The McDonnell Group

By Don McDonnell

ATLANTA, GA -- January 15, 2011 -- It happened last night. Following the publication this week of Fortnightly's article "Saving The Smart Grid," a former client and friend who works in energy in DC emailed me a note saying "nice Fortnightly call out you old gas bag."  I hadn't seen the article so my heart skipped a beat or two, and I quickly logged on to read the article and see what inspired his humorous -- but also slightly ominous -- note.

While we're best known as a public relations boutique, most of my work here personally these days focuses on serving clients with strategy advisory and proprietary research support which comprises well over half of our growing business. Our public relations team carefully builds trusted and knowledge-based relationships with key influencers, reporters, analysts and consultants. The last thing they need is me "line jumping" our own PR clients to hog the microphone on the record for coverage. I rarely -- in fact almost never -- do on the record interviews with journalists.

But, given the story topic and the invitation to participate from long time friend and editor Michael Burr, I decided to break convention and go on the record with reporter Steven Andersen. I did the interview without talking points and without holding back.  I broke every rule our PR team brings to their work with our own clients. I answered hard and politically sensitive questions. I was blunt. I was probably brash. For that reason I have to admit that I was a bit worried. I took solace in the fact that I spoken passionately about something I knew was critical to our industry.

We seek to not only nurture and protect the brands of our clients, but also to defend the industry's smart grid vision from cynics. Maybe even defend it from hypesters and quick buck artists alike.

If helping utilities collaborate with research and benchmarking and tell their stories of innovation and success makes us utility industry apologists then so be it. I don't think that makes me a smart grid gas bag though!