Before we could even start figuring out our new branding, we needed to figure out who would be involved. We knew this branding needed to be employee-driven with feedback from our community partners. Having our employees own the new mission, vision, values, and the design of work would help us connect with the brand. If we truly want to be bigger than “just the electric company,” we need to have a complete brand refresh that feels like us.
We wanted our internal brand team to include as many departments as possible, so no one person or department decided on the look and feel of Yampa Valley Electric Association. This needed to be a team-driven initiative, and we are so proud of the work they accomplished.
And because YVEA is bigger than our company and is woven into the fabric of the valley we serve, we knew talking to community members, leaders, and members was incredibly important to help guide us. They would help us gain even more insights about where our brand was falling short, where we excelled, and what we could do to really make this brand feel like us. The brand partners we spoke to represented different towns and counties, different perspectives and roles in the community, and, by speaking with them, we gained a greater sense of what YVEA means in the community.
We heard time and time again, from the YVEA employees:
•We keep the lights on, and we do it well.
•Safety matters. Deeply.
•We live here. That connection to this place matters.
•We make decisions in the best interest of members.
•And trust is earned every single day.
Everything you see with this new rebranding is rooted deeply in those truths. Knowing that these were our core truths helped us move to the strategy part of our branding.
Read our next blog, “Our Brand Strategy,” to learn more about how we developed our strategy.