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 Company: RCN Corporation
Entry Submitted By: Communicreate
Company Description: RCN Corporation (www.rcn.com),headquartered in Herndon, VA, is a leading provider of bundled cable, high-speed internet and phone services to residential and business customers in Boston, New York, Eastern PA, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. Its separately-managed subsidiary, RCN Business Solutions provides bulk video, high-capacity data and voice services to business customers.
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Communications Team
Nomination Title: RCN Corporation Communication Department
- Tell the story about what this nominated team achieved since January 1 2007 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
RCN Corporation, (http://www.rcn.com), is the first triple play (bundled cable,
high-speed internet and phone services) provider to compete with the incumbent
telephone and cable companies for customers in the most densely populated
markets in the U.S., including Boston, New York, Chicago, Eastern
Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.
In 2006, re-emerging out of bankruptcy and facing new competitive threats from
the telecom and cable giants, RCN successfully transformed its regulatory,
investor relations, public relations, government affairs, and strategic
planning functions into one unique department. This created a unified, highly-
integrated communication program which successfully acted as both a sword and
shield in promoting and defending RCN investor relations, regulatory,
legislative and marketing/brand initiatives. In 2007, RCN developed and
successfully implemented a proactive media, financial and public affairs
outreach program, which led to increased positive coverage in print, industry
and electronic media. RCN’s media contacts/news releases nearly doubled over
2006.
The PR department’s leadership and actions helped RCN reemerge from bankruptcy
as a strong, credible competitor in the marketplace, restoring public and
investor confidence, and directly supporting RCN’s regulatory and legislative
goals.
Results
• Increased institutional ownership of RCN stock from 74% to 93%. More
than tripled sell-side analyst coverage from 3 to 10. Generated investor
interest with more than 500 IR contacts, and more than 20 road shows and
conference presentations held. Following each quarterly reports call, separate
calls were made to the analysts who follow RCN to answer any additional
questions but to also get feedback.
• PR support helped achieve significant and favorable conditions from
Congress & the FCC, e.g., set top box waiver.
• Distributed 110 news releases and legislative/regulatory response
statements. Launched RCN Metro brand and worked to raise RCN Business Services
and RCN Metro awareness. Provided on site PR support & handled interviews in
announcing force reduction in Wilkes-Barre, PA and subsequent job fair. Peter
Aquino interview in the Boston Globe, Washingtonian magazine & radio interview
on The Leader’s Spot. CEO & SVP, interview with Peter Grant of the Wall Street
Journal. Listed in Washington Post Top 100. More than 250 news media inquiries
and interviews.
• Developed and coordinated the donation of $3 million in air-time to the
United Way. Supported the market’s community relations programs. Sponsorships
with local sports teams.
• Developed guidelines for charitable giving and corporate sponsorships.
Drafted web pages outlining corporate sponsorships and charitable giving; Pages
to launch January 2008. Coordination and publicity of in-kind services and
charitable giving to non-profits: United Way, Potomac Ridge Behavioral Health
System, University of DC Indian film & Indian Visions film festivals, Echo Hill
Campership Fund, Taste of the Nation, D.C. Action for Children, Alzheimer’s
Association and Idealism in Action awards.
• To increase brand awareness, a hybrid community relations and sports
sponsorship program was established that was designed to target key segments of
RCN’s footprint. In less than two months, RCN had acquired sponsorships and
partnerships with the Georgetown University Athletics program, Kettler Capitals
Iceplex, D.C. United soccer team, and Patriot Center at George Mason University.
- List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Corporate Charitable Giving
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/cKgXSDUuwmhwxlao1q5C-wX_QwojVxVy_yxjoKIf_G-
CMbNpHXP1_7edCnbR9-s5vtnzn780pITp4R6JnIPgJg/Charitable%20Giving.pdf
Community Involvement
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/cKgXSKQkLS5wxlao8F9tenWXCC9-T7mHyraiu-
_dCa9EU17m3ReSOoiZIdU8iLESBcU1pGmdGdvXhfxrp9rZQ/Community%20Involvement.pdf
Corporate Sports Partnerships
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/cKgXSAo6rllwxlaozFfSAHUoFaTDGiewJLcOEk6K6mVo3ENhTq
e1gl3zTP-YXr2pJugf_pTdIFilCtVUKLXHEg/Corporate%20Sports%20Partnerships.pdf
D.C. United Patrnership
