Winthrop Collaboration with York County Natural Gas Leads to Nationally Recognized Customer Education Campaign

ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA — A classroom challenge for Winthrop University students grew into an award-winning communications program that helped York County Natural Gas Authority (YCNGA) better educate its customers.

The authority’s customer education campaign featuring Glow the Firefly, the authority's friendly energy Ambassador, recently earned three prestigious communications awards recognizing excellence in creativity, strategy and public engagement:

• Gold Hermes Creative Award for Strategic & Integrated Campaigns, presented by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP), an international organization recognizing excellence in marketing and communications.
• Corporate Communications Award from the SGA Natural Gas Association, recognizing outstanding communications among natural gas companies across North America, including many of the industry's largest investor-owned utilities.
• First Place Communications & Marketing Award from the American Public Gas Association (APGA), the nation's largest trade association representing publicly owned natural gas utilities.

Glow's journey began through the York County Regional Chamber's EPIC Challenge, an experiential learning program that connects students with local organizations to solve real business challenges. During the competition, Winthrop students developed creative concepts to help YCNGA better engage customers. One of those ideas sparked the inspiration that would eventually become Glow.

Over the following months, YCNGA's marketing team refined the concept into the character customers know today: a friendly firefly who makes natural gas safety, energy efficiency, conservation, and utility information more approachable for customers of all ages.

For Erin Patel ’07, ’09, a Winthrop instructor who worked with the students, the impact of the partnership extended well beyond the project itself. “YCNGA is a tremendous partner who is truly invested in community and student development,” she said. “The students who participated in this project have spoken with pride about how EPIC changed their trajectory. Several have come back after graduation to tell me that the six-week EPIC project helped them land internships and jobs, and gave them the confidence to take on special projects.”

Work-integrated learning experiences give students the opportunity to move beyond the classroom and apply what they are learning to a real-world challenge, said Becky Ross, director for the Center for Career Development and Internships at Winthrop. “Students from diverse majors brought their creativity, communication, collaboration and critical thinking skills to the development of a marketing campaign,” Ross said.

Today, Glow is a recognizable part of YCNGA's customer education efforts, appearing in digital and print campaigns, children's educational materials, community events, website resources, safety communications and energy conservation initiatives. “Glow represents what can happen when education, business and community partners come together with a shared purpose,” said Jimmy Sprouse, president and CEO of YCNGA.

For more information, contact Hannah Smith '11, '17, marketing manager for YCNGA, at hannah.smith@ycnga.com.