Merger Communications
Public Strategies coordinates the campaign to win approval for a merger creating a communications leader with global reach

The situation

A Fortune 50 company and regional telecommunications leader announced plans to acquire one of the industry's pioneer companies. The merger would combine the companies' expertise and capabilities to form a company with integrated services and global reach. The $16 billion transaction required approval of the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as the consent of regulatory agencies in 36 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 14 other countries. The merger also was the focus of hearings by three congressional committees and one subcommittee. Opposition was organized by competitors in the telecommunications industry and also came from consumer groups, state agencies and other businesses and non-profit organizations.

Public Strategies' solution

Public Strategies built upon its long-standing relationship with the acquiring company to design and implement a comprehensive campaign strategy aimed at creating a supportive public presence throughout the regulatory approval process for the merger. The goal was to bring the merger to a successful completion as quickly as possible. The strategy included drafting campaign plans in key merger approval states as well as an overall campaign plan that incorporated all players, including employees from each company and a variety of consulting firms, into a single, highly coordinated team.

The overall effort included:

• Public opinion research. During the first two months of the merger process, we conducted eight national and regional polls to gauge key attitudes about the merger and the telecom industry in general, to measure favorability and credibility ratings, and to test campaign messages.

• War Room. We established a central coordinating hub, or "War Room," at the acquiring company's headquarters. This was a nerve center that provided the company's leadership with the information and communications infrastructure necessary to manage the environment and respond accordingly. The War Room gathered and disseminated information, tracked the approval processes and timelines, and monitored and managed public discussion of the merger including in-depth opposition research. The War Room organized a daily conference call to keep team members apprised of developments. A second War Room was set up in California to coordinate the campaign in that key state.

• Virtual War Room. Campaign participants had access to an online, password-protected internal communications hub. This intranet site allowed team members to access merger news and the approval count, stay up-to-date on messages and talking points, view opposition documents, and keep track of other developments.

• Message coordination. Public Strategies collaborated with the acquiring company's communications team to develop messages based on research findings. We incorporated these messages in a host of collateral materials such as presentations, "talk-froms," "leave-behinds" and Q&A documents.

• Third-party mobilization. Public Strategies identified third-party supporters and helped coordinate their statements and activities on behalf of the merger. More than 250 national and state groups supported the merger. These included labor unions, business groups, non-profit organizations, think tanks and others. Many submitted written testimony to state or federal regulators or spoke at public hearings. During the campaign, third parties published more than 40 op-ed articles, news releases and reports in favor of the merger.

• Opposition monitoring. Public Strategies tracked and analyzed comments in opposition to the merger and worked with the acquiring company's communications office to coordinate responses. The merger team received daily and weekly reports on opposition activities.

• State campaigns. We organized state-by-state campaigns tailored to local conditions to win regulatory approvals in key states, coordinating these efforts with the campaign headquarters at the acquitting company. Priority was given to states with large numbers of intervenors in opposition to the merger or where the merger was opposed by a state attorney general or other state office.

Client benefits

The coordinated campaign based on research resulted in the granting of all state and federal regulatory approvals for the merger — despite intense opposition from some competitors and others. Final approval from the FCC came just 10 months after the initial press release announcing plans for the merger. The successful merger has created a company that has the range of resources and expertise necessary for success in an increasingly diverse and competitive telecommunications industry. This effort set the stage for the acquiring company to make additional merger and acquisition moves, and Public Strategies continues to work with it in this area.