The winners of the 2021 Outstanding Awards program have been announced. Thank you to the cities who submitted entries for our peer-judged awards program – you are all doing fantastic work!
The winning projects and honorable mentions in each category are highlighted below. We can’t wait to see the innovative projects you are working on for next year’s program!
Congratulations to the following cities:
Municipal Marketing Campaign (Population of 10,000 or Less) Outstanding Award
City of Wauchula – “What Do We Do” Campaign
The goal of the “What Do We Do” marketing campaign was to inform residents about the variety of responsibilities of each municipal department, keep them abreast of ongoing and upcoming projects and share how their work affects the citizens. On the first of each month, around noon, a new social media infographic was posted highlighting a certain department. This was the first time the City completed a social media campaign and gave citizens a closer look at municipal operations. The information for each infographic was curated by the department’s supervisor.
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Municipal Marketing Campaign (Population of 10,001 or More) Outstanding Award Winner
City of Largo – “Stronger Together Largo, Just Spaced Out a Little” Marketing Campaign
The goal of the “Stronger Together Largo, Just Spaced Out a Little” campaign was to protect the health and safety of the City’s team members and the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Creative ways to do this included an informational video from the city manager, internal webinars where city staff had the opportunity to ask questions directly of leadership and virtual happy hours and trivia nights. Communicators developed a designated landing page for COVID-related updates on the City’s website and hosted events such as a 4th of July neighborhood parade and a virtual visit with the Easter bunny. The team also produced several informational videos and graphics about staying home, physical distancing and mask-wearing.
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Municipal Marketing Campaign (Population of 10,001 or More) Honorable Mention Winner
City of Hollywood – “COVAID Direct Financial Assistance Program” Campaign
The goal of the “COVAID Direct Financial Assistance Program” was to promote the availability of CARES ACT direct financial assistance for Hollywood residents and business owners who were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The “COVAID” theme was a creative play on words to highlight the financial aid portion to grab the attention of those in need and notify them that assistance was available. In addition to door-to-door outreach, a unique 30-foot tall banner was also hung from City Hall to attract the attention of travelers through the high-traffic City Hall Circle corridor.
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Best Podcast Outstanding Award Winner
City of Oldsmar – Experience Oldsmar Podcast – featuring City Manager Al Braithwaite
The city developed the Experience Oldsmar podcast to enhance the goals and objectives of Oldsmar’s City Council priority toward a more automated and connected community. The episode were videotaped, posted on all major social media and podcast platforms and promoted through the city’s monthly e-newsletter. This episode featured guest speaker Al Braithwaite, Oldsmar City Manager. Oldsmar residents and business stakeholders learned of the various duties of his position.
Listen to the podcast here
Best Podcast Honorable Mention Winner
City of Oldsmar – Experience Oldsmar Podcast – featuring the Upper Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce
The city developed the Experience Oldsmar podcast to enhance the goals and objectives of Oldsmar’s City Council priority toward a more automated and connected community. The episode were videotaped, posted on all major social media and podcast platforms and promoted through the city’s monthly e-newsletter. This episode featured guest speaker was Jason Sanders, Chairman of the Upper Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber, its members, and the Oldsmar business and residential communities learned of the various programs and vital initiatives for a robust Economic Development relationship with the City.
Listen to the podcast here
Best Publication Outstanding Award Winner
City of Tallahassee – Year In Review
The publication was designed to provide a high-level, yet comprehensive recap of the outstanding accomplishments the city performed in 2020. The presentation garnered approximately 12,000 impressions and was made available in print and digital formats. A custom video was created announcing its availability and embedded on the city’s website, and distributed on the city’s social media platforms. Both versions contained a letter from the city manager and a section listing every city employee to acknowledge the contribution of every team member delivering best-in-class service to the City’s residents.
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Best Publication Honorable Mention Winner
City of Hollywood – Economic Development Activity Report with Legislative Report Supplement
The Economic Development Activity Report is an all-encompassing publication that highlights the City of Hollywood, and the development activity recently completed, underway and planned for the City. Signature projects are highlighted, as are the development opportunities city-wide. The Legislative Booklet is a companion piece that highlights the legislative priorities for the City, as well as a quarterly report card and status update on the City’s strategic goals.
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Best Publication Honorable Mention Winner
City of Palm Beach Gardens – The Official City of Palm Beach Gardens Hurricane Guide
The goal of the Hurricane Resource Guide was to provide an easy-to-follow, concise guide that covered hurricane-related topics and preparation information that would appeal to residents of all ages. Objectives included creating a document with a long shelf life to retain accuracy for several years, dividing the guide into pre-, during and post-storm content, providing information specific to city residents and including community utility partners who are vital to recovery efforts.
