This is us Brand Book Bergen Energi
4 Preface 6 One message 8 History 10 Position 12 Mission 14 Brand challenge 16 Markets 18 Customer segments 20 Target groups 22 Services 24 Core values 26 Brand values 34 How to use 3
What is a Brand? A Brand is a combination of a unique design, symbol, sign and words to communicate specific information about an organisation, product or service and distinguish it from others in the marketplace. A brand carries a promise about the qualities and characteristics that make the organisation, product or service unique. A solid brand delivers your message clearly, builds your credibility and connects you to the emotions of your prospects. Bergen Energi Brand Bergen Energi is a brand that is rather unfamiliar outside the Nordic region but fairly known in the Energy community throughout Europe. By increasing our presence and exposure and by making sure that all our work regarding our brand is done according to common guidelines and principles, Bergen Energi will become well known to a broader public (customer base) that are interested in increasing their profitability. We have been very thorough in our defining what the Bergen Energi brand is. We have interviewed existing and former customers, interviewed staff internally, and held marketing sessions with our CEO, COO and the management teams. All information has been analysed and processed in collaboration between the internal marketing manager and an external marketing adviser. The end result is this document. But this is only the beginning of the work that will strengthen and develop the brand of Bergen Energi. This is a dynamic document and gives you a strong platform from which to work. Preface This is us! Here you will find all you need to know regarding our history and the image of Bergen Energi. Read it carefully and use it in your daily work with the Bergen Energi brand 4 5
This Brand book is a tool to ensure that you, and the rest of our great company, are sending the same corporate message to new and existing customers, to the media, to partners and stakeholders and everyone else that comes in contact with us. When people are meeting us at seminars, events and customer meetings, they should hear the same message across Europe, of course with local adaptions to the customer situation and market. This Brand Book gives you the overall picture and, when combined with our communication manual, will show you how to communicate in text, picture messages and graphics. To that you can add your experience and local knowledge about the market and customer needs. Please read this carefully and use it in your daily work with our Bergen Energi Brand. One message We have been very successful and grown rapidly over the last decade and we will continue this journey with you onboard. As we grow in different countries and markets, it is critical that we, as a brand, keep our present and future story intact. One of the reasons is that in a globalised world, companies are no longer restrained by borders. They, as well as Bergen Energi, will be active directly or through partners internationally. Therefore, our brand should be recognised in the same way 6 7
Bill Schjelderup, our founder and CEO, realized that there was a huge need for innovation and entrepreneurship in the energy sector in order to make the players wake up and see the new opportunities. In the autumn of 1991, Bill took the initiative to established Bergen Energi as the first independent energy broker in Norway. Consumers advocate and competition watchdog From the very beginning several electricity companies tried to prevent their customers from changing supplier. During our first years of operation, we spent much time and a lot of effort on lobbying activities and meetings with different authorities in order to make the market work efficiently. Gradually the market mechanisms improved and after several years energy consumers were able to switch supplier in line with the intention of the Energy Act. First Norwegian, then Nordic and European During our early years of operation, only Norway had a free electricity market, but gradually other European countries liberalised their energy sectors. In the mid 90 s we started to expand our activities and changed from being a Norwegian company to a Nordic and European group by establishing regional teams and a network of local agents. Our goal was sharpened to be a leading provider of energy services in the European market. From electricity broker to energy experts In line with the energy market development, we expanded our business activities from focusing on electricity brokerage to include more services and more energy-related commodities. In an early phase of deregulation, consultancy and brokerage are often the only services that can be offered, but as the market matures, advanced solutions for trading and risk management can be developed. Today, the markets for different energy carriers are closely linked together and being an energy expert thus requires insight into all aspects of energy. We have put significant resources into developing such expertise. Going Global Globalisation implies that international clients to an increasing extent demand international services at high professional level. In order to be able to offer global solutions to serve the procurement and data management needs of clients with business around the world, Bergen Energi has formed a strategic alliance with US and Brazilian companies. The alliance is known as Energy Experts and it will set the global footprint for our services. Our History Bergen Energi was established in 1991. The three founders were colleagues at the local electricity company, Bergen Lysverker (now BKK), and wanted to promote competition in the energy sector. The Norwegian Energy Act had been adopted thus formally free competition was introduced in the electricity market, but so far it had not led to any changes for the energy consumers 8 9
To become the customers first choice concerning their energy management. Always have the best possible overview of the local and global factors that affect the energy markets. As a company we should be proud of what we accomplish and that our expertise is recognised in the energy markets. Position The vision of our company is clear. We are going to take the position as Leading International Energy Experts. It means that Bergen Energi should strive and put its soul into the following; 10 11
