Latest / Make Water Work Podcast / LIVE from Catalyst — Kathy Bentz & Pal Hollywood on Making Water Local | Make Water Work 050

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LIVE from Catalyst — Kathy Bentz & Pal Hollywood on Making Water Local | Make Water Work 050 · Make Water Work Podcast

0:00
Well, welcome to the Make Waterwork
0:02
podcast. This is the 50th episode and
0:05
the first episode filmed in front of a
0:08
live studio audience. And so I'm here
0:13
I'm here in San Diego and I love that we
0:17
are here at a wine and culinary center.
0:21
It was 2018
0:22
and in 2018 I was 45 days into my first
0:27
job in the water industry and I had just
0:31
gone to my first conference to meet
0:34
water professionals and I was really um
0:39
grappling with what does it mean to um
0:43
be part of this community? What makes
0:44
this community so special? cuz it was
0:46
just there was just something about the
0:49
people that felt um refreshingly
0:52
authentic. So then I went for a drive
0:55
and I was listening to a podcast with a
0:58
guest called Richard Betts and Richard
1:01
Betts is a wine somale and a whiskey
1:03
connoisseur and this was a long 4-hour
1:07
podcast and he was talking and I was
1:09
just glued to it. It was like it felt
1:11
poetic. the way he was talking about
1:13
stories, the way he was talking about a
1:15
term that I didn't know anything about
1:16
called teroir, um, and what it meant for
1:20
a wine or a whiskey to actually tell a
1:22
story.
1:24
And when you have some, um, whisies, I
1:27
won't name them, um, necessarily, but a
1:29
big brand whiskey, it actually goes
1:32
through a distilling process that
1:34
distills out what makes it identifiable
1:38
to a place and a time and a people. And
1:41
the ones that are really good, they
1:44
actually take into account, they let
1:46
that be born in and infused in the
1:49
actual taste, the flavor. So, um, from a
1:53
wine standpoint, he can taste a wine and
1:55
he can say, "I can know what region this
1:57
is, and I know what time this was. I
2:00
understand that the soil during this
2:02
year or this decade um was going through
2:05
a drought, so it it changed." And and
2:08
you're not trying to get rid of that.
2:09
you're actually trying to embellish that
2:11
and make that part of the story. And so
2:13
how that ties back is then I started
2:15
thinking about the people that I met in
2:18
the water industry that it was very
2:20
place-based that it wasn't about trying
2:23
to figure out how to do the same thing
2:24
everywhere. I was trying to trying to
2:26
figure out how to serve the people. Let
2:28
the story of that place be born not just
2:31
in the water but also in the way that
2:33
you communicate to your communities
2:35
about the water. You're not trying to
2:37
just rip and replace and copy and paste
2:40
some other strategy or some other
2:41
talking point. And I think that's why we
2:43
get tension around regulatory frameworks
2:46
is sometimes we have to just say the
2:48
facts and we're not allowed to um have
2:50
the thing that makes it special to that
2:52
place. So today we have two incredible
2:57
selections for you. Um the first one
3:00
comes from Prince William County and is
3:04
um bright, crisp, and refreshing from um
3:08
Prince William Water Kathy Benz.
3:16
And the second selection comes from the
3:19
West Coast. And this selection is bold,
3:22
curious, and never afraid to try new
3:25
things. Please welcome pal Hollywood
3:28
from San Jose W.
3:30
>> Welcome to the Make Water Work podcast
3:32
where we dive into the people, ideas,
3:35
and innovation shaping the future of
3:37
water. We bring you insights from
3:40
hundreds of incredible conversations
3:42
we've had over the past 9 years with
3:45
inspiring and energizing leaders with
3:47
entrepreneurs, community champions, and
3:50
innovators who are making water work for
3:53
everyone. Whether you're a water
3:54
professional, a curious innovator, or
3:56
simply passionate about our most
3:58
precious resource, this podcast is for
4:01
you. Let's get started. Hal and Kathy,
4:04
thank you so much for joining me on the
4:06
Make Waterwork podcast, the 50th
4:08
episode. Um this is this is really
4:10
special and the my favorite thing about
4:13
um doing this podcast is getting to
4:15
connect the dots and the stories of the
4:18
people who really make water work. And
4:20
so the first question that everyone on
4:22
the podcast gets asked is how did water
4:25
find you? So Kathy, I would love to
4:28
start with you. How did water find you?
4:30
>> So when you told me you were going to
4:31
ask this, I I did a lot of thinking and
4:33
talking with family. I grew up in West
4:35
Virginia about a block from the Ohio
4:38
River, which was great except
4:40
occasionally there was flooding and it
4:44
would back up into our storm sores. It
4:46
would flood the streets. It would flood
4:48
our basement. So I have experience in
4:50
bailing water, this rustcoled water, you
4:53
know. So we would do that a lot as kids.
4:54
And I remember the neighbor kids would
4:57
walk up and down the street wing through
4:59
that water. And my mother was like, "Do
5:01
not go out there. Do not play in that
5:03
water. That is not safe." Because what I
5:05
didn't know as a kid, the Ohio River at
5:07
the time was a dumping ground for
5:10
industry. The chemicals went straight
5:12
into the water. This was before the
5:14
Clean Water Act had a chance to do its
5:16
thing and make it a healthy waterway.
5:18
Fast forward many years, I've been
5:20
working in Prince William County,
5:22
Virginia, which is in the DC metro area
5:24
for a long time in communications, in
5:27
leadership development and community
5:29
engagement. So about nine years ago when
5:32
an opportunity came up at Prince William
5:34
Water, I saw the chance to connect two
5:36
things that were important to me. a
5:38
community that I care about deeply and
5:41
helping them understand why water is so
5:43
precious and probably more importantly
5:45
how they play a role in protecting water
5:48
resources. So, it was a really great
5:50
marriage of passions for me.
5:51
>> I love that. I love that. And you're a
5:54
Steelers fan
5:55
>> and I'm a Steelers fan,
5:56
>> which is also what I've learned. So, um
5:59
take that for what it's worth.
