We are Kansas Strong

August 20, 2025

“That’s a wrap!”

With those words we concluded filming a couple weeks ago for an upcoming PBS episode on Viewpoint with Dennis Quaid to be released later this spring. The show features mini-documentaries on people, organizations and companies bringing innovative ideas to the public. What was the innovation that prompted them to reach out to Kansas Strong? Changing the conversation about oil and natural gas.

Kansas Strong (Kansas Oil and Gas Resources Fund, Inc.) is a voluntarily funded non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the quality of life created by the Kansas oil and natural gas industry. Our mission is to educate the public about the industry’s role in advancing the state’s economy and standard of living through the development of energy.

People often ask why we don’t run typical marketing campaigns? I hope to answer that question. And rather than give you a listing of all the things we do, I hope to shed some light on why we do what we do the way we do it.

Over the years, the conversation about energy has become framed in a limited scope which rarely allows for a fair, balanced and full conversation. Our primary challenge has been to move beyond the soundbite culture and change the conversation. We seek to create a new framework for conversation which considers the benefits of the industry equally alongside the challenging issues.

The world we live in didn’t just happen. It was created predominantly through the utilization of oil and natural gas for energy and products to create the lifestyle we enjoy today. The challenge Kansas Strong faces is to have a public conversation which establishes a foundation of how our society was built before we tackle the issues involved in creating our energy future. Without that strong foundation, we risk making misinformed decisions about our energy future which could risk our quality of life.

Who do you converse with?

Establishing a meaningful conversation requires two or more parties who are invested in the topic. It is much more than a soundbite, ad, commercial or lecture. One of our primary goals as a first step is to challenge people to ask meaningful questions. This requires that we meet them where they are, in their bubble of the world and relate to them in their terms.

Based on our own internal data from surveys and focus groups, approximately 23% of Kansans strongly approve of the oil and gas industry. On the other end of the spectrum, our data shows approximately 11% of Kansans strongly disapprove. Surprisingly, in the very middle is the largest group of respondents (approximately 37%) who state that they do not have enough information to say whether they approve or disapprove of the industry. This is what we call the “messy middle”. Average Kansans who honestly want more information before making a decision. Those are the primary people with whom we want to have a conversation.

You have to meet people where they are

Kansas Strong has attempted to reach those people in a variety of ways. Through traditional advertising, social media, sponsorships, presentations, educational programing and even free phone charging stations around the state. We have sought to meet the public where they are in their own backyard. Yet, no slick ad is going to win the day. Branding doesn’t work to change peoples mind. Branding is an effort to put a name on what people already know. Messaging is key.

Messaging has to begin with the audience and meet their concerns and needs. To this end, Kansas Strong runs numerous campaigns simultaneously. Each is catered to address the concerns of the target audience by region, demographic, etc. Each is meant to be a starting point of conversation that can be developed over time. Thus, our campaigns are often built around challenging audiences to “Get the Facts”, “Do your own research” or consider what “Life without oil and natural gas” would look like. Each is a call to action to encourage the public to ask questions and explore the issue in a new way.

These campaigns run year round in various parts of the state on traditional media and social media. However, these campaigns cannot stand on their own. We live in a society that is desensitized to marketing. The campaigns we run must be coupled with meaningful tie-ins, locations and programming.

Meaningful Tie-ins

Meaningful tie-ins can come in a variety of different forms; sports teams, arts, rodeo, theater, concerts, festivals and that is just a short list of some of the places we have been. The key is finding things the messy middle already loves and be present in those situations to have a conversation. The primary goal is to build another touchpoint for people who have seen our messaging and give them a chance to ask questions or accept the challenge to learn more.

We garner these tie-ins predominately through sponsorships. From all the major universities in Kansas to local sports, from major concerts to local festivals, from theatrical productions to local plays; we sponsor these events to meet the public in their sphere and provide a meaning tie-in to our message.

On that note, we never just put our logo or branding on an event. We have to have a messaging opportunity to participate. Whether that is speaking from the stage, running a booth or producing videos and messaging signs to display during the event, we must have a messaging opportunity to participate.

Locations

Frequency of messaging is key. To this end, we have made a significant effort to begin establishing a presence at numerous locations around the state that host multiple events. Locations like Park City Arena, museums, Homefield KC, football and basketball stadiums to name a few are great to keep our messaging in front of the public.

We use a variety of means to communicate through locations: free phone charging stations (many with commercials running), wall murals and signage, scoreboard messaging, interactive kiosks, games, displays, etc. Each sharing facts and information about the industry and challenging again further inquiry from the public.

Programming

Everything listed thus far is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how we reach the public. Where we see the most impact with people gaining understanding of our industry and how it impacts their lives is in our programming. Last year, we communicated in person to over 100,000 people in Kansas. Sometimes in large audiences and others in small groups of 5 or 6 people. Our programming is divided in two parts: educational programing and public programming.

Educational programming takes place in public and private schools 3rd-12th grade and colleges. This is primarily either our Petro Pro program (where industry experts present to students in class), or through our Mobile Energy Education Experience (which is an interactive gaming experience in a classroom or at events). These educational programs cover all aspects of the industry and are customized from class to class to meet state requirements, grade level, subject area, and compliment what the students are currently learning.

We present in an average of 45-55 schools per year. The best evidence of the impact of these programs is the number of schools that have us back year after year, and the number of teachers who respond with something along the lines of “I didn’t realize how much I would learn from this.”

Public programming is longer format messaging to the general public. It can be in the form of a lecture, radio show, podcast interview, documentary, social club presentation, etc. The primary driver of these presentations tends to be the news cycle. They are customized to the topic and group, but always come back home to Kansas. They are the best opportunity to influence and challenge minds. The vast majority of them are coupled with Q&A and provide a unfiltered opportunity to speak directly with the messy middle.

Public programming also includes educating our own industry in how to talk to the public. As such we are actively involved in industry clubs, societies, events, conferences and trade shows. All in effort to provide resources and information to assist in developing the communication ability of our industry. Simply wearing a t-shirt with “oil is good” on it can start a conversation. Our hope is to help our industry improve the quality of that conversation.

Continue the conversation

I have been honored to work with Kansas Strong now for 8 years. I can say with confidence that we have seen the needle move. More people are wanting to have conversations today about our industry, jobs, energy and the environment. They are desiring to learn more. Yet, we must continue challenging people to ask questions. We must continue to provide information. We must be deliberate in continuing the conversation.

As the sphere of conversation grows, we must encourage everyone in the industry to become advocates for the industry. Ultimately, that is the key that will change the conversation about oil and natural gas. Kansas Strong is more than an organization. All of us in the industry, WE are Kansas Strong.