The winners of the 2024 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! View the full list here.
Congratulations to the following cities:
Annual Report – Outstanding Award Winner
City of North Port
At a time of new city leadership, the goal of the report was to increase transparency and accountability to the public, as well as present residents with a concise and clear picture of city revenues, expenses and overall financial health in an easily accessible, digital format. The report featured a video message from the new city manager and incorporated staff photos throughout to put more of a face to local government.
Annual Report – Honorable Mention
Town of Jupiter
Brand Guide – Outstanding Award Winner
Town of Jupiter
The purpose of the Town of Jupiter’s brand identity guide is to provide an explanation and framework for the town’s brand identity, purpose and implementation. It lays out context and background on what the town’s brand means – to residents, businesses, visitors, elected officials and employees – and how the brand should be embodied in various forms of communication. The materials for this guide also include a “brand at a glance” sheet that staff members can easily reference as well as brand guidelines for partners that allow those doing business with the town to have a quicker understanding of the town’s brand guidelines.
Brand Guide – Honorable Mention
City of Boca Raton
Communications Plan – Outstanding Award Winner
City of North Port
North Port’s Communications Division recently moved to a centralized model, changing how its public outreach is handled. This shift prompted the need for a cohesive strategic communications document that compiled the projects and topics the city focused on, along with the means and methods they used to help shape the messages they sent across the city’s channels and to traditional media. The plan includes demographic information to help tailor communications to specific audiences as well as clearly defined measurable goals and objectives, ensuring the team makes strides in their public information presence.
Communications Plan – Honorable Mention
City of Tallahassee
Crisis Response – Outstanding Award Winner
City of Tallahassee
During the city’s response to Hurricane Idalia, every member of the communications team actively engaged, working 12-hour shifts around the clock in the EOC or in the field. The team shared 169 informative posts across various city social media channels. These efforts resulted in over 1.1 million impressions and 93,000 engagements. The city cultivated two-way communication with residents by responding to all inquiries submitted via the city’s main social media accounts on Facebook and X. They also filmed field crews actively responding to the recovery, producing compelling videos, amassing over 99,000 views from August 25 to September 1, 2023. The city’s footage was even showcased on the weather channel during an interview with Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey.
Crisis Response – Honorable Mention
City of Miramar
Magazine – Outstanding Award Winner
City of Oldsmar
Oldsmar Top of the Bay is a 32-page, full-color magazine published three times per year. The winning issue showcased the Oldsmar sports complex with a cover image and center spread highlighting the history and improvements of this premier facility. The magazine also featured event highlights, council and board meeting dates, as well as information about recent changes to Florida statutes regarding golf carts, an important issue for the community. The magazine is mailed directly to all residents, with extra copies strategically placed at key locations such as city hall, the public library, and recreation centers. A digital version is accessible through a dedicated webpage.
Magazine – Honorable Mention
City of Tallahassee
External Marketing Campaign – Outstanding Award Winner
Orlando Utilities Commission
The goals of the campaign were to recognize the men and women who have provided reliable, affordable, resilient and sustainable services to the central Florida community for the last 100 years, and to reinforce the commission’s commitment to the same for the next 100 years and beyond. The campaign also aimed to promote the commission’s dedication to its employees, customers and communities, and to educate and engage customers, community partners and the greater central Florida area on OUC’s rich history and commitment to the future. The campaign duration lasted from July to December 2023 and garnered more than 10 million impressions across their website, social media, videos and paid advertising. The commission put up displays around the city, and held an employee appreciation event and a legacy luncheon allowing for reflection and appreciation of its century of service.
External Marketing Campaign – Honorable Mention
City of Port St. Lucie
Internal Marketing Campaign – Outstanding Award Winner
Village of Pinecrest
After a pause due to the pandemic, there was an outcry for the village of Pinecrest to bring back the annual family-friendly Halloween event. The village’s communications division developed a drip campaign to promote the comeback event. The emails had an average open rate of 58% and reached more than half the village’s residents. A full-length video was produced engaging staff, the mayor and the village’s youth advisory council.
Internal Marketing Campaign – Honorable Mentions
Town of Cutler Bay and City of Coral Springs
Newsletter – Outstanding Award Winner
City of Dania Beach
As the oldest city in Broward County, Dania Beach’s newsletter, “The Pioneer,” reflects the city’s commitment to innovation, leadership, and community engagement. It was created in response to a public communication gap due to information only being provided through social media and the city website. The newsletter provides a dynamic platform for community interaction and feedback, and is mailed directly to residents’ homes. The 9-page newsletter combines classic design elements with modern flair and was produced by a single dedicated staff member. It is also available electronically from the city’s website.