6:01
>> Um pal, the same question to you. Um
6:04
everyone has a story about how water
6:05
found them. So tell me how water found
6:07
you.
6:08
>> Sure. Um I love the way that Kathy
6:11
talked about water in her childhood and
6:13
just now it got me thinking about how I
6:16
grew up on the east coast um in
6:18
Connecticut and there um water is
6:21
abundant. Um there's creeks and ponds
6:24
and rivers everywhere like flowing on
6:26
the side of the street and you can go
6:28
swimming. Um and so that was kind of
6:31
naturally a part of my life. But I moved
6:33
out to California almost 10 years ago.
6:36
Um, and I've been living in San Jose and
6:38
it's a very different experience. Um,
6:40
the water in our system is remote and
6:44
you it's very out of sight, out of mind.
6:46
So water was not on my mind anymore when
6:48
I moved to California. Um, and I was
6:50
working in um, the tech industry. I
6:54
started in PR agencies and had several
6:57
different tech clients. Um, and I
6:59
particularly liked the clients that I
7:01
had with kind of an environmental lean
7:04
in tech. Um, I think that's such an
7:06
indust interesting industry. Um, and it
7:09
feels a little bit more um, like special
7:12
to be to be helping like the future. Um,
7:15
and not maybe some startups that are
7:17
questionable like where is this going?
7:20
Um, and so one of my clients ended up
7:22
being San Jose Water. And I fell in love
7:25
with being able to be a part of my
7:27
actual community and helping the people
7:29
around me and getting more connected to
7:31
where my water came from. And then an
7:33
opportunity opened up um in-house on our
7:36
communications team. And so I was able
7:38
to um move in-house and work with San
7:41
Jose Water. And I've been there about
7:43
three years now. Um, and what I find
7:45
really, really fun and unique about
7:47
working in water, um, which I'm sure a
7:49
lot of you have experienced, is that
7:51
there really is no customer base like
7:53
it, um, a lot of the things that you're
7:56
doing, um, for other industries are
7:58
things like bringing in new customers or
8:01
bringing in new, um, interest, whereas
8:03
like when you work for a utility, your
8:06
customers are the people that live in
8:07
your area. So, a lot of the things that
8:09
you're normally doing in communications
8:11
like capture um are not so much a
8:13
priority and rolling out new things
8:16
that's not happening as much. Things
8:18
stay the same a lot in the water
8:19
industry and it's more about finding
8:21
fresh ways to have the same
8:22
conversations with the same customer
8:24
base. So, I think it's really a really
8:26
fascinating um communications um
8:29
challenge. And I I think especially
8:32
coming from the tech industry, I think
8:34
we all live in a society where when we
8:36
think about impact, we often think about
8:39
scale. So we think about how big or how
8:42
far can a message go. And I think
8:45
there's a part about being in water that
8:49
forces us to localize it. And so it's
8:54
less about how how far it can go and
8:59
more how how locally can I make sure it
9:03
embodies kind of that that back to that
9:05
um teroir um concept. And so tell me a
9:11
little bit more about your local
9:13
communities and um some of the things
9:16
that you're working that you've been
9:17
working on to to get them engaged. Um
9:20
what were those kind of things? I'll
9:21
start with you, Kathy.
9:23
>> So, um, Prince William County is a
9:25
suburb of the Washington DC metro area
9:28
and, you know, used to be pretty much a
9:30
bedroom community, but now there's a
9:32
growing business sector. We got
9:34
semiconductor manufacturing, as you
9:36
heard yesterday, lots of data centers.
9:38
We're also one of the most diverse
9:40
communities in the country. Um, we're a
9:44
majority minority community, one of the
9:46
first in our region. So, there were a
9:48
lot of aspects to communication. So I I
9:50
love your you know we're we're trying to
9:52
essentially amplify messaging. We have
9:55
lots of ways to do but what were some
9:56
new ways? So the podcast that we've
9:59
talked about. So we started about a year
10:01
ago a podcast that we're calling behind
10:03
the tat. And the reason we call it that
10:05
is because as we've discussed so many
10:08
people don't know what's happening
10:10
behind the tap. What does it take to
10:12
bring clean water to their homes and
10:14
businesses? What does it take to reclaim
10:17
wastewater, return it safely to the
10:19
environment? Who are the who are the
10:22
people behind your water? So, we decided
10:25
to amplify our messaging, try to take a
10:27
fresh take on it um with behind the the
10:30
tap. And what we're doing is essentially
10:33
using those episodes to sort of reflect
10:36
the the pipes, the pumps, the people
10:39
that bring them their water. Um each
10:42
episode we feature someone but we keep
10:44
it the teroir we keep it very local. So
10:47
we may be talking about something clean
10:49
water that affects you know utilities
10:51
across the country but we bring it
10:53
local. So in the spring for example when
10:56
our crews are out flushing hydrants for
10:59
spring flushing and people are like why
11:01
are the hydrants open? There's water
11:02
running through the street. So we try to
11:05
explain why why are those folks in your
11:07
neighborhood right now? And in each
11:09
episode, I ask the guests two questions.
11:12
You know, sort of like your your what
11:14
brings you to water question. I ask them
11:16
a customer question. So, we call
11:19
customer service or dispatch and say,
11:20
"What are you hearing from customers
11:22
right now?" So, we'll ask that question
11:24
and have them answer it. And then I ha
11:26
ask them, "What is one thing you wish
11:28
people knew about Prince William Water?"
11:30
And that's where their passion shows up.
11:32
And all of a sudden, they've been
11:33
talking about facts and what they do.
11:34
And then all of a sudden, the brightness
11:36
comes to them. So, it's, you know, about
11:39
water like any of us could do, but we
11:41
keep it grounded in the local community.
11:43
>> Kathy, I'm excited to come back to you
11:45
and pull on more of those threads um
11:48
when it comes to um the podcast and and
11:51
really see the impact of that. Um pal,
11:53
what was that like for you in San Jose?