Bergen Energi delivers energy management services to companies exposed to complex energy markets throughout Europe. We provide independent advice in combination with optimised solutions to control cost, consumption and carbon. Our local expertise and global view creates new possibilities for customers to secure profitability and sustainability through lower costs, improved efficiency and reduced environmental impact. Mission This is Our Mission Statement that you and all other stakeholders should know by heart. It clearly states what we do as a company, for which customers, how we do it and what benefits our customers experience. This mission statement supports our discussions, focus and goals so we will be able to solve our customers challenges with the best solutions 12 13
We operate, as you will see, in many different cultures, countries and customer segments; this SWOT gives you a general overview of all our markets. We have excluded the local/national key issues as they will be in your local marketing plan. Some of our Key Strengths today Independent Pan European expertise Local adaption Wide range of services MiFID approved Global Alliance Optimised solutions Market and Energy Knowledge Market Access Transparency Risk Management Some our Key Weaknesses today Low visibility No aligned marketing platform Inconsistent Communication Unknown to broad market Lack of European marketing Lack of channel strategy Low brand recognition Weak positioning Some of our future Opportunities ahead Increase market penetration Strong service package combinations Build trust to gain access to customers Streamlined sales processes Increased customer volumes Higher margins Some of our future Threats ahead Lose customers to larger competitors Declining margins Hard for customers to sell Bergen internally - we don t get access We are not top of a customers mind when they want to buy - we lose business Low pricing Brand Challenge SWOT During 2011 we began to evaluate our marketing situation as a follow up to our rapid growth and success. Here are the results that will give you a better understanding of why you have this Brand Book in your hand 14 15
The markets where we operate are both similar and different. The similarities are the basic challenges around using energy; cost efficiency, price volatility, type of energy to use, controlling consumption and future sustainability challenges. Other similarities are the customers internal structures and the international spread. The differences are divided into three areas: 1) The regulations and liberalisation of the markets are at different stages. This means that we must provide a different set of services or approach to some markets. 2) The maturity of the market. We have to adapt our services to match the markets degree of adoption of a deregulated, open market. 3) Cultural aspects. This influences how business is conducted in each market. This is and will be a challenge for us to handle in the future. Competition In Europe today we see all kinds of competitors trying to get access to our existing and potential clients, including small, local energy consultants, national and international energy producers/ suppliers and international service providers. Markets We operate in the European markets through our own organisation or our partners. It is very important for us to build knowledge of all the different regulations, restrictions, trends, competitors and customers to reach and retain our vision and mission 16 17
Customer Segments Consumers We divide the consumers segment into public and private. Today, 95% of our business comes from these two segments. The Private segment is divided into Heavy, Large and Mid Sized industry (Steel works, Paper industry etc.), Service Industry (Airports, Transportation, Hotels, Real Estate etc.) and Retail (Grocery, White Goods, Shopping centres etc.). The public segment is mainly municipality and state owned companies. The main challenges for this segment are volatile/ high costs and unpredictability which creates big challenges controlling cost, consumption and carbon. Producers This segment is part of the new growing, utility sector. We divide the producers into core producers and non core producers. The core producer are usually local, national or global with their main focus to make money producing energy through gas, electricity, oil, wind, water or sun. The non core producers are usually big consumers that can extract energy from their core business. The main challenges for these kinds of segments are how to optimise their revenues and handle risk. Suppliers This segment is also part of the new, growing utility sector which also targets the consumers. The suppliers are dived into traditional and new suppliers. The traditional segments are in most cases locally based with a combination of two different companies - grid operators and a sales company under the same roof. The new supplier segments are companies that only buy and deliver energy, not connected to any specific market and are talented in developing and selling different solutions and concepts.their main challenges are to secure their margins and overall costs. To reach our Vision we have always strived to reach all potential clients in our markets. That is why we focus on 3 different customer segments where possible. These segments are divided into sub-segments 18 19
These target groups are divided into 2 groups - Strategic and Commercial. The strategic group is where we as a Brand want to be recognised and generally well known. The Commercial group is where we have to be recognised and well known on a more detailed level. Our brand is aiming for all those functions all over Europe and to convince them to choose us as a first choice supplier of energy management services. Strategic target group - where we want to be Board of Directors CEO CFO Managing director Finance director Commercial target group - where we have to be Procurement Managers Production Managers Energy Managers Target Groups To reach our potential as a brand we must continuously develop our different networks of contacts in our customer segments. Our goal is to identify them and understand their different needs 20 21
