The Joint Electrical Promotion Plan (JEPP) is proud to introduce poweringcommunities.ca, a new website designed to showcase the value of the safe, professional work done by IBEW and ECAO members every day.
Aimed at everyday Canadians as well as influencers and accompanied by a TV commercial, the goal is to help the public better understand how important our work is to almost every aspect of our lives and to remind purchasers of construction that we are the best choice for safe, reliable and professional electrical services.
The TV commercial is airing on Global, CBC and SportsNET throughout May 2017. We encourage all IBEW members to share it on their social media accounts:
The Website
The poweringcommunities.ca website takes a closer look at the stories behind the commercial. Each story focuses on a hospital, airport, or other key element of modern life.
TV commercials can only be so long, so the idea is to get people interested, and encourage them to come to the site to learn more compelling details. The result will hopefully be more appreciation in the general community for the professional and complex work that IBEW-ECAO does.
Every story ends with links that make it easy to hire an ECAO contractor or contact the IBEWCCO.
Political Impact
The recent political issues around Ontario Bill 70 Schedule 17 have underscored the fact that the community at large doesn’t really understand what we do and how important it is. It is doubtful that the same sort of legislation would have been suggested for lawyers, doctors or teachers.
The Powering Communities initiative is a new direction that aims to change the public perception of IBEW-ECAO over time. With a more informed public, hopefully a situation like that will never happen again.
The People Behind the Powering Communities Website
There are a lot of people who have contributed to making the site and the commercial happen. The commercial was shot over 2 weeks, to be ready in time for playoff season and the spring network cycle. The website similarly had a very quick turnaround time. We’d like to thank everyone who made this happen so fast:
- Sherri Haigh, Director of Business Development for JEPP, who planned and oversaw every detail of the commercial and website.
- IBEW members who agreed to be either in the commercial or interviewed for the stories, or both:
- Lorne Newick, Local 105
- Steven Martin, Local 353
- Andrew White and family, Local 353
- Mark Cherney, Local 303
- Trevor Almenar, Local 1687
- Bruce Palmer, Local 1687
- ECAO members who agreed to be either in the commercial or interviewed for the stories, or both:
- Chris Cahill of Cahill Electric
- Anthony Tofano, Electrical Division Manager of Procon Constructors Inc and his family
- Marek Ciuba and Michael Mulgrew of Hart-Well Electrical Company
- Franco Cecchetto and his son Adrian of Cecchetto and Sons Contracting.
- Aaron Pritchett, JUNO nominated country musician, who allowed us to use a portion of his concert video (and who is also composing a song about electricians and the value of the work they do). Please show your thanks by purchasing some of his music.
You’ll be interested to know that almost everyone who appears on camera in the commercial is either in IBEW or ECAO member. The exceptions are Aaron, the nurse, and of course the babies (although we’re hoping they grow up to become members!).
We also thank in advance everyone who shared links to the commercial or the site.
More Exciting Stories to Come – And You Can Get Involved!
This commercial is just the first of many to come, and the site will grow too.
More commercials, focusing on the work of individual locals in their communities, are in the planning stages. We also plan to tell more stories about how IBEW-ECAO electricians are powering communities all across Ontario.
If you know anyone who hasn’t seen the commercial or the website yet, don’t forget to share it!