11:56
What's what's the part of the local
11:58
flavor of of San Jose and the engagement
12:01
that you're trying to drive there?
12:03
>> Sure. So, at San Jose Water, we have
12:05
about a million customers. Um, and we
12:09
serve most of Silicon Valley. Um, and
12:13
a challenge that we were facing was our
12:17
customer satisfaction scores. Um, they
12:19
kind of are always the same and they're
12:23
not as high as we want them to be. Um,
12:25
I'm not sure if that's something that
12:26
anyone can relate to. Um and we have um
12:30
an open um comment section at the end
12:33
where people can submit comments. And
12:35
the things that we see in those comments
12:37
are always the same few topics. Um one
12:40
huge one is hard water. They have an
12:43
issue with how hard the water is in our
12:46
area. Um it leaves spots on their
12:48
appliances and clogs things up. Um some
12:50
people don't like the taste of hard
12:52
water. And um we basically sat down and
12:55
had a brainstorm about how do we have
12:58
the same conversation about hard water
13:01
with the same group of people over and
13:04
over again. Um and it's something that
13:07
is never going to change, right? Because
13:08
hard water is something that happens
13:10
naturally um in our area. There's not
13:13
really much we can do to change the
13:14
hardness of our water um because it's
13:17
ground water. It's pulled up through
13:18
like the mineral the rocks. Um, but we
13:22
still have to talk about it with our
13:24
customers. Even though it's not going to
13:26
change, even though there's not much we
13:28
can do about it. Um, and they're always
13:31
like there are people that are never
13:32
going to be satisfied with it, we still
13:34
have to find a fresh way to talk with
13:37
them about it and meet them where
13:39
they're at with those complaints on our
13:40
customer satisfaction scores. So, we
13:44
decided to try something completely
13:46
different um and do an influencer
13:49
campaign on um Instagram and Facebook.
13:53
It was just like wanting to just try
13:55
something new. We've tried a lot of the
13:57
things that you would think of like
13:59
having a newsletter and having videos
14:01
about hard water and um so we thought
14:04
let's just give it a shot. And so, um,
14:08
we ended up doing, um, a few different
14:10
campaigns on Instagram, working with
14:12
influencers. Um, we had an a partner
14:15
agency that we worked with that had, um,
14:18
previously worked with water utilities.
14:20
They hadn't done an influencer campaign
14:22
with a water utility before. Um, but
14:24
they knew how to how to execute an
14:27
influencer program. And so, they helped
14:29
us source influencers that, uh, were
14:32
within our service area, which was
14:34
really important to us. Um, it kind of
14:35
goes to what you were saying before
14:37
about um, like amplifying um, beyond um,
14:42
the community that you really want to be
14:44
engaging with. Um, so we made sure to
14:48
um, tap influencers that have an
14:49
audience in our service area and worked
14:52
with them to talk to customers about
14:55
hard water.
14:56
>> What was some of the impacts of of that
14:58
campaign? It was really awesome to see
15:02
the feedback that we got on the videos
15:05
that they put out. Um, it was probably
15:07
one of the first times that I've seen a
15:10
majority positive comment section. Um,
15:13
and it really showed to us um, the
15:16
difference of when the message is coming
15:19
from your water utility versus someone
15:23
that you already trust and someone that
15:25
you feel like you already know. people
15:27
were much more receptive to what the
15:29
influencers had to say. They f they it
15:33
was easier for them to relate um what
15:36
they were talking about about hard
15:37
water. So what they were doing by the
15:39
way was giving tips about how to um
15:42
manage like hard water spots on your
15:44
appliances and things like that. Um and
15:46
kind of talking about like it's a part
15:49
of being in San Jose like like San Jose
15:51
influencers talking about hey one of the
15:53
things about living in San Jose is that
15:55
the water is hard. So helping um people
15:59
accept that about the area that they
16:01
live in and hearing it from someone that
16:03
they already trust and someone that they
16:04
already like, they were so much more
16:06
receptive to that message. And actually
16:09
the partner agency that we worked with
16:11
warned us at the start that um when they
16:14
were pulling the kinds of influencers,
16:16
we had like a list of people that we
16:17
invited and then a few got back to us.
16:19
We ended up working with around like
16:20
five in this first round. Um, they
16:23
warned us, "We're not going to be
16:25
working with water influencers or water
16:27
utility influencers." What is that?
16:29
Like, that doesn't We're not going to be
16:31
pulling those. What we're going to be
16:33
pulling are people in your service area
16:36
that are mommy bloggers and lifestyle
16:38
bloggers, um, some athletic um,
16:42
bloggers, and they are going to be um,
16:46
telling your message about hard water.
16:48
And at first it was like, are they going
16:50
is that going to make sense coming from
16:52
them? But it does make sense because
16:54
what we're trying to get through to our
16:56
customers and the people in our service
16:57
area is that hard water is a part of
17:00
life in San Jose. So, it's not a water
17:03
conversation coming from your water
17:05
company. It's a lifestyle conversation
17:07
coming from a lifestyle influencer.
17:09
>> I love that. I love that. So, the
17:12
podcast, I'm I'm curious, um, were there
17:15
any um anything any way that you would
17:19
think about the impact that that
17:20
surprised you?
17:22
>> So, and I'm going to tie to another
17:24
campaign we do as well. Um, one of the
17:26
things that weaves through a lot of what
17:28
we're doing is engaging our employees
17:30
more. So, we have employees who are
17:32
guests on the podcast. We have also
17:35
started um we we have uh branded our
17:40
community outreach for kids program. We
17:41
call it H2GO kids and it's everything
17:44
from our K through 12 program with
17:47
lesson plans are, you know, the
17:50
Envirroscapes out in the community. that
17:51
H2GO kids as a brand has really landed.
17:54
And about a year ago, one of our
17:56
employees speaking, you know, online
17:59
communication started doing videos that
18:03
normally we would have done for adults.
