City of Homestead Continues National Winning Streak for Excellence in Citizen Communication & Government Transparency

The City of Homestead continued an impressive six-year winning streak at the 2018 City-County Communications & Marketing Association’s Savvy Awards Competition. The annual competition recognizes cities and counties across the country for excellence in government transparency, information flow, and public outreach. This year, the City took home five awards, bringing the total number of Homestead’s awards to more than two dozen.

Six years ago, Homestead’s Mayor and Council challenged City Staff to set a new standard for government communications. The City’s approach has been to focus on providing important information in creative ways without the usual government speak. Below are some of the comments from the Judges in each of the categories that the City was recognized for:

Social Media—Best Use of Facebook
Award of Excellence
Hurricane Irma Crisis Communications
Comprehensive approach to communications campaign that incorporated use of Facebook. Lots of nice production for photos, videos and staff “anchors” at EOC. Good understanding of audience, especially with providing information in both Spanish and English.

Video—Education/Training
Silver Circle Award
Hitting the Road with Inside Homestead
This video took a complex and unpopular message and delivered it in a positive and easy to understand manner. The host was likeable and had great energy. The pacing was good and the video production quality was great. The judges were impressed with the out of the box approach and felt the goal of the video was achieved. Well done.

Video—Interview/Talk Show/News Programming
Silver Circle Award
Inside Homestead Interviews
Homestead’s polished and professional design and concept are setting a new gold standard for municipal TV production. Clean, clear, and concise. Big budget network TV news feel. Very impressive! Great set.

Video—One-Time Special
Award of Excellence
Hitting the Road with Inside Homestead
The onair talent (Josh) was very personable and likable, he did a great job of writing and editing this package for clarity and understanding for the everyday resident. He “humanized” the City and made us believe the City really cares about helping us with current traffic challenges. The package was excellently edited and the use of graphics was easy to understand, even for someone who isn’t a technical thinker/analytical.

Video—Promotional Video
Silver Circle Award
Hitting the Road with Inside Homestead
Well produced video with great camera movements and use of graphics and animation. The host was well versed in the topic and relayed the information in an engaging manner. This is an excellent example of taking mundane material and making it entertaining!

For more information on 3CMA and the Savvy Awards, please visit their website: www.3cma.org