OUR COMMUNITY, OUR WATER

Company Experience and Expertise

1) List up to five of the agency’s most relevant and significant marketing projects or campaigns...

• Client: Connect for Health Colorado (State Government/Healthcare)
  Scope: Multi-year, multi-channel open enrollment campaigns. Services included strategic planning, hyper-local outreach, trusted voice partnerships, digital advertising, and earned media.
  Timeline: 2018 - Present
  Outcomes: Consistently exceeded enrollment goals, particularly among diverse and hard-to-reach populations, by building trust at a grassroots level.
• Client: COVID Check Colorado (Public Health/Non-Profit)
  Scope: Rapid deployment of a statewide public health campaign. Services included our "Trusted Voice" partnership model, crisis communications, and hyper-local event marketing.
  Timeline: 2020 - 2022
  Outcomes: Activated over 100 community leaders to establish trusted testing sites in the most affected neighborhoods, demonstrating our ability to build trust and drive action under extreme pressure.
• Client: Denver Housing Authority (DHA) (Government/Public Utility)
  Scope: Lead strategic partner for major public-facing events and community engagement initiatives. Services include full-service event production for large-scale hybrid events like the annual Contracting Open House, strategic communications, community intelligence gathering, and digital engagement including video and social media live productions.
  Timeline: 2016 - Present
  Outcomes: Successfully produced complex hybrid events with hundreds of attendees, increasing contractor and community participation. We provide ongoing strategic counsel on key initiatives such as website rebranding and digital tool adoption, serving as a deeply integrated partner in DHA's mission.

2) Describe your agency’s experience working with organizations similar to Denver Water...

Our agency’s experience is uniquely suited to Denver Water’s mission, as our core competency is engaging Colorado’s diverse communities around complex, essential services. Our work with **Connect for Health Colorado** is the most direct parallel. Like Denver Water, it is a statewide entity tasked with communicating a vital, but often complex, service to every demographic. We successfully translated the intricacies of health insurance for personas ranging from young independents to established families, using hyper-local outreach and trusted community partnerships to drive record enrollments. This demonstrates our ability to take a complex topic, tailor the message to specific community identities, and drive measurable action.

Furthermore, our long-term partnership with the **Denver Housing Authority** has given us deep experience in the public utility and infrastructure space. We have been their strategic partner in producing large-scale community and contractor events, such as the annual Contracting Open House, managing the complexities of hybrid formats and digital engagement to maximize participation. This work has required us to understand the nuances of public funding, long-term planning, and the importance of transparent communication in maintaining public trust. This blend of statewide, persona-driven communication and direct public-sector partnership makes us uniquely qualified to meet Denver Water’s needs.

3) Describe how you stay informed about local issues, community priorities, and culturally relevant topics...

Staying deeply connected to the pulse of the community is not a task for us; it is the foundational principle of our entire agency. Our Community-Centric Branding™ model is predicated on a continuous, active, and immersive understanding of local issues. We achieve this through a multi-layered approach: Active Community Immersion (attending city council/neighborhood meetings), our Trusted Voice Network (ongoing dialogues with community leaders), Hyper-Local Media Monitoring (neighborhood newsletters, social groups), and Strategic Partnerships (Chambers of Commerce, etc.). This ensures our strategies are based on a deep, authentic, and current understanding of the Denver community.

Staff Experience and Expertise

1) Identify each member of your team assigned to the resulting Agreement.

• Name: Dondrae Mills
  Title: CEO & Lead Strategist
  Primary Role: Executive Oversight & Senior Strategic Counsel
  Permanent Assignment: Yes
  Summary: As the architect of our Community-Centric Branding™ philosophy, Dondrae will ensure our work remains aligned with Denver Water's highest-level goals, providing strategic guidance at key milestones and serving as the primary executive sponsor.
• Name: Susan Burks
  Title: VP of Community Outreach & Public Relations
  Primary Role: Account Director & Outreach Strategy Lead
  Permanent Assignment: Yes
  Summary: Susan will lead the overall account strategy and oversee all public relations and outreach execution. Her expertise in high-level strategy (Pillar 1) and managing multi-channel campaigns (Pillar 3) ensures a cohesive and impactful approach.
• Name: Ann Albergoti
  Title: Community Engagement & Event Planning
  Primary Role: Event & On-the-Ground Activation Lead
  Permanent Assignment: Yes
  Summary: Ann specializes in turning strategy into tangible experiences. She will lead the execution of all hyper-local outreach events (Pillar 3), ensuring every community interaction is seamless, professional, and effective at building trust.
• Name: Sara Y
  Title: Digital Strategy & Analytics Manager
  Primary Role: Digital Execution & Measurement Lead
  Permanent Assignment: Yes
  Summary: Sara is an expert in using technology to build and measure community engagement. She will manage all digital advertising and social media (Pillar 3) and will be responsible for building and maintaining the KPI dashboard (Pillar 4).
• Name: Brianna Gomez
  Title: Community Intelligence Lead
  Primary Role: Research & Neighborhood Matrix Lead
  Permanent Assignment: Yes
  Summary: Brianna is the engine of our intelligence gathering. She will lead the qualitative research, relationship building, and data analysis required to build and maintain the Denver Neighborhood Matrix (Pillar 1), ensuring our strategies are always informed by authentic community insights.
• Name: Monice McCarthy
  Title: Transaction Manager - Creative, Messaging, Brand Manager
  Primary Role: Creative & Brand Project Management
  Permanent Assignment: Yes
  Summary: Monice is the crucial link who ensures our creative vision becomes a reality. She will manage the workflow of all creative assets, from concept to delivery, ensuring the messaging (Pillar 2) is consistent, on-brand, and delivered on time and on budget.