18:05
Salt smarts, um, lead and copper, wise
18:08
water use, doing Canva, animated Canva
18:11
videos for kids and, um, you know, just
18:15
using Canva. Part of the animation part
18:17
that was great. Did I mention how
18:18
diverse our community is? With Canva,
18:22
you can make it look like very inclusive
18:24
neighborhoods, families, the pe people
18:26
can look at those videos and see
18:28
themselves in it. So, that was a piece
18:30
of it. But also, it was the fact that he
18:33
decided to engage our employees in a
18:36
really unique way. The people doing the
18:38
voice over, the narration for these
18:40
videos are the children of our
18:41
employees.
18:43
Yeah. Yeah. Uh so you can imagine every
18:48
employee lines up now they want when can
18:50
my kid do one of the voiceovers and you
18:54
know so you have kids sending the
18:56
message to kids. Those of you who may
18:59
remember when recycling started you know
19:01
the lesson was have your kid go home and
19:03
tell the parents got to recycle got to
19:06
recycle. Well we're doing the same thing
19:07
with these. So you know kid goes home
19:10
and says hey those wipes are not really
19:12
flushable mom. Hey, you shouldn't be
19:15
pouring that fat oil and grease down the
19:17
drain, you know, dad. And whoa, that's
19:20
way too much salt to pour on your
19:22
driveway for this snow event. So, the
19:24
kids learning the lesson from other kids
19:26
and delivering it, but it was all it was
19:29
part of engaging our employees. The
19:30
podcast has also been about engaging our
19:33
employees. So, that's I think that's one
19:35
of the big things for us. So, it's not
19:37
just the con team, sorry, not just the
19:39
con team doing it. It's the whole
19:41
organization because all the employees
19:44
feel like they're involved with it. If
19:46
I'm delivering the message, that's fine,
19:47
but I'm the communications director.
19:49
They're going to expect me to deliver a
19:51
message. But if it's a utility operator
19:54
or one of our lab techs when we go out
19:56
with a lab techs, you know, or kid doing
19:58
one of the videos, it's very different
20:01
to hear from that person than it is the
20:04
communications messenger. So, I
20:07
definitely think it's, you know,
20:08
choosing who the messenger is, but also
20:11
letting them do it in their own. So,
20:13
we're not going to, you know, script
20:14
somebody coming on to talk about spring
20:16
flushing. If that's the operator, just
20:18
tell us what you do when you're out
20:20
there working in the neighborhoods.
20:22
>> One really fantastic surprise that came
20:24
out of our first campaign, we actually
20:27
did three total. Um the first one we
20:29
just worked with like five different
20:30
influencers um to talk talk about um
20:34
hard water and then two of them came
20:37
back for a smaller campaign where it was
20:40
like a conversation. We made it look
20:42
kind of like a facetime. They were
20:43
facetiming each other and asking each
20:46
other about how they find and manage
20:48
leaks in their home. Um and we wanted it
20:51
to look like a conversation between the
20:52
two of them. Um, and then one of those
20:55
two women um, reached out to us that she
20:58
had had a really good experience with
21:00
our new leak alert system that we had
21:02
just rolled out in the past in the past
21:05
year. Um, we've been transitioning to
21:07
smart meters um, and a new uh, way to
21:10
sign up to find out right away if you
21:11
have a leak, a potential leak in your
21:13
home. She had a good experience with
21:15
that and she said, "Do you want to tell
21:16
this story?" And we said, "Absolutely."
21:19
So, we did another campaign with her
21:22
just telling her own experience of how
21:23
she signed up for leak alerts and was
21:26
able to find one in her home and fix it.
21:28
Um, so that was an incredible moment of
21:31
authenticity um where she was so
21:34
enthusiastic about her experience with
21:35
us that she wanted to continue telling
21:38
that story and we were able to put that
21:39
out. um it is a brand new um thing for
21:42
us and so we were still kind of planning
21:44
about how to um get the message out
21:47
there about our leak alerts. Um and what
21:50
better way than to hear firsthand
21:52
someone that had a really good
21:53
experience with that. C can I pick a
21:55
brain quest? You talked a little bit to
21:57
me earlier about some of the measures
21:59
the outcomes of the influencer campaign.
22:00
What's what's some of the numbers
22:02
because I was pretty impressed.
22:03
>> Okay. Um yes, so we had a lot of
22:08
engagement um and a lot of views on the
22:10
videos. Um those are always impressive
22:12
at the end of a campaign, right? When
22:14
you see, oh my gosh, 40,000 views on our
22:16
reel. Um but I think what was the best
22:19
indicator of a job well done of a
22:22
successful campaign for us was
22:24
clickthroughs to our website. And that
22:26
was more in like the 3,000. But looking
22:29
at the demographics of um who those
22:32
clickthroughs were, it was people within
22:35
our service area. So I don't know where
22:38
those 40,000 people were that looked at
22:40
our videos. Um but 3,000 people in our
22:43
service area being driven to our website
22:45
and potentially signing up for leak
22:46
notifications is a huge win. that is
22:49
that that um I can also share one of my
22:53
surprises in in um this podcast in
22:57
general is that starting in July of this
23:00
year was when um when we started the
23:03
Catalyst collab version of this and just
23:06
interviewing um various guides who have
23:08
been part of Catalyst in the past and um
23:11
those who are going to be um guides for
23:13
this year and our engagement has
23:15
quadrupled. So, the Cabalist community
23:18
just knows how to show up.
23:19
>> Wow.
23:20
>> Um, one of those things that wasn't
23:22
necessarily expected, but it also makes
23:24
sense because some of the stories again,
23:28
there's a there's a level of um the
23:31
passion behind
23:33
um the way the Catalyst community um is
23:37
authentically working to um to connect
23:42
with with their communities. And and
23:44
it's again it's not just
23:48
it's truly s coming from a place of
23:51
serving the local community and not
23:53
trying to just go international fame.
23:58
You know it nice if that happens but but
24:00
it just is you know comes from that
24:02
authentic place.
