...prepare for unprecedented energy usage driven by new technologies, continue to advance the clean energy transition, and attract new types of talent, equipped to solve meaningful, challenges for the industry.  

To meet these ambitions, the company needed to first pass a significant capital plan to fund the work—and rally their employees around its execution. Success would require a brand that resonated across regions and built trust with their audiences, now and through industry change. And it needed to unite and motivate employees to deliver.  

For many years, Xcel Energy had anchored its reputation to leadership in the clean energy transition. That had served them well with industry insiders and shareholders. But as Lippincott engaged hundreds of stakeholders in interviews—from residential and business customers to state regulators—we found it was no longer fully serving them with customers and communities.  

We also learned that extreme weather and energy demand were impacting reliability and cost. Customers were glad that their energy provider was a green leader, but they also wanted more focus on what was best for them. They didn’t want to be taken for granted and felt if they had to be served by a monopoly, the service needed to be incredibly customer centric. If customers believed Xcel Energy delivered good value and delivered a modern customer experience, it would then be easier for regulators, investors and legislators to support the company’s ambitions.  

From these insights, we crafted the big brand idea, Making Energy Work Better, which evokes exceptional service, operational excellence, applied expertise, and clean energy leadership, while placing customers at the heart of the brand. Along with experience-oriented commitments, the new brand idea has become an actionable mission for employees, keeping focus on continuous improvement for the people they serve. 
The brand strategy was complemented by an employee promise meant to drive the internal experience improvements needed and ensure current employees would be empowered to deliver for customers.  

Making energy work better for customers meant ensuring the company wasn’t seen as making costly design changes for the sake of change. The new visual system was built around two strategic goals: keeping the well-known logo and well-recognized red color in place, so expensive changes to fleet, uniforms and building signs could be avoided, and creating a design system that reinforced customer centricity, with communications that were easier to engage with and geography-specific elements that showed focus on people and communities.   

The new visual identity elevates customers as the heroes of the Xcel Energy story. Imagery celebrates customers’ lives and how they interact with energy. Bold typography and a dynamic graphic language highlight the impact Xcel has on its customers.  A special set of badges for each state served, and a custom illustration library inspired by meaningful landmarks, builds a sense of locality into the visual expression. 

The bold new brand voice was built to complement the visual expression and bring to life their “modern with grit” personality—speaking candidly and optimistically, with a can-do attitude and an unwavering commitment to do the right thing.  

Armed with its evolved brand, Xcel Energy is equipped to weather any storm, from literal natural disasters to shifting customer expectations and regulatory demands. The new identity and narrative shift perceptions from a traditional utility to a service-obsessed, innovative energy partner—perceptions that will power the brand’s growth.