PROJECT: “TO FIND AND LIGHT A CANDLE IN THE DARKEST HOUR” AGENCY: KRAGELUND KOMMUNICATION CLIENT: MUNICIPALITY OF AARHUS Finalist Business-to-Consumer (B2C)

February 2015 a major crisis hit the municipality of Aarhus. It was revealed that yearlong mismanagement in the department handling applications and approvals of all kinds of building and construction-projects caused heavy and widespread problems. This resulting in great fiscal loss for the municipality, year-long delays of big and prestigious building-projects, constructors firing people, local media running campaigns against the municipality, business associations blaming the politicians for doing nothing, angry politicians calling for action and collecting votes, etc. etc.
Kragelund Kommunikation was involved, and we immediately saw that the job was to “to find and light a candle in the darkest hour”. And this was our mantra when we orchestrated an issue management-package. Over more than a year this package involved strategic advising and planning combined with tactical communication work involving surveys, press work, external communication, internal communication and training, workshops, and many other tools. This package succeeded time after time to draw attention from all the notorious problems and focusing on the measures taking to solve the problems and of course the results created. After 1½ year the department is back on its feet, delivering their services – in time – even though building-activity today is higher than ever before.