24:03
>> There there was a surprise with with our
24:05
podcast and we're trying to take
24:07
advantage of it. So in one of the um our
24:10
deputy general manager for operations in
24:12
one of ours and his topic was really
24:14
just about the value of water and you
24:16
know why water costs money. Well when I
24:19
asked the question that customers had
24:21
been asking it was is there going to be
24:24
enough water in Prince William County to
24:26
serve growing development and all of the
24:28
data centers coming in. So he answered
24:31
it he he has all the stats. Last year,
24:33
for example, um data centers used just
24:36
under 4% of our water purchases. Even on
24:39
peak demand day, it was a little over
24:41
9%. So, he had the information, came
24:43
across very authentic. Well, uh a couple
24:46
weeks later, I ran into a friend of mine
24:48
who has taken on the lovely duty of
24:49
being president of his HOA. He said,
24:52
"Man, I watched your podcast and people
24:55
in their community, which is near data
24:56
centers, had been asking, "We're going
24:58
to run out of water, aren't we? We're
25:00
going to run out of water." He clipped
25:02
that segment from our podcast and sent
25:05
it out to the people in his community
25:08
who wrote back, "Wow, that's the first
25:09
time I've heard anybody answer that
25:11
question." Wouldn't have expected that.
25:12
So, for us, it's, you know, we are the
25:14
podcast, but maybe there's pieces of
25:16
that that we need to segment and get to
25:19
the local community in different ways.
25:21
That was a very pleasant surprise for
25:23
us. And that's a part of the way that
25:25
you're programming it too where you're
25:28
um you didn't necessarily do an entire
25:30
episode on that. That's just you and the
25:33
programming saying, "Hey, one of the
25:35
parts of this is let's take what's a
25:38
common question we're getting and what's
25:41
the answer?" So, it's it's less of um
25:44
saying we need to figure out how to get
25:46
this talking point out and more of just
25:49
>> what's a concern. was it ties back to
25:51
yesterday, the very first activity we
25:54
did where, you know, we all went out and
25:56
we were asking questions of the
25:58
community. So, what better way than the
26:01
podcast to put questions out there that
26:03
we're really hearing from our customers,
26:05
not that we're the comm brilliant comm
26:08
people are going, what do we think
26:09
customers want to know? What are they
26:11
genuinely asking? So,
26:13
>> you're demonstrating that openness to
26:15
saying we're we're do take note of the
26:18
questions that are coming in. Mhm.
26:20
>> What's a common question? Let's address
26:22
that um as part of the larger
26:25
programming in the midst of telling the
26:27
story of um why why you have um why
26:31
someone works at Prince William Water
26:33
and um what that looks like.
26:35
>> I love that. Talk about authentic. And
26:37
actually, I wanted to ask you a question
26:39
because I was surprised by the answer
26:40
when you told me um how long are your
26:43
episodes usually of your podcast? That's
26:45
true. So, you know, you were talking
26:47
about listening to a 4-hour podcast. I
26:49
listened to lots of podcasts. Most of
26:51
them were an hour long. We made an
26:53
intentional decision to let the podcast
26:56
go as long as the conversation went,
26:58
which some it's only been 12 minutes in
27:00
some cases. 20 minutes. Because first of
27:03
all, how many people are going to sit
27:05
around for an hour and listen to a
27:06
podcast about their local water utility.
27:08
Let's
27:09
>> besides this one,
27:10
>> we're scintillating. Yeah, we're we're
27:12
scintillating, but not that. So, we And
27:15
it was funny because I I asked Isaac,
27:16
"What do you think of this?" And it's
27:17
like if why drag the conversation out if
27:20
you've had the conversation, you've
27:22
answered the questions, be done with it.
27:24
So ours are pretty darn short. I love
27:27
that. That feels so approachable to me
27:28
as a comms person, like curious about
27:31
starting a podcast. Like, sure, I can do
27:33
something for 12 minutes, right? Maybe
27:36
not an hour, but yeah, that feels more
27:38
authentic that way, too. Yeah. I just I
27:40
just had this look on my face
27:41
approaching our employees and saying you
27:44
must fill an hour versus let's have a
27:47
conversation and it takes as long as it
27:48
takes takes a lot of pressure off the
27:50
guest.
27:51
>> Exactly. Exactly.
27:52
>> Yeah. And that's what you want them to
27:54
feel confident and relaxed in um in that
27:57
atmosphere um and being able to to share
28:00
>> like you've made us feel comfortable.
28:02
>> Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. It's um and I I
28:05
think that's that is one of the one of
28:08
the keys to the experience too is um
28:11
just like we've been talking this entire
28:13
um this entire time about what it means
28:16
to set a table, what it means to um it's
28:19
like how do you make how you make people
28:21
feel is important and that comes through
28:25
especially in a medium where you're um
28:27
interviewing folks. So, um, people pick
28:30
up on that and I I think those are some
28:33
of the difficult things to measure. And
28:35
so, I kind of want to move the
28:36
conversation to like h um as you were
28:40
starting those kind of things, how did
28:42
you go about um making the decision or
28:46
making the case to um to your
28:49
organizations that um that this was
28:53
something you wanted to do and they were
28:54
like, "Okay, like we'll let you take
28:57
that risk. So, at San Jose Water, um we
29:00
were really I felt very fortunate that
29:02
we had just had a new leader come in um
29:05
who is a a new our first woman president
29:09
um and she is just kind of a little like
29:13
younger and had a lot of fresh ideas and
29:16
um so she was the one that held this
29:18
brainstorm about what are we going to do
29:20
about these um customer satisfaction
29:22
scores that I'm I'm seeing have not
29:24
really moved much. And so she was really
29:27
open to new ideas, being new herself um
29:30
and ready to bring in um new new ways of
29:33
doing things. So that was she made it
29:36
comfortable in the room for us to
29:38
suggest something as crazy as an
29:40
influencer campaign um knowing that we
29:43
didn't really have anything to benchmark
29:45
it against um among like the other
29:48
utilities around us. Um but she said she
29:50
trusted us and said sure let's try it.
