Marketplace Advocacy Campaigns: Generating Public Support for Bus ...

The Marcellus Shale Coalition:
“Energy to Fuel our Future”

Another example of a regional marketplace advocacy campaign is the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC). Founded in 2008, the MSC is an organization that was created to support the development of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale, the geological formation that underlies Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and West Virginia. Within Pennsylvania, the focus for the MSC campaign, the formation can be found beneath approximately 60% of the state’s total land mass (Marcellus Shale Coalition, 2011b).

The MSC is comprised of oil and gas companies drilling in the Marcellus Shale, such as Anadarko Petroleum, Range Resources, and XTO Energy, as well as associate member companies that support the drilling efforts. According to the MSC Web site, the coalition is dedicated to the “responsible development” of Pennsylvania’s natural gas resources “and the opportunities that the Commonwealth and its residents can realize in the coming years and decades through natural gas exploration and production” (Marcellus Shale Coalition, 2011b). In addition to working with regulators and government officials at the local, county, state, and federal levels, the MSC also works to educate communities about “all aspects of producing clean-burning, job-creating natural gas from the Marcellus Shale” (Marcellus Shale Coalition, 2011a). This encompasses addressing public concerns regarding air and water quality issues, including the possibility of groundwater contamination from chemicals such as benzene, arsenic, and low-level radioactive matter due to the natural gas and fracking fluid coming from the subsurface of drilling sites.

In February 2009, the MSC began a comprehensive advertising campaign that included print, radio, online, and billboard advertising emphasizing three key messages: energy independence, jobs and economic prosperity, and environmental stewardship. A new ad was also launched in May 2009 highlighting the jobs created by the natural gas industry (Marcellus Shale Coalition, 2009). The advertising campaign targeted 21 Pennsylvania counties with the strongest presence of natural gas