Staff Report Item 14
Staff Report Item 14
TO: East Bay Community Energy Board of Directors
FROM: Theresa McDermit, Head of Brand
SUBJECT: EBCE Brand Evolution and Name Exploration (Informational Item) DATE: April 19, 2023
__________________________________________________________________ Recommendation
Receive a memo from staff and prepare for upcoming requests to adopt brand identity recommendations.
Background and Discussion
Brand Identity Evolution
EBCE has grown and evolved since our founding in 2016. We’ve expanded both our service territory (Pleasanton, Newark and Tracy 2022; Stockton 2024), and our offerings / programs. This dual expansion is the driver of our brand evolution and is detailed below.
Strategic Imperative – EBCE is uniquely positioned to drive adoption of electric consumer products, like EVs and induction cooktops. We have many “carrots” at hand including rebates, incentives, and trial programs. Unfortunately, we also have an uphill battle gaining consumers’ attention on topics outside of their energy bill. This makes sense given both the role we’ve played to date in their lives, and our current brand identity (e.g. logo, name, way of “speaking”).
Our current role in customers’ lives - We know that most of our customers were passively opted-in to our service; we haven’t historically asked them to make pro-active decisions. The role we have played until Staff Report Item 14
recently is that of a utility: something in the background that doesn’t spark a lot of engagement.
Our current brand identity – Our current brand identity is literal and clean; it was carefully crafted to support the education and trust-building needed as the agency was introduced and rolled out. It is reminiscent of other utilities, which helped consumers understand what type of service we are as they were introduced to the concept of a CCA.
We are now entering a phase in our maturation where we’re launching more programs and seeking deeper engagement with our customers on topics that are normally the territory of “consumer” brands. We seek to evolve our brand identity to better influence these discretionary choices, like the purchase of an EV or induction cooktop. This includes a name that avoids the “alphabet soup” of acronyms that consumers find confusing, as well as an engaging visual design and communication style.
Geographic Imperative – Once fully integrated into our service area, Stockton will be the second largest community in our JPA. In a recent statistically significant survey of San Joaquin County residents (n=400; over 50% sample from Stockton), we learned that a significant portion of residents do not view themselves as part of the East Bay. Many, in fact, actively rejected inclusion in the East Bay because they associate it with high prices or values that don’t align with their own. We must evolve our identity – specifically our name – to ensure that all members of our community feel included and served, and to facilitate any future expansion we may wish to pursue.
Naming Process
We have begun the process of ideating and evaluating potential new names for the agency. With this process, we seek to ensure that:
• a given name conveys the desired meaning and tone
• appealing url and social handles are available
• the name does not have any unintended or negative connotations in the major languages spoken in our service territory
• the name is free from trademark encumbrances that would prevent us from using it and potentially trademarking it.
If a new name is adopted, it would be a “dba” or doing business as name. We are not seeking to change the name of the JPA.
Staff Report Item 14
The naming process (outlined in Image 1) began with a broad consideration of names that met a defined set of criteria. Promising names were then subject to a high-level availability search. Those names that survived the availability search were presented to staff for feedback. The strongest candidates were then shared with ad hoc committees of the Board and CAC. Input from those meetings in being incorporated and will inform the ongoing process.
Image 1.
Next Steps
Pending the outcome of our ongoing stakeholder engagement efforts, we are scheduled to bring a candidate name before the Board for adoption at the May meeting of the board.
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal impact is driven by the need to communicate any changes to our brand identity and the creation / recreation of branded materials. Actual costs will be determined once the full extent and timing of changes are known.
Attachments
A. Brand Evolution Background - BOD 041923 (PowerPoint presentation) EBCE Brand
Evolution
Background & Next Steps
APRIL 2023
Attachment Staff Report Item 14A
Agenda
2 Background & Rationale
Insights
Stakeholder Engagement
What’s Next
Attachment Staff Report Item 14A
Background &
Rationale
3 Attachment Staff Report Item 14A
4 In the Beginning…
When we launched EBCE, our primary
objective was to educate:
• What is a CCA?
• How does your bill work?