29:53
So we were really fortunate in that way.
29:56
>> Yeah, that's awesome.
29:57
>> Uh ours was a little different. We're a
29:59
very measurement obsessed organization.
30:01
I know when they watch this like she
30:03
said obsessed, but it will really focus
30:05
on measurements and KPIs and national
30:08
benchmarking. It's very very important
30:10
to our organization. But you know when
30:13
my boss and I talked about the podcast,
30:15
she's like, we know that you're not
30:17
going to start off with this huge
30:18
viewership. this is another way to build
30:22
on the messaging that we're already
30:23
doing, another way to convey the same
30:25
messages. So, the pressure was off on
30:27
having to like reach some, you know,
30:30
some imaginary number. Now, with H2O
30:33
kids, we're thrilled, you know, with the
30:34
number of views we get. The podcast is
30:37
building over time, but it was really
30:39
great that leadership was able to step
30:41
back and say, I think this is a great
30:43
new tool, even if we're not going to hit
30:46
some national benchmark in the first
30:48
year or two. So that that was really
30:50
helpful.
30:50
>> Yeah. Well, and I I'll tie it back to
30:53
the opening analogy as well. I think
30:56
sometimes we can obsess over a single
31:01
measuring one single thing and not
31:03
understanding that it's also in the
31:05
context of um of every of everything
31:08
else. So the in the context
31:12
>> you are reaping the benefit of more
31:15
deeper employee engagement um and other
31:18
employees listening to their colleagues
31:21
tell their tell their stories. Um and
31:25
even that if even the fact that most of
31:27
the folks who worked at it at a utility
31:30
are also customers of the product that
31:32
they that they produce. And so it's it's
31:36
a really beneficial way for them to um
31:40
to again be able to engage their
31:41
neighbors in the in the place where they
31:43
live um because they have time and space
31:46
and safety to know that they can talk to
31:50
the person who runs communications.
31:52
>> You made me think of a funny story. So
31:54
um our CEO is very competitive. You know
31:57
that's the measures and things. that
31:59
when we drop a new episode of the
32:01
podcast, if it happens to be right
32:03
before a board meeting two or three
32:05
times, I've heard board members teasing
32:08
our CAS like, "Well, she was a little
32:10
better on the podcast than you were,"
32:12
or, "She was shorter on the podcast."
32:14
So, they're paying attention. The board
32:16
is paying attention, which also helps us
32:19
feel supported in it. So, it's part of
32:21
our overall campaign messaging. They get
32:23
that. The board isn't saying, "Well, I
32:25
don't see, you know, 5,000 views on
32:27
this." And they're teasing the CEO,
32:29
which I'm sure he enjoys every month at
32:31
the board meeting.
32:33
>> Yeah, our board was really engaged, too.
32:35
Actually, they um were blown away when
32:38
we showed them our first influencer
32:40
campaign and actually were the ones to
32:42
suggest, "What if you did another one?"
32:44
But it was a conversation between two
32:46
influencers. And we were like, "Okay." I
32:50
mean, since the board said it, we'll
32:51
figure out how to do it. But I wasn't
32:54
sure how to do that. But um I think it
32:56
made for an even more authentic
32:57
conversation like instead of cuz it was
32:59
like should they suggested a
33:01
conversation and we were like should it
33:02
be us and an influencer? Would that be
33:05
interesting to people? Um who would do
33:07
it from our side? And then it was like
33:09
can we point two influencers at each
33:11
other? Um will will they know what to
33:13
say? Will they have a conversation that
33:15
we would benefit from? Um, and so we
33:20
were in um, inspired by the board
33:23
suggesting that. Um, and it ended up
33:25
working out really well. It ended up
33:27
being a format that looked kind of like
33:28
a FaceTime and it was a video um, of the
33:31
two of them basically calling each other
33:33
and telling each other about how to find
33:34
leaks in their home. Um, so super
33:37
engaging. Um, and I don't think I ever
33:39
would have thought of that without the
33:40
suggestion the suggestion from the board
33:42
to give it a shot.
33:44
>> Yeah. Yeah. I love that. And especially
33:47
because at the end of the day, even
33:50
board members are people and they're
33:52
going to receive the numbers. City
33:54
councils are going to receive a lot of
33:56
facts and a lot of figures. But when it
33:58
can be also wrapped in a narrative,
34:00
you're also infusing it with something
34:02
that I think um is important. And it's
34:05
that
34:07
you're allowing people to be proud of
34:09
the place and tell the story of the
34:12
place that they're proud of. Um, and
34:14
people don't often don't necessarily
34:16
tell that with the facts and the
34:18
figures, but they tell it with the story
34:20
of what what matters to them. Um, and so
34:24
if they can tie it back to knowing that
34:26
and my utility listens or my utility
34:29
shares these stories and and it's not
34:31
all um packaged up in super polished um
34:36
talking points, it's um it's story. You
34:39
need a you need a little a little bit of
34:41
both. I wouldn't say that that the other
34:43
doesn't matter, but but you can engage
34:46
um your board, your employees, your
34:48
community um in a new and fresh way.
34:50
>> When people walk into our events or even
34:53
before board meetings, we'll often run
34:55
some of those H2GO kids videos or other
34:58
videos. And when you walk in and you
34:59
hear a little kids voice talking about
35:02
wise water use or imagine what it'd be
35:04
like to go a day without water and you
35:06
hear the kids doing it, it captures
35:08
people's attention for sure. Um, and and
35:12
I've been standing there a couple times
35:13
where I'll see the employee and their
35:15
kid listening to their watching their
35:17
own video. So, it it engages the board,
35:20
but you know, they come into our
35:21
community events and again, they're
35:23
hearing a child's voice talk about the
35:25
message that we're trying to deliver and
35:27
it gets their attention in a very
35:29
different way.
