Introducing Ava
Community Energy
Rollout philosophy
High-level schedule
Key stakeholder experience
Phase two
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We are evolving our brand from a
place of strength. Making a smooth
transition from EBCE to Ava is more
important that making a fast one.
We will do our utmost to ensure that
all our constituents, partners, and
colleagues are brought along on
this journey.
Rollout Philosophy
That looks like:
• A two-phased approach to our rollout – Passive then Active • Focus on enabling and informing, before promoting and driving response
• Long term use of “formerly known as” and “now” construct, e.g. East Bay Community Energy is now Ava Community Energy
• Embracing the fact that we’ll be fine tuning for the remainder of the year • Jira ticketing system for stray EBCE mentions
High-Level Schedule
January 1, 2024
Transition to Ava Brand Complete
Public-facing instances of our brand
should reflect Ava brand at this time.
Mid-January, 2024
Active Launch Begins
Comprehensive advertising and communications
campaign across our service territory to inform
and engage our constituents.
Early October 2023
First Mention of Ava Community Energy
“Coming Soon” teaser panel in the
Power Content Label Mailer
October 24, 2023
Passive Launch Begins
Cutover of highly visible applications to Ava Community Energy. Less visible / internal applications begin
transition to Ava.
Phase 1 Phase 2
Customers
Pre-October 24
• Power Content Label – brief mention
• Website banner and FAQ explaining upcoming transition • ”Coming Soon” banner at live events
On October 24
• Message on our pages of PG&E bill indicate "East Bay Community Energy is now Ava Community Energy"
• Customer Service Center experience updated (IVR, reps, forms, etc.) • AvaEnergy.org live
• Press release issued
• Communications from Ava use avaenergy.org email address • Social media and other touchpoints reflect Ava brand
October 24 – Mid-January
• Emails and mailings come from Ava Community Energy
• Persistent advertising assets (e.g. Comcast ads) carry the “EBCE is now Ava” message
Stakeholder Experience:
Customers
First Public Mention:
Power Content Label Mailer
● Power Content Label was
distributed beginning
October 10
● “Toast” message on EBCE
website points to brief
narrative and FAQ on our
brand evolution –
ebce.org/ava
This sample bill shows where the Ava brand will appear when customers receive their bills after October 24. There are multiple mentions of Ava Community Energy, and the fact that EBCE is now Ava, on the bill.*
Sample PG&E Bill
*PG&E informed us on 10/9 that all planned updates may not implement on the originally agreed schedule.
Fallback plans are in place should the full text changes not occur beginning on the 24th.
Beginning on Tuesday, October 10, visitors to ebce.org saw a banner announcing our impending name change. It links to a page that answers key questions about the rebrand.
Ebce.org/ava
Employees
Pre-October 24
• Ongoing communication about the purpose and process of the rebrand • Training on new tools and templates
• Business-wide effort to implement brand updates (Legal, Regulatory, IT, Power Resources, Customer Service, etc.)
On October 24 • Seamless transition to new email addresses • Celebrate this important milestone
October 24 – Mid-January
• Incorporate brand ethos into business and hiring practices • Continue to inform and support partners that must update their links and mentions of us
• Troubleshoot issues that may arise
Stakeholder Experience:
Employees
Municipal Partners
Pre-October 24
• Regular briefings and feedback sessions at monthly MuniPals meeting • Collaboration to ensure documents with long shelf lives are branded correctly (i.e.
Climate Action Plans)
• Toolkit with implementation assets delivered 10/6
On October 24
• City websites updated with provided content
• Ava Customer Support center prepared to handle inquiry calls and emails transferred from municipal partners
October 24 – Mid-January
• Ava monitoring social media for relevant constituent inquiries and engaging as appropriate
• Optional social posts and newsletter content informing constituents of change deployed
Stakeholder Experience:
Municipal Partners
Social Media
Monitoring
Partners & Legal Counterparties
Pre-October 24
• Extensive collaboration with SMUD to train CSRs, update IVR, update webforms and bill • Collaboration with PG&E to update bill; ensure data transfers are not impacted • Amend JPA; update registrations with banking partners, CALISO, CPUC, etc. • Inform other key partners/sponsored entities of upcoming changes On October 24
• SMUD call center uses Ava Community Energy going forward • Partners asked to update references to us on their website and collateral (e.g. Oakland Roots, Habitat for Humanity, etc.)
October 24 – Mid-January • Continue to support partners as they adopt and apply our new name and identity Stakeholder Experience:
Partners & Legal Counterparties
In the new year, we move into the active communication
phase of our brand rollout. With so many unique and valuable programs coming online, we’ll have plenty of proof points for our promise of driving progress towards better living.
Phase Two
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
Ava Brand
Ava Bike Electric
Induction
Resilient Communities
DCFC
Stockton & Lathrop
CY24 Campaign Timing and Intensity
Thank you!