Home Work VLAKWA

Inspiring and connecting narrative for the Flemish water sector

Working with Flemish water companies and organisations, we wrote a future-proof water story that puts their unique expertise on the international map and encourages mutual cooperation within the sector.

Client

Consortium of VLAKWA, VMM, Aquaflanders, Watercircle.be, VITO and Capture.

Deliverables

Multi-stakeholder management

Strategic positioning

Communication strategy

Branding

Naming

Baseline

Website

Campaign

Water has never been such a hot topic

Extreme drought, devastating floods and increasing demand make water the major challenge of the 21st century. What’s less well known is that Flanders has something to offer the world as well as something to tell it about this ‘blue gold’. How do you create a clear and forward-looking water story that inspires others and connects your own sector?

‘It’s always nice to be able to work with people who know their stuff. What’s even more enjoyable and unique is being able to work with people with fresh and inspiring ideas. Ideas that represent a warm invitation to collaborate and create a sense of belonging, which is what we were ultimately aiming for with this journey.’

Dirk Halet

Strategic coordinator VLAKWA

Strategic communication partner

For this two-part task – giving international value to the Flemish water sector and stimulating cooperation within the field – the consortium of VLAKWA, VMM, Aquaflanders, Watercircle.be, VITO and Capture put out a tender. Shaved Monkey was selected to help generate impact through its strategic thinking, narrative power and experience with complex multi-stakeholder projects.

Starting point in a fragile framework

Our work began in a fragile and recently established cooperation framework between the members of the consortium. Fragile, because the view of its potential was as great as the competitive power within this cross-domain collaboration. We therefore began the journey with more than 30 hours of in-depth interviews to clearly identify common ground and potential obstacles.

Narrative and binding agent in one

We then worked together on a strategic journey to understand and build on that shared potential. The carefully constructed narrative was simultaneously a motivating framework that depicted the many possibilities, and an internal binding agent to bring the parties closer together.

New and exciting brand story

In an interplay between internal strategic and creative work, and an intense workshop, we arrived at a new and inspiring brand story. Under the name The Fluid Crew, a group of Flemish water companies and organisations are exploring smart water solutions in a fluent and innovative collaboration model. Besides the story, we also developed smart go-to-market and communication strategies, while our insights sharpened the consortium’s internal development plan.

‘Shaved Monkey didn’t only succeed in bringing together the multitude of different perspectives among the Flemish water partners. They also had the courage to let go of nuances and let the essence of our story rise to the surface, as well as the creativity to portray that story in a way that creates enthusiasm and energy among the various stakeholders to really pull together. And as a bonus, we were also given clear guidance on how to take the process further. A sincere thank you to all at Shaved Monkey – you have a great team!’

Dirk Halet

Strategic coordinator VLAKWA

Concrete deliverables

We then set to work on creating the first concrete deliverables, based on this new brand. Using a fresh visual identity, an attractive website and an eye-catching exhibition stand, The Fluid Crew has become a tangible concept and the consortium is ready to be valorised internationally.