35:31
>> I love that. I want to leave some time
35:34
for audience questions. Um, so there
35:37
will be a microphone for folks who who
35:40
might have a question. So, um, begin
35:42
thinking. And I I think I think I our AC
35:45
hands going up.
35:46
>> Hello. Uh, I'm Sage Michael, Healthy
35:48
Golf, a nonprofit. I love the idea about
35:51
the podcast. I want to self-plug the
35:53
water collaborative based out of New
35:55
Orleans does water policy work. They do
35:57
a podcast with artists, DJs, bartenders,
36:00
uh, and and things like that. So,
36:02
sipping in conversation about this is
36:04
great. I I just have a question. Did you
36:07
experience or did you survey the
36:08
employees? Were there any employee uh
36:10
trepidation following these
36:12
conversations? Were it soft
36:14
conversations or did y'all hear some
36:15
hard topics that that employees might
36:18
not want to discuss with with fear?
36:20
>> It's interesting you asked that. I've
36:22
actually had one um employee, he's been
36:25
there who will have been there 40 years
36:27
next year, and he's literally said,
36:29
"When can I be a guest on the podcast?
36:32
I'm happy to answer the tough questions.
36:34
I mean, who says that, you know, but but
36:37
you know, asking the the one data center
36:39
question, that's never an easy
36:41
conversation. So, but again, the
36:43
transparency. So, yes, we have messages
36:46
we want to get out there and yes, we're
36:49
willing to talk about issues that might
36:52
be a little tougher for people.
36:54
>> Yeah, it looks like we have another one.
36:56
>> Yeah. As you ask your question, just
36:58
tell us your name and where you're from
37:00
and then ask your question. Thank.
37:02
>> Hi, I'm Glenn Marsoff, U general manager
37:04
at Delco Water. Uh, it's Columbus, Ohio
37:06
area. Uh, questions for for Pal. What's
37:09
Pal Hollywood? What a what a name for a
37:11
communicator, right? You know, more
37:13
playing on those glasses. We need that.
37:14
But, um, I mean, I I'm sure this has
37:18
come up before. Uh, we had So, I'll back
37:21
up a little bit. Dr. Manny Teodoro uh
37:23
was here earlier in the week for another
37:25
event and he says, "Affordability starts
37:27
with quality, right? Your customers have
37:30
to like the water, like the product, and
37:33
has there been any consideration of of
37:35
softening, adding softening to it? I
37:36
looked up your website and it looks like
37:38
300 to 400 parts per million. I would
37:40
have a softener at my house if the water
37:41
was that hard. And if all your customers
37:43
have to maintain a softener, the the
37:45
reality is if you can soften at utility
37:48
level, it would be cheaper for the that
37:49
the customers in the long run. Has that
37:51
ever I'm sure it's come up in the past,
37:52
but can you respond to that at all?
37:54
>> It has. Yes, it has. And
37:57
we I think the next step for San Jose
37:59
Water will be to make one of our water
38:01
quality folks into an influencer. Uh
38:04
because she's does such a great job of
38:06
explaining the pretty much astronomical
38:10
cost of what it would take to be
38:12
softening at the utility level. Um and
38:16
just like hard water, soft water can
38:19
also be a preference rather than
38:21
something that's a necessity. Um, some
38:23
people don't want to be watering their
38:25
lawns or their gardens with soft water.
38:27
That's kind of literally salting the
38:29
earth. Um, and some people don't prefer
38:31
the taste of soft water um or the way it
38:34
feels in the shower. Um, so besides the
38:38
cost, it just doesn't really make sense
38:40
for us to be um doing that to all of our
38:44
customers when soft water versus hard
38:46
water can really be more of a preference
38:48
than something that is a water quality
38:50
necessity or issue has been our
38:53
experience. I wish I knew the number off
38:55
the top of my head. Um, but we'll have
38:57
to turn our our water quality folks into
39:00
influencers and get videos out there of
39:02
them talking about it.
39:03
>> Mhm.
39:04
My name is Megan McDow from American
39:07
Waterworks Association and I have a
39:09
question for Pal about the influencer
39:11
campaign. What were some of the criteria
39:14
that you used to identify the
39:16
influencers? I know you said you worked
39:17
with an agency, but I'm just curious
39:19
because I run some of those campaigns
39:21
myself and I feel like that part is
39:24
really difficult in vetting who who are
39:26
the best influencers to deliver your
39:28
message.
39:29
>> Absolutely. Yes. So, um, we did have our
39:32
partner agency, which was very, very
39:34
helpful. Um, so what we worked with them
39:36
on is identifying a list of potential
39:38
people we could work with, um, that had
39:41
some kind of topic that they, um, spoke
39:44
to that could somehow relate to water.
39:47
So, if they were athletes, then we could
39:49
talk about hydrating. Um, if they were
39:50
lifestyle, we could or like clean clean
39:52
talk. Um, they could um, talk about
39:55
working with hard water stains on their
39:58
appliances. Um, so figuring out how and
40:01
then of course they had to be within our
40:02
service area. Um, and then we also again
40:07
going to like that engagement and really
40:10
um like hyper local. Um, we wanted to
40:13
work with and also there's a cost um
40:15
like the more followers that someone has
40:17
the pricier they're going to be. But
40:18
that was okay because we were okay with
40:20
working with micro influencers um which
40:23
was about like 10k followers or under.
40:26
You can even go as low as like a
40:27
thousand or 2,000 followers because
40:29
again if if it's people that are in
40:31
their neighborhood and they are our
40:33
customers that's a great 2,000 people to
40:35
be reaching. Um so definitely if
40:38
especially if you're starting out um
40:40
even if you're in a larger city like San
40:42
Jose does have larger influencers um but
40:45
we didn't need to go for them. We went
40:47
for micro influencers and it was a
40:49
really targeted way to start.
40:53
>> I love that. Hello, my name is Haley.
