Bring a time-honoured brand into the digital age
Australia Post is Australia’s second most trusted brand, after Apple, and has been around since 1809. But with digital communication replacing the letter, the company’s traditional business model is in decline.
In 2013, Australia Post created a new team – bringing together people from several different areas of the organisation – to work on digital communication products and services for its customers.
The new head of this business wanted to make everyone feel part of a single team, encourage new ways of working, and get people excited about Australia Post’s future plans.
The solution: a high-impact event that motivated the whole team
Water Cooler worked alongside the internal communication team to create a one-day event that brought the new team together for the very first time. The theme of the event was “Reimagine”, challenging employees to reimagine the possibilities for how Australians might connect in a digital world.
We were involved in all aspects of the event – from shaping the agenda and developing ideas for content to creating the event’s look and feel and helping the head of the business prepare a motivating speech.
Highlights included a guest speaker from the social enterprise Thankyou Water, a video about the modern postie and a panel discussion giving graduates and interns an opportunity to voice their opinion of the future. Attendees were given real food for thought when one member of the panel revealed they had never sent a letter.
The outcome: a single team with a clear purpose
Those who attended the event were an extremely diverse bunch – from new graduates to long-serving employees who had started out as posties and worked their way up.
But they were united in their feedback. Seventy per cent of attendees who filled in a post-event survey gave it four or five out of five when asked how valuable they’d found it. And overwhelmingly, people said the day had made them feel part of a single team and had given them a clear sense of what was expected.
