“How can we improve our internal communication?” asked Joeri Arts, Marketing, Strategy & Business Development Director at Alpha Credit. Mia drew up a comprehensive strategy and created the staff magazine Square.

A survey after 4 editions shows that 91% of the staff always read the magazine or often read it. 81% devour all the articles or several articles. 88% think that Square is well-written, 94% praise the layout and photos. “More of the same, please” say 25%. Square scores 7 to 10 out of 10 with 90% of readers. A good investment then?

Joeri Arts: “There has been a clear change of mentality between the first and the fourth edition. Employee commitment has increased significantly. We are looking forward to another year of exciting discoveries.”

Internal communication²

The staff magazine Square (4 times a year) is a key ingredient in Mia’s internal communication plan for AlphaCredit. (At the launch, the first edition was hand-delivered to each office, hot off the press.) Its intranet counterpart is known as Square Online. This site was placed on the home page of the intranet as a news screen and is regularly updated. Behind that home page, the entire archive containing a wealth of information could be retained without difficulty.

Square, the ‘meeting place where Alpha people meet’, fits perfectly with the Alpha² programme to drive internal communication.

Prime Water International purifies water to 99.9999 % safe drinking water with an energy neutral membrane filter which is unique in the world. The company called on Mia to put this asset in the spotlight and establish PWI as an innovative and attractive company, both to potential clients and future employees.

Mia developed a new logo and created the brand promise 'Prime Water, Safe Water made Easy'. A new website was developed and Els de Temmerman was appointed as ambassador in an extensive PR campaign. An important facet of Mia’s strategy was Prime Water’s participation in the Open Company Day and the fact that the company competed for the corresponding Award for Technological Innovation. In addition, Mia ensured Prime Water’s presence at the Aquatech trade fair in Amsterdam was carefully organised.

Their efforts paid off: Prime Water was one of the three winners of the Award for Technological Innovation 2008 and received prime time coverage on Belgian public television and local television stations Kanaal Z and TV Limburg. A number of newspapers (De Tijd, De Standaard, Het Belang van Limburg) discussed the technological innovations within the company and recruitment medium Vacature wrote an article on the job opportunities at Prime Water. Ten crucial vacancies were filled in a short space of time.