SaskEnergy
SaskEnergy is Saskatchewan's natural gas utility. Its 400,000 customers are dispersed across a vast area in which temperatures can reach -40 degrees. Heat is in high demand here and natural gas is a resource that requires fulltime attention, often testing the mettle of the utility's Government and Media Relations team.
Meltwater Enables SaskEnergy to
Get ahead of emergencies and breaking stories by receiving immediate email alerts
Automate and fine-tune media monitoring by filtering coverage geographically
Share accurate information with the government and the public 24 hours x 365 days
Challenge
Monitoring and Managing Critical Information Flows
An interesting fact: 40 below in Celsius is also 40 below in Fahrenheit. There shouldn't be any confusion around the degree of cold we're talking about. Icy Arctic blasts place a premium on reliable heat generation in Canada's Saskatchewan Province, especially in winter.
SaskEnergy's Government and Media Relations team says the demand for natural gas has never been higher, and because safety issues are always top of mind, corporate leadership needs to be plugged into any developing situations night and day. The Media Relations team has responsibility for monitoring communications and intelligence related to the utility and being capable of responding whenever necessary. This requires the compact, three-person unit to rotate weekly shifts whereby someone is always available, including weekends and evenings.
SaskEnergy's Dave Burdeniuk says, "Twenty years ago you might have had half a day to respond to a reporter's inquiries. Now you probably have five minutes." Burdeniuk says SaskEnergy's previous media communications tool was essentially spamming them, alerting them to as many as 75 mentions of the same story in half an hour. Also, whenever he and his colleagues had issues with the software, it could be days before they'd hear back from a service rep.
"Gone are the days when you can monitor social media manually. Automating it allows you to act with more urgency."
Dave Burdeniuk, Director of Government and Media Relations, SaskEnergy
Solution
Its Immediacy is Meltwater's Greatest Attraction
Meltwater's media monitoring and social media solutions allow SaskEnergy to stay on top of any comments about the company— positive or negative— and never be blindsided. Burdeniuk says his team receives timely email alerts without fail, while the platform's filters and settings ensure that the alerts never become excessive to the point of distraction. Being able to target coverage geographically helps immensely.
The platform's immediacy is another great asset. "You really need something that lets you set it and forget it, and then responds immediately. Meltwater makes a huge difference in the quality and speed of our information."
Getting ahead of a story tops every PR pro's wish list. Oftentimes Burdeniuk will still be speaking with a reporter when he gets alerted to a tweet or a mention based on something he said just a minute ago. Meltwater gives him options, by allowing him to react quickly with more facts or context around a story, or to share the latest information with executives, a regional office, or the government. More accurate information leads to better outcomes.
Burdeniuk has a personal reason for liking Meltwater as well: its versatility. "I'm blind, and Meltwater works with the specialized software and settings I use with both my laptop and phone."
"We work hard to earn the trust of the company's leaders as well as the government. Meltwater helps us deliver on the challenges of communicating accurately and immediately."
Dave Burdeniuk, Director of Government and Media Relations, SaskEnergy
Summary
Meltwater Helps SaskEnergy
Keep tabs on social media content and provide context in real-time
"Our job is to study our company and the issues we face and be able to respond to the media or the public day or night. That's why we need a platform like Meltwater to assist in our efforts. Its social listening functions like radar by telling us everything that's going on and what's being said about SaskEnergy."
Receive targeted, relevant, and actionable results with no repetition
"Our old monitoring software used to get us confused with other companies. We'd be served up totally irrelevant news emanating from Russia, Africa, and South Korea because they have companies with similar names as our subsidiaries. We almost gave up on social media monitoring because it was too overwhelming."
Resolve any issues immediately with personal, hands-on expertise
"It's such a welcome change to get the kind of support Meltwater offers. Whether it's a question we have or giving Meltwater a heads-up about a significant event underway that may cause a high volume of traffic, it's reassuring to know that support is available at all hours. Like us, Meltwater never sleeps.
— Dave Burdeniuk, Director of Government and Media Relations, SaskEnergy