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Best Use of Social Media Outstanding Award Winner
City of Coral Springs – City of Coral Springs Influencer Campaign, #CSPROUDSQUAD
The overall goal of the Influencer campaign was to strengthen the bonds within their community while showcasing why Coral Springs is such a great place to work, live, raise a family and even travel. Influencers created content showcasing businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic letting the community know the businesses were ready to safely welcome customers. Content was provided to the City for posting, and influencers were tagged. The three-month social media pilot resulted in more than 1,000 new followers to the City’s Instagram and over 500,000 unique impressions.
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Best Use of Social Media Honorable Mention Winner
City of Tallahassee – City of Tallahassee Tornado Response
On January 27, 2021, the City of Tallahassee and the surrounding area experienced severe weather. Two tornadoes touched down within Leon County, one of which touched down just west of Tallahassee International Airport, impacting service and resulting in on-site damage. City of Tallahassee staff quickly responded to the dangerous situation. Before, during and after the storm, staff disseminated accurate, critical information via social media to help keep residents and visitors safe.
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Best Use of External Video Outstanding Award Winner
City of Alachua – The Good Life Community Thanksgiving
The goal of the video was to creatively instill a sense of hope, encouragement and community pride in their citizens and visitors and serve as a springboard to begin putting the previous COVID year and the pandemic behind them. Alachua utilized both TV commercial ad space and Facebook as their delivery platforms. The video aired throughout Thanksgiving day, reaching more than 8,000 people, creating thousands of engagements, reactions and comments.
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Best Use of External Video Honorable Mention Winner
City of Crystal River – Kings Bay Riverwalk Phase II Video
The goal of the video was to create a high-quality, real-life, finished project of the Kings Bay Riverwalk to obtain public buy-in and excitement for the project from citizens, business owners, and local, county, and state elected officials. The video was also used to raise funds to complete the project from the Florida Legislature. This project included multi-agency participation and employed the utilization of a local company.
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Best Use of Internal Video Outstanding Award Winner
City of Coconut Creek – CreekTALK Kids Bird Watching
The goal of the video was to provide programming for children to help ease the burden of the shutdown caused by the pandemic. The campaign was shared on the City’s YouTube account as well as the City’s other social media sites. The video was also sent to teachers locally. It features kids teaching their peers, providing an escape for children during a tough time. The video had more than 7,000 views, received statewide recognition and was shared by the National Audubon Society.
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Best Use of Internal Video Outstanding Award Winner
City of Coral Springs – Public Safety Telecommunications Recruiting Video
The goal of the video was to increase awareness and interest in the City’s public safety telecommunications department, including increasing the number of people applying for positions within the department. The City’s human resources department saw a 10% increase in applications since the video aired. The video reached nearly 2,000 people on Facebook and Instagram combined.
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Best Use of Internal Video Outstanding Award Winner
Village of Pinecrest – State of the Village 2020
The goal of the video was to present the annual State of the Village to residents digitally for the first time. It was shared on social media and via email. The Village’s communications team directed, wrote, edited and produced the video and handled the lighting, equipment, videography and music. It received a standing ovation at the State of the Village event.
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Best Use of Internal Video Honorable Mention Winner
Village of Pinecrest – Growing Inspiration Capital Improvement Campaign
The goal of the video was to introduce the Growing Inspiration Capital Fund Raising Campaign to the public. The Growing Inspiration Capital Campaign will fund a wonderous, one-of-a-kind place where children of all abilities can laugh, learn and play together. People of all abilities will play with animals, enjoy an awe-inspiring playground, learn about gardening, tour 14 acres of botanical garden and native landscapes, enjoy theater, live music and art.
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Best Web Resource Outstanding Award Winner
City of Kissimmee – Kissimmee Responds
The goal of the web resource was to increase community engagement by providing residents and visitors with first-hand information on how COVID-19 was impacting the community by using different web tools. The communications and public affairs office created new web pages dedicated to the COVID-19 health crisis. These pages provided detailed information about the City’s operations, impacts and restrictions, assistance for both individuals and business owners, and all news releases were produced in both English and Spanish.
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Best Web Resource Honorable Mention Winner
City of Delray Beach – City of Delray Beach Utilities Web Resource
Following a recent change in city leadership and the desire to be more transparent with residents and stakeholders, in January 2021, city staff launched a new, prominent section on the City’s website titled “City Water” aimed at restoring the public’s trust in the City’s potable and reclaimed water systems through education.
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