Developing an Integrated Communication Strategy at Alexandria Renew Enterprises

Customers in Alexandria, Virginia are getting to know Alexandria Renew Enterprises for the first time. On Earth Day 2012, under the direction of Chief Executive Officer Karen Pallansch, the Alexandria Sanitation Authority (ASA) announced that it will be doing business as Alexandria Renew Enterprises, changing its brand identity (logo and name). Because Alexandria Renew is just now establishing its brand and connection with its customer base, every day is a campaign to manage its reputation. That means having a plan in place to both promote and protect the brand, and manage issues when an organization or citizen questions or objects to operations, whether it is the day-to-day business of transforming Alexandria’s dirty water or reusing the byproducts of cleaning the water. The initial focus areas for the Communications Team were to fully develop the AlexRenew brand, develop a STEM/STEAM mascot that aligns with the brand and appeals to elementary and middle school students, create a robust content strategy, prepare for a major two-day event to dedicate a multipurpose field that sits on top of AlexRenew’s nutrient management facility in an innovative urban mixed-use development, and plan the educational elements for two new centers that provide ample opportunities for community outreach -- an educational lobby in AlexRenew’s new Environmental Center, and an educational fence around the organization’s Four Mile Run pump station, located a few miles away, next to an elementary school in Alexandria.