1. 1
Water Services Training Group
17th
Annual Conference
Creating a new Irish
Water Industry
INEC, Killarney, 5th
September 2013

2. Creating a new Irish Water
Industry
Irish Water Communications
Strategy
Elizabeth Arnett
Head of Communications & Corporate Services
Irish Water

3. Strategic Message
Value Water
3

4. IRISH
CITIZEN
WATER
CONSUMER
Citizens need to understand that
they are consumers
“Water is free” “Water costs
money”
“We need to invest
for the future”
IRISH WATER
CUSTOMER
Consumers need to appreciate that
they are customers
“I value water”“IW provides
my water”
“I am charged
for water”
“I pay my water
bill”
Audience
4

5. Other important messages
We are not a billing agency... We are Irish Water
 Expertise
 Water treatment
 Waste water treatment
 Service
 Assistance in conserving water
 Open Engagement
 Economic contribution
 Investment need
 Jobs
 Business opportunity
 Environmental Sustainability
 Demand management
 Conservation
 Health
 Quality
 Metering
 Least disruption install
 Automated metering
 Accurate billing
 Charges
 First fix leakage
 Customer side leakage
 Free usage allowances
 Need for change
 Make the invisible visible
 Water quality history
 Significant national asset
Irish
Water
Irish
Water
Value WaterValue Water
5

6. Indirect Indirect
Strategic Planning of Communications
6
Aware Appreciates AdvocatesUnderstands Acts
Visible Convincing InspiringInformative Facilitating
Indirect
comms
Indirect
Direct
comms
Direct
Direct Direct
Irish Water

7. Communications Tools
∗ Website
∗ Call Centre
∗ Advertising
∗ Events
∗ PR / Media
∗ Stakeholder Engagement
∗ Metering!
7

8. Brand
We value water as a precious natural resource on
which the quality of life depends.
Through responsible stewardship, efficient
management and strong partnerships, Ireland has
a world-class water infrastructure that ensures
secure and sustainable water services, essential for
our health, our communities, the economy and the
environment.
Values - by which we will live and are measured against
Responsibility Stewardship, Partnership, Inclusion,
Safeguarding for the next generation
Expertise Knowledge, Quality, Technical excellence,
Progressive, Solutions-orientated
Efficiency Responsive, Fiscal responsibility, Capital
utilisation, Customer service, Delivering
Integrity Transparent, Accountable, Honest, Fair
Mark
Clean, robust and simple.
Efficient to apply in
multiple applications.
Embraces Irish language
8

9. Website
www.water.ie
•Why value water?
•About us
•Metering
• install animation soon
•Frequently asked questions
•Water treatment cycle
•Wastewater treatment cycle
•Usage tips from taptips.ie
•Jobs
9

10. Advertising Campaign
∗ Timing
∗ First burst: September to November 2013, repeated through 2014
∗ Purpose
∗ Encourage customers and stakeholders to value water and water services
∗ Precursor to customer validation (of billing details) request in late 2014
∗ Themes
∗ Precious resource we trust
∗ Appreciate current water services
∗ Growing demands in the future
∗ Changes needed to investment and funding
∗ Change to direct payment and metering
∗ Contribution to the economy and jobs
∗ Channels
∗ TV, Radio (incl. local), Press, Online
10

11. ∗ Policy issues
∗ January 1 2014
∗ Projects
∗ Incident management
∗ Statutory consultation on the regulatory cycle
Other Issues to be considered
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