Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce
The Challenge
The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce and EPB, Chattanooga’s municipal electric utility, knew they had developed a truly unique economic development tool through EPB’s quiet construction of the nation’s fastest fiber-optic broadband network, which would serve as the backbone for the most advanced smart grid in the U.S.
The Chattanooga team came to DCI to raise awareness of their revolutionary project and help validate their story in the eyes of decision makers who could take advantage of this top-notch infrastructure.
The Result
- DCI coordinated an announcement on a groundbreaking milestone in EPB’s project – the launch of a one gigabit-per-second Internet offering through its new fiber network – at the leading industry Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Conference.
- On the day of the announcement, DCI landed a story on the front page of the business section of The New York Times and subsequent coverage in the Associated Press, Fox Business News, The Huffington Post, CNN, Fortune and more than 350 other outlets. Advertising equivalency for these media placements totaled more than $1,530,000.
- In the first 24 hours, EPB’s announcement received over 9.8 million impressions on Twitter. DCI worked with EPB to maintain a high profile on social media in this period and direct users to the recently launched microsite, ChattanoogaGig.com.
- As a result of DCI’s marketing activities surrounding the announcement and subsequent outreach to media and location advisors, EPB and the Chattanooga Chamber have been approached by multiple companies and government agencies interested in using Chattanooga as a test bed for new technologies.
