Strengthening the future of the water workforce
bottleneck
Charged with expanding its EPA-funded workforce program across multiple U.S. markets to address critical labor shortages, The Water Tower needed a recruitment engine capable of driving national impact.
service applied
Strategy, campaign messaging, creative direction, copywriting, web development, digital marketing, video direction, partner enablement
breakthrough
Bā built and launched Water Needs You, a scalable national recruitment campaign spanning strategy, segmented messaging, design and web development, along with an asset toolkit and “how to use” guide for utility partners.
Utilities are facing mounting labor shortages as experienced workers retire nationwide across drinking water, wastewater and stormwater systems.
The Water Tower Institute is a nonprofit dedicated to advancing the water industry through applied research, technology innovation and workforce development. To rebuild the workforce, the organization launched the Water Workforce Training & Recruitment Hub through a nearly $2 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The immediate mission was to expand workforce development into priority markets including Greenville, S.C., Jackson, Miss., Richmond, Calif., and Atlanta.
Client
The Water TowerIndustry
Water workforce developmentDuration
10 months
approach and execution
While The Water Tower already delivered hands-on, field-based training, it lacked a cohesive recruitment strategy capable of reaching priority communities and converting awareness into action at scale. The Water Tower selected Bā for its deep roots in the water industry and its experience developing integrated marketing strategies for complex infrastructure and workforce initiatives.
“Bā brought creativity and originality together in a way that made the development of The Water Tower's ‘Water Needs You’ campaign an exciting and collaborative process,” says Melissa Meeker, Chief Executive Officer. “Their workshop-based, multi-disciplinary team approach combined new ideas with intentional messaging. They helped us clarify our direction, and the multiple visual options gave us confidence in our final choices. The result is a water sector recruitment campaign that feels authentic to who we are.”
Bā began with strategic narrative development, building a unified campaign platform anchored in a simple, direct message that positioned water careers as stable, essential and accessible. The result was Water Needs You, a bold national recruitment message designed to center the audience as critical to the future of water.
From there, Bā developed a segmented messaging strategy informed by The Water Tower’s priority personas and whitepapers developed by partner social service nonprofit organizations. These insights highlighted key audiences, including Latinx communities, justice-impacted individuals, youth in Career and Technical Education programs and women entering or re-entering the workforce. Bā translated this research into required culturally responsive language tailored to each audience, while still aligning to one cohesive national narrative.
The agency designed the messaging to meet people in real-world decision environments, whether in workforce centers, community organizations, transit corridors or support programs, and consistently directed them to a single action: visit WaterNeedsYou.org. The corresponding design system used bright, optimistic color palettes and authentic imagery to ensure every asset felt accessible and community-centered.
With strategy established, Bā translated the framework into execution, designing and launching the WaterNeedsYou.org landing page as the campaign’s central conversion hub. Bā created segment-specific flyer systems, outreach materials and digital assets tailored to each priority audience, as well as a comprehensive career pathway map to visualize advancement across targeted career tracks in operations, trade, engineering, compliance and business services.
To enable scale, Bā also delivered a partner activation toolkit including press templates and media talking points, equipping utilities with ready-to-deploy messaging while maintaining national consistency.
Together, the work delivered more than campaign assets. It established a repeatable recruitment infrastructure designed to expand opportunity, diversify the workforce and strengthen the future of water systems across the country.
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