Branding government nagc june 2012

Branding Government: Creating a Cohesive Look, Feel and Message

Jeremy Lasich, Deputy DirectorFairfax County (VA) Office of Public Affairs

jeremy.lasich@fairfaxcounty.gov

Why Brand Government? 40+ County Agencies sending out

information Hundreds of publications and

letters using different formats and branding

Thousands of employees using different business cards

1 million+ residents receiving mixed communications from their government

Process Common Message, Many Voices

Ensure a common look, feel, and message in all county communications, providing staff with quick access to county procedures, standards and guidelines

Process 2004 - County Executive directed

the Office of Public Affairs to guide a countywide effort to create a stronger identity for the county and build public confidence that the county was effectively integrating its programs, services and resources.

Process Core Team formed with five

subcommittees

More than 50 county employees from the 20 different county departments most involved in outreach to the community

Process Subcommittees worked for six months

to develop standards, communication planning templates and communication resources

July 2005 Fairfax County Communications Strategy was launched

January 2006 – Strategy was implemented

Process

Process Subcommittees worked for six

months to develop standards, communication planning templates and communication resources

2006 Fairfax County Communications Strategy was launched

Process Launch included:

– Presentations to Senior Management Team

– Presentations to agencies– Articles online and in county

newsletters

A lot of positive feedback

Some pushback as well

Process 2011 – Strategy was redesigned to

coincide with new Intranet

Rebranded from the Communications Strategy to the Communications Toolkit

Process Distributed countywide survey

about information in the Strategy and what employees would like to see in the new Toolkit

Held several focus groups to test site

Moved from text-heavy pages to more dynamic content with graphics

Process Elevated topics identified by staff as

most important in their daily work and organizes information in a streamlined manner

New information was added, such as the social media policy

Received 2012 NACo Achievement Award

Communications Toolkit

Communications Toolkit

Communications Toolkit

Communications Toolkit

Communications Toolkit

Communications Toolkit

Communications Toolkit

Communications Toolkit

Communications Toolkit

Communications Toolkit

Communications Toolkit

Communications Toolkit

Communications Toolkit

Communications Toolkit

Communications Toolkit

Communications Toolkit

Questions?

Jeremy Lasich, Deputy DirectorOffice of Public Affairs

jeremy.lasich@fairfaxcounty.gov