Przedsiębiorstwo Energetyki Cieplnej – Gliwice Sp. z o.o. is a municipal company in the energy sector, offering services in the field of production and distribution of heat to almost 50,000 Gliwice apartments and numerous institutions, industrial plants, educational and service and commercial facilities. In 2020, Gliwice PEC began an investment to create one of the country’s most modern centers for thermal waste processing and renewable energy production – the Green Energy Park.
In 2020, PEC-Gliwice asked us for support in building the brand of its new investment from scratch. The challenge was not only to creatively approach the image of the thermal waste processing center, but above all to build a positive image of the potentially controversial facility in the eyes of Gliwice residents and representatives of the administration: councilors and municipal authorities.
In 2022, cooperation with PEC was extended to communication of the company’s own activities. In the face of an uncertain situation on the fuel market and inevitable increases in energy and heat prices, our task was to conduct communications to direct customers and support them in potentially crisis situations.
a new brand including name, corporate identity and key messages;
a positive image in the eyes of stakeholders: residents and decision-makers, to show the benefits of the investment for the local community;
that would require our response (price increases, heat supply interruptions);
dialogue with PEC’s local environment and build a positive image of the company in the eyes of the public.
In the first stage of our cooperation, we looked at information on air quality in Gliwice, similar facilities operating in Europe, and the reactions of Gliwice residents to previous investments. We saw that we had the potential to communicate the many benefits of the investment, but we expected negative reactions from the public.
In the second stage, we monitored on an ongoing basis the situation of the Polish energy sector and the mood of Gliwice residents. It turned out to be necessary to communicate in a way that would show consumers that PEC-Gliwice takes their interest as a priority.
We began our cooperation with PEC-Gliwice by developing a communication strategy for the Green Energy Park. Our team was responsible for creating the name, logotype and key messages for the new investment. We supervised the construction of the website and opened its own channel: Facebook. We then embarked on intensive communication activities aimed at the direct environment: we invited city councilors to visit the investment site, organized information points for residents in the city’s shopping centers, as well as a webinar on trends in waste processing and innovative investments such as the Green Energy Park. These activities were complemented by media relations, carried out in local and trade media, including some paid media.
with brand fundamentals and key messages;
at the local and industry level;
with decision-makers and residents of Gliwice: meetings, information points, press conference, webinar with experts;
At a later stage of the cooperation, our activities focused on the image of PEC-Gliwice itself. We focused on promoting the company’s local activities and achievements, primarily in the local media. We continued to conduct activities through our own channels: Facebook profile and Newsletter. We also promoted PEC through the profile of an expert – the CEO – and the placement of his statements in the media. Important in direct communication with local audiences was a campaign promoting heat and energy efficiency, as part of which we created a brochure “Save heat, electricity, lower your bills.” In April 2023, we held a press conference with local and energy industry media, as well as representatives of municipal authorities and companies, during which PEC’s latest investment was presented: the plant’s modernized industrial wastewater treatment plant. At the same time, throughout the cooperation, we monitored potential emergencies and countered their occurrence.
development of a guide for residents, informational materials on own channels;
message development, media and social media monitoring.
As a result of our activities, we built a positive image of the Green Energy Park investment in the eyes of Gliwice residents and representatives of public administration, as confirmed by favorable posts on the profiles of city councilors in social media. Our activity also helped popularize the topic of PZE and PEC among local journalists, who asked numerous questions about them during our cooperation. The press conference held in March 2023, which was attended by, among others, the mayor, city councilors and CEOs of municipal companies, as well as a dozen editors of local and trade media, also attracted great interest from the media and local government representatives.
