#24 – Xavier Leadership Center/O’Keeffe PR

Posted on November 11, 2019


okeefe pr

This is the company information page for the 2019 #ELGLHaverford award.

Learn more about the award program, and read about all of the honorees.


About Xavier Leadership Center/O’Keeffe PR


Engagement With ELGL:

  • Blogs, Webinars, Podcasts with ELGL? No
  • Events, Activities with ELGL? No

Working with the Company:

Describe your work and interactions with the nominee – how have you worked with them, on what projects, in what capacity?

  • Xavier Leadership Center/O’Keeffe PR and Marketing Solutions has been a partner with us for 2 years.  They have helped develop and execute a comprehensive public relations and communications strategy for our Lead Service Line Replacement Project. They have also assisted in strategy for the Customer Assistance Program (HELP: Help Eliminate Lead Pipes

What was the product/outcome of your relationship with the company?

  • More defined outreach efforts, New dedicated website for lead service line replacement program
    Seeking and coordinating community engagement and fundraising events to assist our customer assistance program

What are three words you’d use to describe the company?

  • Creative, Energetic and Resourceful

Describe the on boarding process for your work with the company – either when you personally started working with them, or when your organization did. What could someone else in local government know about starting work with this company?

  • Onboarding included a series of meetings to explain our business and goals of the program. Along with this, the partner started attending biweekly meetings with staff to learn more of the program and to propose tasks to better develop the service. It would be helpful for others to know that XLC and O’Keefe are a cohesive, innovative team that works to engage and deliver successful solutions for our community. They embrace communications and have built successful relationships all over the city.  Because of this, they can partner with many to meet difficult problems head on with relevant solutions and positive outcomes.  

What is the company’s pricing structure? Please be as descriptive as possible.

  • The scope of work for this project was broken into several tasks and subtasks focusing on Branding and Marketing, Community outreach, Media relations, Digital PR, Website Development, Return on Investment and tracking, Customer Assistance program, Low income customers, Hispanic community and Tenants. GCWW advertised The scope of work through a public, competitive proposal process.  Xavier Learning Center/O’Keefe PR and Marketing Solutions the selected team. was selected through 

What’s the most interesting or fun aspect of your work with the company? 

  • We appreciate the can-do attitude of the company. They are consistently cheerful and optimistic, with no problem going unresolved. They are open and responsive to new issues and ideas. Suggestions from our staff are always welcome and enthusiastically bounced around the table. The resulting synergy inspires inventive ways of looking at what we are discussing.

How has your relationship with the company evolved or changed over time? How has the company reacted to or addressed any changes that your organization has requested in the scope/focus of your work together?

  • The relationship has evolved into a much larger and more comprehensive project including branding, website development, community outreach, fundraising, partnership building, thought leadership, publications, grants and awards. The company accepted all new challenges and requests with grace and enthusiasm.
  • The company worked with GCWW to establish creative and compelling branding for the Enhanced Lead Program. This branding served as the guide to develop a new website and community outreach materials. The company coordinated a team of content creators and a website developer to design, build, and populate a website specifically for the Enhanced Lead Program. The website building process lasted for months to ensure the program was accurately represented and that the user experience was effortless. Throughout the process the company identified opportunities to develop educations materials and messaging for future community outreach. The company created two high-quality educational videos and the resulting website was awarded an Honorable Mention in the Adobe Government Creativity Awards
  • The company created community awareness by researching the 52 neighborhoods in the city to identify influencers and civic organizations for our message. They developed community outreach materials to distribute in each community including flyers, doorhangers, posters, and pamphlets in coordination with GCWW’s existing outreach process. They identified local businesses for potential fundraising partnerships and secured involvement in fundraising activities including “HELP Fest with the Moerlein Lager House and “Cheers for Charity” at WestSide Brewing. They secured a media partner and leveraged partnership for on-air coverage in the Greater Cincinnati area.
  • The company developed Enhanced Lead Program social media content to share across GCWW’s LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter channels. They identified a content strategy around the Enhanced Lead Program to position GCWW as thought leaders. They pitched ideas to trade publications, securing two articles for industry journals. They also identified award and grant opportunities to give recognition for the Enhanced Lead Program.

Anything else to add about the company that we haven’t already asked you?

  • Greater Cincinnati Water Works’ lead service line replacement program has received national attention.  After a visit from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Administrator in 2018, the program was deemed a model for the water utility industry.  This program has now provided many utilities with information on how to establish similar programs in their communities in an innovative and engaging way. XLC/O’Keefe has helped us shape this program by drafting communications for the program, publishing articles, creating a call to action for community members, and developing a website that is easy to navigate just to name a few of the tasks. Our new website just won the Honorable Mention in the Adobe Government Creativity Awards for its design and ease of locating information.  XLC/O’Keefe has gone above and beyond in our partnership to seek fundraising events to raise money for our customer assistance program. Not only have they sought opportunities, they have also taught us how to seek these events and work to make them successful. Their patience and care with government processes were appreciated. It is because of their partnership, understanding of our business, patience, vision, creativity, innovation, and love of our city that they were able to successfully partner with GCWW and offer solutions that will benefit our community for years to come.  
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