Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 31ST AUGUST - 6TH SEPTEMBER 2018 | 27 Customers serves, which means the first phase of the campaign was designed to build trust among customers by giving them the chance to have their say. A media campaign was launched through TV, radio and digital advertising and a major outreach events programme. The campaign launch was marked with receptions at the National Assembly for Wales and in Westminster. Each assembly member and MP was given a personalised bottle as in invitation to create a "positive feeling and buzz" among key political stake- holders at the start of the campaign. TV, radio and social media advertise- ments were created to invite customers to have their say. The adverts starred Welsh Water employees and their families, not wielding wrenches and pulling pipes, but living life. The company took a similar approach with its 30-second radio and bite- sized digital adverts: showing how water touches so many parts of customer's lives. A voting website made it easy for cus- tomers to have their say and included a sec- tion from them to provide contact details to engage with Welsh Water further on topics that interest them. The company says it targeted national and local media to gain extra coverage for the consultation, which in turn helped it commu- nicate its not-for-profit and trust messages. The second part of the brand-builder focused on behavioural change. Continuing the creative approach of phase one, the com- pany delivered a TV, radio and digital cam- paign which ran in two bursts: October 2016 and February 2017. This was supplemented with PR coverage throughout. Despite the unexciting subject matter, the creative remained positive and people- focused, reaffirming that being not-for-profit means the focus is on making customers and their environment healthier, above all else, and inviting people to help the company do their bit to help stop the block. Who was involved? Welsh Water says "Have Your Say" was a company-wide effort and a great example of how its people pull together from all parts of the business to deliver a better service. The communications and customer strat- egy team led the main engagement and creative elements of the campaign, working closely with the strategy, planning and regu- The description "not-for-profit" is quite a "corporate" phrase, which prompts the question: if not for profit, then for what? Winner's comments "As the only not-for-profit water company in Wales or England, Welsh Water likes to do things differ- ently. "Over the past two years we've been focusing heavily on involving customers in our decision making, and raising awareness of our work through engaging and innovative marketing campaigns – all with the aim of building customer trust. "Welsh Water's latest campaign, 'Have your Say', was the most ambitious to date, gathering the views of over 20,000 people to help us plan for the future and deliver an even better service for customers." MORGAN LLOYD, HEAD OF BRAND AND MARKETING AT WELSH WATER Welsh Water on awards night In total 15 events were held throughout the summer. How has the initiative helped achieve the company's broader marketing objectives? This was the first TV advertising campaign undertaken by Welsh Water. It exceeded the company's targets in a very short time frame, raised the profile of the company as a not- for-profit organisation and created a sense of pride among its employees. lation teams who have overall responsibility for creating the plan. The summer events saw hundreds of peo- ple from across the business take part. It pro- vided a valuable opportunity for people from across the company to discuss its service with the three million people it serves. Were there any hurdles along the way? The company says creating new innovations such as a consultation chatbot and using technology "inevitably tests you a little", but the projects went smoothly on the whole. It says it worked with a lot of trusted compa- nies to develop the campaign and technol- ogy, and having expertise on hand helped. Headline figures against objectives • 21 per cent increase in not-for-profit awareness (target 5 per cent). • 10 per cent increase in trust (target 3 per cent). • 6 per cent increase in perception of good value for money (target 3 per cent). • 12,052 customer consultation responses (target 5,000). • Greater awareness of what causes block- ages from 90 per cent to 95 per cent (second phase). Welsh Water says the scheme has also given it greater credibility and increased trust (both internally and externally). The success of these first phases meant it was able to push the creative boundaries further during sum- mer 2017. As part of its summer 2017 campaign, Welsh Water launched the third phase of its brand-builder. This included an industry first Facebook (and world-first bilingual) chatbot, a vlogger and Facebook Live series and engagement campaign that delivered a record 21,000 consultation responses for the company's PR19 consultation. For more details about this year's Utility Week Awards, go to page 24

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