Newsletter – Honorable Mention
City of Winter Park
Podcast– Outstanding Award Winner
City of Port St. Lucie
The goal of the podcast is to provide accessible, in-depth discussions on city initiatives, fostering transparency and community connection, and bridging communication gaps ensuring residents are informed about local affairs. The program received nearly 1,000 downloads in just six months and received positive listener feedback. The PSL on the Mic podcast is operated by a small team with a limited budget of $1,000. They demonstrate resourcefulness, skillfully balancing in-house talents and external resources to deliver an engaging and high-quality product.
Podcast – Honorable Mentions
City of Sanford and City of West Palm Beach
Social Media Campaign – Outstanding Award Winner
City of Winter Park
The Communications Department wanted people to recognize Winter Park as a holiday destination and family outing space during the season. Residents and guests were invited to step into five life-size greeting cards sprinkled throughout downtown to take holiday photos. They were encouraged to submit the photos and post them on varying social media accounts for a chance to be entered into a holiday raffle. The cards were designed by a local business person and helped bridge the gap between offline and online interactions. Engagements and audiences on both Facebook and Instagram skyrocketed during the campaign.
Social Media Campaign – Honorable Mention
City of Cape Coral
Social Media Post – Outstanding Award Winner
City of Oldsmar
The City of Oldsmar provides a weekly social media post segment titled ‘Did You Know’ to bring awareness to the many services and opportunities provided within its community. This year’s winning post was developed when a doll was found at one of the city’s local parks. The post, affectionally called ‘Sierra’, aimed to increase awareness of how the City of Oldsmar manages lost and found items. The found doll was the perfect prop to promote what the public can do to find lost items, what direction to take to help in their search, and where to turn in found items from city parks, facilities, and events. The Facebook post reached over 12,000 users who aided in the city’s attempt to reunite Sierra the doll with her rightful owner.
Social Media Post – Honorable Mention
City of Coral Springs
Special Event – Outstanding Award Winner
City of Cape Coral
With only two weeks of lead time, the city’s Communications Team was enlisted to help put on an inaugural citywide Trunk or Treat event after noticing Cape Coral families were experiencing trauma from recent storm-related impacts. With many of the city’s residents still without power and intermittent access to wi-fi and cell service, communications staff creatively designed promotional materials, including a “spooky” version of the cape coral logo and launched a multi-faceted marketing and public relations campaign to brand and promote the event. This blitz approach and collaboration with community partners helped to create an immediate “buzz” around the event and reach digitally out-of-touch residents by “word of mouth.” The Facebook page reached more than 47-thousand people, and roughly 4,000 attended the event … four times the city’s original goal.
Special Event – Honorable Mention
City of Boca Raton
External Video – Outstanding Award Winner
City of Weston
The video was designed to provide a tool for the city during hurricane season. The 2-and-a-half-minute preparedness video covered a large amount of information in a short amount of time. The video served as a Weston-themed visual that city speakers could easily bring to an event or share with groups such as homeowners associations or schools. To date, the video has more than 12,000 views.
External Video – Honorable Mention
Orlando Utilities Commission
Website – Outstanding Award Winner
Town of Jupiter
Following a redesign in 2023, the Town of Jupiter’s website is engaging and easy to navigate. The website features a prominent video section and “sticky” navigation bar, providing easy access to essential information and promoting upcoming events. The use of quick navigation links and a news carousel adds to the dynamic and engaging nature of the site. Since its launch, the website has received positive feedback from users and has seen an increase in engagement. The site’s accessibility features, including links to the community-building gaming app, Passport to Jupiter, and an app for connecting with town staff, have further enhanced its usability and utility for residents.
Website – Honorable Mentions
City of Jacksonville Beach and City of Sanford
Internal Video – Outstanding Award Winner
City of St. Petersburg
For the first time in the City of St. Petersburg, Gloria Muñoz, a native Spanish-speaking poet, became the city’s official poet laureate. To commemorate the mayor’s first year in office, Munoz wrote a poem titled “Somos St. Pete” or, “We Are St. Pete” which happened to be the Mayor’s theme. The poem was performed for the mayor’s state of the city address and added to the city’s first-ever Spanish language page on the city’s website. To continue the momentum of the webpage, the content team filmed a video with Muñoz delivering the poem to the camera, celebrating the essence of the city. The video helped provide content to the Spanish language webpage, celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month on social media and the city’s local TV station, and make viewers feel the words in the poem as if they were there in the moment. Without any promotion, boosts, or paid advertising, the video garnered nearly 13,000 views and more than 200 unique interactions!