40:56
I'm with Brown and Caldwell and I had a
40:58
follow-up question on the influencer
41:00
campaign. Super excited to see our water
41:03
agencies begin to step into this bold
41:05
space. Um, admittedly it does feel a
41:09
little bit foreign and so I just wanted
41:10
to ask a couple follow-up questions
41:13
regarding some of the logistics of
41:15
partnering with influencers.
41:17
Particularly, how did you as the
41:20
communicator and your agency sort of
41:23
deliver some of the key talking points
41:25
or messages that you wanted to execute
41:28
behind the campaigns? And how did your
41:31
agency feel about relinquishing a bit of
41:34
control? It sounds like creative control
41:35
to let the influencers do their best
41:37
work.
41:38
>> Yes, that's a great question. Um, we
41:40
basically had um like a few bullets of
41:43
key messages that we wanted them to
41:46
speak to, not word for word um but more
41:49
just, you know, here's some things about
41:51
hard water. Um, and then you create your
41:55
content and then we would review it. um
41:58
and um sometimes make suggestions.
42:01
Although I don't remember really
42:03
changing any words that they used. It
42:05
was more we couldn't hear you so well
42:06
here or um I guess there were a few
42:09
times where it was like I think it'd be
42:11
a little bit more clear if you said it
42:12
like this. Um so it's really not telling
42:15
them what to say. Um but you we do
42:18
definitely get the final review of what
42:19
they're going to put out. Um so we we
42:22
know that it is aligned with what we're
42:24
trying to do and what we're trying to
42:25
say. Um, and I'm glad you spoke up
42:27
because you're a really great nodder.
42:28
So, I feel like I've been speaking to
42:30
you this whole time. I I look for the
42:32
noders in the audience.
42:35
So, so thank you.
42:39
>> Hi. Great presentation. So, this is for
42:42
Kathy. Um, I love the concept of
42:44
choosing the messenger. Have you guys um
42:48
thought about using um some of your
42:50
boots on the ground maintenance workers
42:52
um as like a recruitment tool?
42:55
Yes, actually we've just done um two
42:58
videos. So, we started a new
43:00
pre-apprenticeship program this year
43:03
really trying especially those utility
43:05
workers that probably everybody has a
43:07
hard time filling those. So, we did that
43:09
and as part of that we did two videos
43:13
with people who in fact one is risen to
43:16
supervisor level but started as utility
43:18
operator one is you know utility
43:21
operator two. So, absolutely. And you
43:24
know, we didn't script them. We asked
43:26
them questions and let them talk. And
43:28
those those have gotten really good
43:31
views from people because it's
43:33
authentic. And you know, when you post
43:34
the authentic videos on social media,
43:37
that's where people are going to respond
43:39
and engage. So, thank you, Antinet.
43:44
>> We have time for one more question.
43:46
>> My question is for Pal. Um, so I'm
43:51
showing up as my authentic self and I'm
43:53
totally okay if you don't want to answer
43:54
this question, but I am curious how much
43:57
uh like ballpark and influencer campaign
44:00
cost for San Jose Water um and how you
44:04
justified that um cost.
44:07
>> Of course, I was so surprised I was
44:08
about to make it out of here without
44:10
having to answer this question.
44:12
>> Oh well, no, I'm kidding. That's close.
44:16
>> Well, I think we're out of time. No, no,
44:19
no. It's totally fine. I mean, you know,
44:21
um so with our first campaign, um where
44:24
we worked with five or six different
44:26
influencers and they did, I think, um
44:29
like one video and two posts each or
44:32
something like that. Um and working with
44:34
the agency that was around 30,000. Um
44:38
and then and that was like white glove
44:40
service with that agency because we had
44:42
no idea where to start or what we were
44:44
doing. Um, from there we had a better
44:47
sense of the specific influencers that
44:49
we wanted to work with again. Um, and we
44:52
were able to scale down to exactly what
44:54
we wanted to do. Um, so the second one I
44:57
think was around six or 8K and so was
45:01
the third one. Um, where she was just
45:03
talking about her own story. Um, so
45:06
that's around what we what we did and I
45:09
think we can even refine a little bit
45:11
further now that we know what we're
45:13
doing even more. Um but if anyone has
45:16
done you know print advertisement or
45:18
things like that I think you will
45:20
understand that that is a very
45:21
affordable um rate for the amount of
45:25
engagement um and drive that we got to
45:27
our website.
45:29
>> That's that's a great Yeah.
45:32
Thank you for that question because I I
45:35
want to thank you both for being so open
45:38
um for uh to have this conversation. Um,
45:41
and I want to thank all of you as well,
45:44
just because um, like I like I said at
45:47
the beginning, I know that the the thing
45:49
that drew me to um, to water
45:53
professionals um, was how dedicated you
45:58
are to your place, to serving the people
46:01
in your place, um, and to delivering
46:04
messages that, um, that are engaging.
46:06
Like we're we're trying to do something
46:08
that is really difficult. Not a lot of
46:10
people do it. Um and um and it takes a
46:14
lot of work and it actually takes a lot
46:16
of risk to trust that you that you can
46:19
engage the public. We know we need to,
46:22
but doing it is really difficult and we
46:24
know we have to be creative within an
46:27
industry that has a lot of restrictions
46:30
and so figuring out how to um do things
46:33
that feel out of the box can feel like a
46:35
big risk to take. But um but I know so
46:38
many of you in this room have done that.
46:41
Um and we had two um great examples
46:43
here. So please thank our thank our
46:45
guests for sharing their stories.
46:47
>> Thank you.
46:51
>> And to those of you at home, thank you
46:54
so much for tuning in to the Make
46:56
Waterwork podcast. This was a fun
46:57
episode to get to do. Um and please
47:00
check out the Make Waterwork podcast.
47:02
Check out Catalyst. is worth getting
47:04
engaged in this community because it
47:07
this um I I say conference and I know
47:11
I'm not supposed to but this experience
47:13
punches way above its weight class
47:15
compared to any other conference on the
47:17
face of the planet. So um thank you so
47:20
much.
47:20
>> Thanks.