New Horizons, New Challenges
Nova Scotia Power Holdings Inc. (NSPHI) had simply outgrown its identity.
Set up by the province in1919 as a Commission, it was privatized in1992. Continued growth propelled the utility beyond the Province's borders. It acquired customers and operations in the US and beyond.
To fuel growth, the utility needed capital. A holding company was established in late 1998 and its common shares began trading on the Toronto and Montreal Stock Exchanges.
Growth presented two challenges:
- To drive results, NSPHI needed to develop a shared culture of customer focus, operational efficiency, business development and community investment across all operations. For those outside of Nova Scotia, NSPHI's Provincial roots did not resonate.
- To raise capital, NSPHI needed to project the image of a modern, lean, customer-focused organization with great opportunity and the ability to seize it. The words “Nova Scotia” were regarded as limiting as was the firm's outdated image as a stolid Crown Corporation.
Change, But Don't Change
It was clear that a new brand promise and new identity were needed to embody the new cultural, trans-border values and project a new corporate image.
However, all this change had the potential to be unsettling – and viewed with suspicion – by the employees and customers of the Nova Scotia provincial operations. The utility was a dominant employer, a contributor to community stability and seen as "still the government" by one and almost all. No rocking the boat or making waves.
Our strategy was to create the new brand, apply it to the holding company and most of its subsidiaries... and then wait before applying it to the Provincial Power unit... until the new identity had become a familiar, trusted part of the landscape.
The Team
Strategy and Naming: Harry H. Cornelius, Sideren
Design Partner: Ove Design
