically opposed the project throughout the environmental review process. In addition, having only recently purchased the refinery, Big West was still largely unknown in the community and did not have an effective community outreach program.

Strategy: As part of a multidimensional communications campaign, W&A recommended building a broad-based citizens committee that could demonstrate widespread support for the project to the county's planning commission, board of supervisors and other officials.

Implementation: W&A launched a communications campaign to educate the public about the project's economic benefits and Big West's desire to be a part of the community for years to come. The campaign included a project video, television and radio advertising, print advertising, power point presentations, a website and a comprehensive media/information kit. As part of this program, we used a countywide direct mail piece to recruit supporters for the citizens committee. A special effort was made to reach out to the county's large Latino populations with bilingual direct mail and Spanish language television and radio commercials.

Thousands of Kern County residents joined the committee and signed petitions supporting the project. Refinery spokespersons also reached out to community, academic and business groups to educate them about the project benefits and secure their endorsements. Finally, employees and contractors rallied around the project and recruited friends and family to support the project.

Result: The project gained widespread support and was approved in a unanimous vote by the Kern County Board of Supervisors. Officials acknowledged that attendance at public hearings on the project was unprecedented, and noted that Big West's efforts to educate and engage the local community played a key role in securing approvals.