Pivot Helps Inland Power and Light Build ‘Good Vibes Only’

Branding is more than building an image for an electric cooperative’s members. The brand also should mean something to co-op staff. In a recent webcast, NRTC’s Pivot led a discussion of how an electric cooperative’s brand can signify more than a logo and a slogan, but can contribute to building a unified, cohesive team.

“It’s a way of presenting yourself that actually guides and crafts culture. It drives decision-making,” said Pivot Creative Director Brandon Waybright during the webcast. “Yes, your colors make a hook for it, but it’s also the values that really change an organization when they live it out and embody it.”

Jennifer Lutz, president and chief operating officer for Inland Power and Light, the largest electric co-op in the state of Washington, described how Pivot took the task of finding “sticky branding,” usually meant for building a loyal customer base, and turned the focus inward. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Inland sent its office staff home. As staff headed back, an employee base of 120 had dropped to 86, requiring new hires. An added wrinkle, staff included both union and non-union employees. All of this as the Inland was welcoming a new CEO.

It was an opportune time for Inland to examine at its culture. “We just needed to kind of identify who we are and who we wanted to be,” Lutz said.

After a period of interviews with Inland employees and discussions on co-op goals, Pivot helped develop an employee booklet outlining the organization’s most important values. An overarching value turned out to be, “Good Vibes Only.”

“It was really interesting to see when you sit at a table and you have somebody who you know is a little bit disgruntled, and then they look at the three other people who are honest and genuine and talking about what a great place it is to work here,” Lutz said. “They had to look and question themselves … That was a nice thing that came out of it.”

The Inland branding presentation was a culminating session in Pivot’s summer “Brand Camp” of online events. Pivot has provided recordings for many of the sessions covering all aspects of brand building since May 30. It also offers a recap of the Inland presentation.

Camp goers have one last chance to review past sessions and answer any additional questions during a Camp Close session on Sept. 5 at 2 p.m. Eastern/11 a.m. Pacific Time. Registration is open.