• EBCE is not a scam…
Attachment Staff Report Item 14A
Our brand expression is:
● Very literal; we have a highly
descriptive name and logo
● Self-referential; our
messaging has traditionally
focused on what we do (as
opposed to what that means
for the consumer)
● Familiar; our “look” is similar
to many other CCAs or IOUs
A Brand Expression to Support Education and Trust
Attachment Staff Report Item 14A
$19 million annual
customer savings vs.
what would have been
paid for PG&E service
$21 million spent on
local programs like
battery energy
storage, induction
cooking, and electric
heat pump water
heaters 1,015 megawatts of
new wind, solar, and
battery storage,
including projects in
Alameda County
95% average
retention rate across
our service area
Steady expansion
of our service area;
Pleasanton, Newark +
Tracy 2022;
Stockton 2024
On track to implement
the strategy for
100% clean by 2030
2022 National Notable Achievement
Award for Land Revitalization Team
Excellence
We’ve Been Successful
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We Continue to Mature and Evolve to Better Serve our Communities ● We are moving from simply
filling demand to creating it
● Growing capacity and
expertise to stand up
consumer- and commercial-facing programs that expose
customers to electric
alternatives and speed their
adoption
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Insights
8 Attachment Staff Report Item 14A
Our Name is a Barrier to Success in San Joaquin County* *n=400; 57.5% of sample from Stockton
Q12. Which one of these names is your least favorite?
East Bay Community Energy
EBCE
Placeholder Name
Placeholder Name
Placeholder Name
Placeholder Name
Placeholder Name
Q13: Why?
EBCE
• Acronyms are off-putting;
hard to remember
East Bay Community Energy
• SJC not part of East Bay;
East Bay too expensive /
doesn’t represent my
values
Attachment Staff Report Item 14A
EBCE Aided Awareness Over Time
2020
n=300
35.33%
64.67%
No
Q: Are you familiar with East Bay Community Energy (EBCE)? 2021 - April
n=300
40.67%
59.33%
No
Yes
Yes
2021 - October
n=400
No
Yes
31.5%
68.5%
Takeaway: Aided awareness appears to be influenced by advertising (April 2021 survey conducted during time of heavy advertising), but is otherwise flat
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Unaided Awareness
Question: PG&E manages the electricity system in your area. You also have an option for generation service (power plants). Is that…
11 May 2022
22.25%
46.5%
October 2022
46.5%
22%
Attachment Staff Report Item 14A
Stakeholder
Engagement
12 Attachment Staff Report Item 14A
13 Stakeholder Map
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14 Ad Hoc Committees
Name EBCE Role Jurisdiction Role
Elisa Márquez Current Chair Supervisor, Alameda County
Dan Kalb Former Chair Councilmember, Oakland
Jaime Patiño Former Chair of MRL Subcommittee Councilmember, Union City Matt Bedolla Director Councilmember, Tracy
Dan Wright Director Councilmember, Stockton
Anne-Olivia Eldred Chair of CAC Oakland resident
Ed Hernandez Vice Chair of CAC San Leandro resident
Jim Lutz At-Large Member of CAC Oakland resident
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15 Outreach Plan
January February March April May June
Research (San Joaquin
Co):
- N = 400
- Awareness, priorities,
reaction to name
Foundation sessions:
BOD Ad Hoc committee: 1-hr
meeting, bring up to speed-ask to be champions
1:1 with CAC Chair + Vice
Chair, introduce the concept of
the ad hoc committee; provide
background and rationale
Research (Name):
- Existing customers
- Stakeholders
Presentation of process:
MuniPals
Foundation session:
Additional CAC ad hoc
committee member
Presentation of process:
Full Staff (4/3)
Exec Comm Review (4/5)
Exec Comm review of
name/identity process
(standard meeting)
Input sessions (w/o 4/10):
- BOD Ad Hoc Review of
names
- CAC Ad Hoc Review of
names
CAC review of BOD info
item via standard meeting and
regular agenda review process
Board Meeting (4/19):
Info on Name Process
Exec Comm Review (5/3)
Exec Comm review of
name/identity progress to date
without sharing names
(standard meeting)
Board Meeting (5/17):
Approval of name
Input sessions:
- BOD Ad Hoc Review of
identity
- CAC Ad hoc Review of
identity
CAC review of BOD item via
standard meeting and regular
agenda review process
Board Meeting (6/21):
approval of identity via
standard mtg
Attachment Staff Report Item 14A
Next Steps
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Brand Evolution Timeline
May
Identity Exploration
Together with Landscape, develop candidate
brand identity options.
June
Finalize & Approve Identity
Refine preferred identity direction. Present
final identity to BOD for awareness.
Feb - March
Naming Exploration
Together with our partner, Landscape,
develop a shortlist of name options for
feedback
April
Finalize & Approve Name
Present short list of name for feedback;
refine list with feedback. Perform legal and
linguistic checks; present final selection to
BOD for approval
BOD and CAC Ad Hoc
Committee Naming
Presentations – w/o
April 10
Adopt recommended name
- BOD Meeting, May 17
BOD and CAC Ad Hoc Committee
Identity Presentations - Early June
Adopt recommended
identity - BOD Meeting,
June 21
BOD Ad Hoc Committee
Orientation – March 1
CAC Ad Hoc Committee
Orientation – April 27
Exec Comm
Orientation –
4/5
General
Orientation –
BOD 4/19
TODAY
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Thank You!
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