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/cKgXSJnskA1wxlaoZ5A71XjdXXwMYVpSEDmstIIW3Qo9rTAqr6
wekvJSqe2U_H1KxzeWk9b_9k92Zz2SSJusjQ/DC%20United%20Partnership.pdf
Local Sponsorships/Partnerships
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/cKgXSL38aWNwxlaoFYVNEcYXbI5YjfExfX4JNjkNsH0f-
a3_yL7e_mOwIzk_9bV4WZhQBNtMo0PXN8FcFWGIqQ/Local%20Community%20Partnerships.pdf
INVESTOR RELATIONS
Annual Report
http://investor.rcn.com/downloads/2007AR.pdf
Analyst Call Schedule
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/cKgXSC4RW4pwxlaovgGdAM_Co2Gl2H1ipC1Nto5Av2ct2EtpG8
S2CSxSEQ9-J1pNCS2vr3UgY_7xkNrc7EDJCA/Investor%20Relations/Analyst%20Call%
20Schedule.pdf
Media Investor Analyst Messages
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/cKgXSFd8yQhwxlaog_UMyIUPeXTDSRD2_1nbrk1GgMTofwnjRP
AR_CVBhgi2dxPiK4WSkSSNTjnwB9m9tEuOVw/Investor%20Relations/Media%2C%20Investor%
20%26%20Analyst%20Messages.pdf
3Q Fact Sheet
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/cKgXSM-w7nxwxlaoU_ZUJStVtpFU-
OB5vEchzI9a5avNdGEetTLIa3mn335BBWbiN3RX2SmWcPcIaV6cC3oYyw/Investor%
20Relations/RCN%20Q3%2007%20Fact%20Sheet%20-%20FINAL.pdf
Earnings Announcement Slides
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/cKgXSIG7ySFwxlaox5wVQ1OTXkwL6Y2Z5YNBvRPH2URon9V5ks
edP-a7TdT-D200eGfmhll3_V2vsotRQMUeQ/Investor%20Relations/RCN%20Q307%20Press%
20Release%20Slides%2011%2006%20-%20FINAL.pdf
UBS Conference Presentation
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/cKgXSIUesctwxlaota97u7yc3ayxwXfhAbpkZtjkcqZloVRnLg
yK4OzrIjOwKcV32KiNY9IrhG1rQJFT2QR0PQ/Investor%20Relations/UBS%20Investor%
20Presentation%2012_5_07.pdf
Investor Relations Website Page
http://investor.rcn.com/index.cfm
PUBLIC RELATIONS
2007 Accomplishments
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/cKgXSPyetkFwxlaoeAcDLNJKAh-
qpaocbliP5xJjjqwHCibrMetzstbi_MiQoTPDhIofFRIjGBFd-E595zASAw/Public%
20Relations/2007%20Accomplishments.pdf
2007 Communications Plan
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/cKgXSIJY-HlwxlaoqAIwDGSA5Tm56YMd9UEVZP48-
cqItvF4q9aKJM0olngXlEbooF1R5PTz9Y4KTkQuA9AxFA/Public%20Relations/2007%
20Communications%20Plan.pdf
Departmental Review & Planning
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/cKgXSF1ESVRwxlaocnXpTsCCua5VMuhHKpKTJj2scrt19zW_wz
f6lch_3ythdfp8z6Czci3yc9tXlr7P4Hwr6g/Public%20Relations/2007%20Departmental%
20Review%20%26%20Planning.pdf
2007 PR & IR Objectives
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/cKgXSAq5KdNwxlao4YmeLwD6EtIKd0-1pus6-
bfnfDHqx5_EZPqIXckQcGb9n43MVplwZ6zt35RkLRxfR0QxXg/Public%20Relations/2007%20PR%
20%26%20IR%20Objectives.pdf
2007 Media Coverage
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/cKgXSHkKqLpwxlaoBkT3QxKeaoh-
98YU68WOk1UW7zUhSAVvqmwAtXVwNBoMWsgeWyJFpJrBh8MhPzufl7ycbg/Public%
20Relations/2007%20RCN%20Media%20Coverage.pdf
Strategic External & Regulatory Summit
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/cKgXSB0MdV1wxlaobl_7BqrGa3KBWQljHN0jbtwZNntuJ98iJL
g890lqcsRarbwdt8j7-G5uT7BOA5-gdlwsvw/Public%20Relations/2008%20Strategic%2C%
20External%20Affairs%20Summit.pdf
RCN Metro Communication Plan
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/cKgXSIoD625wxlaoAXEbgHX0MWaKasBdXRuGkMiG2C07Zr5x-
zHXNFnYVoQ7rARZ7JwdQvNMevlDlgKogPdiBQ/Public%20Relations/RCN%20Metro%
20Communication%20Plan.pdf
MEDIA COVERAGE
Telecommunications Magazine: RCN Metro Ethernet Takes Flight Podcast
http://www.telecommagazine.com/2007/Video/RCN_audiocast_01.html
CXO News Interview with Richard Ramlall
http://thestevies.com/CXONews/October302007.html
Boston Globe Interview with Pete Aquino
http://www.parsintl.com/pdf/14318_eprint.pdf
WDMV The Leader’s Spot interview
http://www.theleadersspot.com/content/view/50/16/
American Executive Magazine
http://investor.rcn.com/downloads/American_Executive.pdf
Press Releases
http://investor.rcn.com/releases.cfm?Year=2007
Media Coverage Results
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/wM8YSPJGCISYAcC_p0V9iowOCYYIM7XEnrLbDuxiCdW-yiw-
CLeHtJUaRR0n2l1OZWnS7zIhT-nVFaWDxeHhmw/Public%20Relations/2007%20RCN%20Media%
20Coverage.pdf
- Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the nominated team:
Richard Ramlall is Senior Vice President --Strategic External Affairs and
Programming for RCN Corporation, a Washington Post Top 50 company. Mr. Ramlall
was appointed to the position in March 2005 and has direct responsibility for
Investor Relations, Public Relations, External Affairs, Regulatory Affairs and
other strategic issues. He added Cable Programming responsibilities in April
2008. Prior to joining RCN, he served as Senior Managing Director and Executive
Vice President of Spencer Trask Media and Communications Group, LLC.
Previously, he served as Vice President and Managing Director for Strategy,
Marketing and International Government Affairs for Bechtel Telecommunications.
Prior to that, he spent over 18 years at C&P Telephone, Bell Atlantic and Bell
Atlantic International, serving in a variety of executive positions.
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