Reliant Resources and CenterPoint Energy

To meet the challenges of industry deregulation and fast-changing U.S. and global energy markets, management decided to transform Reliant Energy into two separate, publicly traded companies — an unregulated energy generation and marketing company and a regulated energy distribution company, one of the largest gas and electric delivery companies in the U.S. Lister Butler worked with corporate management to assess the identity implications of the business plan and developed brand identity strategies and systems for both companies to position them for success in their respective market sectors.

For the unregulated company, Lister Butler developed a modified brand identity — Reliant Resources (NYSE: RRI) — to leverage the equity of the existing identity in newly competitive energy markets, while communicating a broader vision.

For the regulated company, we developed a new brand identity system, including the name CenterPoint Energy (NYSE: CNP). The new identity sends a strong signal to investors, customers, employees, and other key audiences that CenterPoint Energy is not a return to the utility of the past, but a new, integrated energy distribution company with a forward-looking mission and business strategy.