2) Identify staff members who have experience with Microsoft Dynamics Customer Insights.

Sara Y, our Digital Strategy & Analytics Manager, has direct, hands-on experience with Microsoft Dynamics Customer Insights. In a previous role, she was responsible for using the platform to unify data, create customer segments, design automated multi-channel journeys, and build custom dashboards integrated with Power BI. Her expertise will allow us to seamlessly integrate our strategy with your existing technology from day one.

Strategy/Approach and Innovative Thinking

1) How would you use the persona research to inform strategies for Denver Water initiatives?

The persona research is the foundational cornerstone of our entire strategic approach. It will be the direct input for our proprietary Denver Water Community Partner Journey, a four-pillar framework that operationalizes this research into measurable action. It allows us to move beyond demographics to understand the core identities, values, and motivations that drive behavior, ensuring our strategy is human-centered at every stage.

2) How do you connect messages and communication channels to audience segments/personas?

Our four-pillar Denver Water Community Partner Journey is the framework we use. Pillar 1 (Neighborhood Matrix) identifies the most credible *channels* (the 'who' and 'where'). Pillar 2 (Dynamic Messaging Engine) develops the resonant *messages* (the 'what'). Pillar 3 (Community-Embedded Execution) activates the messages through the channels (the 'how'). Pillar 4 (Trust-Based Measurement) provides the feedback loop to optimize both.

3) What is your process for aligning marketing messages with specific programs or initiatives?

Our process is dual-level. At the top, our Core Mantra, "Our Community, Our Water," ensures brand-level consistency. Beneath this, our Dynamic Messaging Engine aligns the core value of each program (e.g., safety for LRP, sustainability for WEP) with the primary motivation of each persona to create relevant, targeted message angles.

4) How does your creative team develop messages that resonate with diverse audiences?

Our creative philosophy is Co-Creation Over Communication. We listen first through the qualitative research of our Neighborhood Matrix. We then develop concepts that balance Denver Water's trusted brand voice with a persona-specific tone. Finally, we use a rigorous process of cultural and linguistic validation (transcreation, not just translation) and community testing to ensure our messages are authentic and effective.

5) Describe a campaign where you successfully used multi-channel communication...

Our work with Connect for Health Colorado exemplifies our approach. We used hyper-local outreach at trusted Community Anchors and partnerships with Trusted Voices as our foundation. This was supported and amplified by intelligent media buying, including geo-targeted digital ads, local print, and direct SMS reminders. Success was measured not just in enrollments but in the high adoption rate of our partner toolkits and positive community sentiment.

6) How do you measure the effectiveness of your messaging and channel strategies?

Our Trust-Based Measurement System (Pillar 4) tracks both action and belief. We monitor quantitative KPIs like filter usage, rebate applications, and email growth. Critically, we also track qualitative Trust KPIs, including inbound media requests, social media sentiment analysis in hyper-local groups, and the activation rate of our community partners. This provides a holistic view of campaign effectiveness.

7) Describe your typical collaboration process with internal teams...

Our partnership philosophy is built on a "no surprises" principle of radical transparency, proactive communication, and seamless integration. We use a structured system of **People** (dedicated senior team), **Process** (weekly WIPs, monthly reviews, quarterly business reviews), and **Platforms** (shared project management, Slack, creative review tools) to ensure the Denver Water team is always informed, empowered, and confident in our shared work.

8) Describe your communication and collaboration strategy for working with Denver Water...

Our strategy is detailed above. We will use platforms like Asana for project management, Slack for real-time communication, and Frame.io for creative review. Our designated points of contact are Susan Burks (Account Director), Monice McCarthy (Creative Project Management), and Sara Y (Digital). We will provide weekly progress updates, monthly performance reports, and quarterly strategic reviews.

Budget Scenarios

Our recommended approach is designed to be scalable. Our four-pillar framework remains the foundation at every budget level; the investment level determines the depth, reach, and speed of activation. The detailed WBS for each scenario will be provided in the separate Exhibit D and E files as required.

(1) $600,000 – $800,000: Foundational Excellence

At this level, we build the essential strategic infrastructure. We develop the Neighborhood Matrix for the highest-priority neighborhoods and create foundational creative for the core personas. Execution focuses on high-efficiency tactics like targeted digital advertising and direct mail to meet all primary 2026 goals.

(2) $800,000 – $1,000,000: Deepened Engagement

This tier includes all activities from Range 1 and expands our efforts from *reaching* audiences to actively *partnering* with them. The increased investment activates our Trusted Voice Partnerships and launches a pilot program of hyper-local outreach events to accelerate trust-building.

(3) $1,000,000 – $1,200,000: Movement Building

This level represents a full-scale activation of our model. It includes a full rollout of our hyper-local outreach program, investment in higher-value video content featuring community champions, and the launch of a formal Community Ambassador Program to transform your initiatives into a genuine, city-wide movement.

Conflicts with Revised Interview Schedule

If selected... will your proposed team be available over the above revised interview dates?

Yes, our entire proposed team—Dondrae Mills, Susan Burks, Ann Albergoti, Sara Y, Brianna Gomez, and Monice McCarthy—has cleared their schedules and will be available for an in-person interview on any of the specified dates: Tuesday, September 2; Wednesday, September 3; or Thursday, September 4, 2025. We look forward to the opportunity to discuss our proposal in greater detail.