Park View, D.C.

On Tuesday, 6/15/10, the DC Water and Sewer Authority launched a comprehensive re-branding campaign that include the name DC Water, a new logo featuring a water drop, the slogan “water is life,” and a new Web site. According to the new site, DC Water held a month-long public competition in February 2010 to come up with the new logo. The new branding was chosen from elements in three of the 188 entries.

The following commercial is also part of the re-branding strategy:

As part of this unveiling, DC WASA hosted a blogger roundtable on the evening of 6/17/10 to explain their reason for doing this and give those  present the opportunity to better understand the District’s water future.

DC Water’s General Manager, George S. Hawkins, ran the roundtable. Hawkins was named to his post in September 3, 2009. One thing that was clear from the onset of the meeting was Hawkin’s enthusiasm about his job and agency.

Hawkins made it clear that the chief goal of the re-branding was to make the agency more visible and transparent — and as an extension, accessible — to residents. Still, a nice graphic does not translate into superior service. Hawkins gets this and made it clear that service was a high priority for him and DC Water as a whole. To emphasis this point, he cited the use of clear performance standards that not only have goals of 100% customer satisfaction — a goal he admits may never be met — but also creates a culture that recognizes and rewards employees who take initiative (Hawkins referred to a recent event where an employee improved an accounting procedure). (more…)