Services Portfolio Management Energy procurement Risk Management Spot Management Data Management Administrative Services Data Analysis Energy Data Management Sustainability Carbon Footprint Carbon Communication Carbon Reduction Our main focus is to reach our mission statement through three different business areas. These three areas are Portfolio Management, Data Management and Sustainability. Underneath these three business areas we are continuously developing different services to fit our customers needs 22 23
Willpower This value shall be expressed by the fact that we always aim to do our best within the scope of sound profitability for us and for the customers. An entrepreneurial, open and brave attitude is a form of expressing willpower. Remember that without willpower Bergen Energi would have struggled to get off the ground! Honesty This internal core value shall be detected through our appearance as clear and open in everything we do. We are honest with our customers and do not explain away, but admit any mistakes we make and learn from the experience. It is of no interest who has committed this error, because for outsiders we are all representatives of Bergen Energi. In this way we build trust and respect, and we are seen as one company. Warmth This should be reflected as an important value to encourage good working conditions and positive relations to our colleagues, clients, prospects, partners and stakeholders. Core Values Core values are important supporting values for our Brand. We have three internal Core Values that give you direction and support in relation to how we want to be perceived by our customers, competitors, colleagues, stakeholders and partners when we interact with them. These internal supporting values will add to the total view of our Brand 24 25
The purpose of these values is not the words themselves in a standalone manner, they are representing the position that we will take in the market, a position for us to uphold and communicate externally to get a greater advantage against our competitors. When we communicate and repeat these values in advertising, in presentations, on the web, in business meetings, proposals and the way we conduct our business and solve the customers energy needs we will get Top of Mind in the market. To these values we will add a clear value proposition connected to the customer s situation. The success factor is to communicate the same values over and over again, actively and consistently together with our local approach and core values. You, as an employee, are a very important channel of our Brand Values. Brand Values We have three clear brand values for our company International Independent Innovative 26 27
International means that we are taking a macro perspective approach to the global markets in energy, gas and carbon when we are helping our customers locally or on pan European basis. International means that we use cross border knowledge throughout our company and amongst countries, segments and customers to provide the best optimised solution that we possibly can. We take a pan European or global overview of an energy situation than can affect the market and the customers business locally. International also means that we respect and adapt to the cultural diversity of different markets and we have the economic and financial stability to engage with large customers. International This brand value is communicating many different things. The core essence is that Bergen Energi was a purely Norwegian company but now operates in many different countries locally. International does not mean that we are leaving the local market approach; it is a vital element in building our position as an expert. At the same time, we don t think that we can be experts if we don t have the global overview when giving independent advice. This is due to the complexity and volatility across different energy markets 28 29
Independent means that we build trust with our current and potential customers, partners and other stakeholders by maintaining our overview perspective with transparency in our solutions, business models and their ROI (return on investment). We remain a privately owned company and we have no strings attached to the producers/ suppliers; as such we give the customers options that meet their needs. Some of our competitors are not revealing to the customers what their margins are, how they operate and what kind of energy they provide. We strive to keep our agenda open, to be as neutral and objective in our advice as possible. Independent is also a platform to be able to form alliances to other energy management companies as we have done with the alliance - Energy Experts. We think that Independence builds trust and it is dependent on our broad knowledge and perspective. Experts have to be independent; otherwise you can create a conflict of interest. Trust as a basic foundation in all cultures and for us as a company. The brand value of independence is one of the stepping stones to be trustworthy. Independent The core essence of the word Independent is that Bergen Energi is taking a fundamentally different approach from most of our competitors. Independency was one of the building blocks when Bergen Energy started in 1991 and we still think that is a brand value that takes an important position to retain for our future business 30 31
We always strive to be fast to adapt to new situations around us. The key success factors to profitability for our customers, and for us as a company, is to optimise our stand-alone solutions in a new way. That is our way to describe Innovative. In order to be Innovative we have to be bold in the communication with the markets and customer segments. We must have the courage to offer solutions that already exist, but implement them differently or in other combinations to achieve better results for our customers. We want to send a message to new and existing customers to contact us regarding any kind of energy management service they have or need. They should feel that everything is possible with Bergen Energi as a one stop shop and a full service provider. Innovative The core essence of the word Innovative is how we combine our solutions, based on our customer analysis and market knowledge 32 33
Use this Brand Book as a source of information when you are preparing sales material and presentations to adjust your arguments and strategy. How to use Everything communicates. That s why you should know the content by heart. Only then will you be able to use it daily when in direct or indirect contact with existing and potential clients You will have more detailed support in the communication manual. 34 35
Brand Book Bergen Energi