The Trophy Club Communications Division took home its first-ever TAMI award at the Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers (TAMIO) Conference last week.
Jill Lind, Communications & Marketing Manager, received on behalf of the Town of Trophy Club the Award of Excellence for the 2018 Fourth of July Celebration Whiteboard video in the category of Video - Public Service Announcement (Marketing) for cities with a population under 60,000.
“The July 4th Celebration in Trophy Club Texas is a time-honored tradition that encompasses three separate events throughout the day. This is the largest event effort the town has in place currently and it is a cherished tradition for the residents that participate,” stated Jill Lind. “In 2018 however, big and potentially frustrating changes had to be made to the ending celebration and fireworks. The launch location as well and the height of the firework launch needed to relocate which would be a disappointment to many who plan their annual festivities centered around their vantage point.”
The challenge was how to convey and communicate this message without alarming and infuriating the residents. It was a change that would have a ripple effect and therefore Lind wanted to deliver it in the gentlest (yet effective) way possible. As a result, she came up with a fun whiteboard video to serve this purpose. The goal was to remind people of the many activities taking place while also letting them know of the launch location changes that could affect their views. The resulting video was born and overall was received extremely well from an analytic perspective. The video itself had nearly 2,500 views on Facebook and YouTube and helped garner nearly 11,494 website Pageviews, 10,048 Unique Website Pageviews, with an average time on the page of 4:57.
Overall the Fourth of July’s event activities were mostly a success aside from the ending firework display having been cut short due to weather and small technical fire at the launch site. Lind felt the expectations on the show display were clearly set and that in doing so people were satisfied with the communication efforts made. Trophy Club is 4.2 square miles and has a strong social media platform that residents utilize on the daily, but by communicating the information and hitting it with a feather vs a hammer, it was a success overall.
“Providing strong internal and external communication to the Town of Trophy Club is one of our primary goals,” stated Interim Town Manager Jonathan Phillips, “This was an excellent project and is reflective of the wonderful work Jill Lind does to communicate to the community!”
The awards recognize outstanding communication by Texas communities in a variety of categories. Judging is conducted by non-TAMIO members with expertise in communications and municipal government. TAMIO recognizes municipalities for communication excellence in more than 20 categories.
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About TAMIO:
The Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers (TAMIO) was developed as a result of the increasingly complex role of public information in municipal government. When organized in 1974, only a handful of Texas cities employed professional communications staffs. Today, TAMIO has a growing number of public information / public relation specialists serving small communities as well as urban centers throughout the state.
TAMIO actively seeks to:
- Advance and promote the active cooperation and exchange of information and ideas among Texas cities;
- Provide professional development for public information and communications managers who work in municipal government or similar agencies;
- Provide relations assistance where possible to municipalities and the Texas Municipal League (TML); and
- Promote recognition outside the organization for achievement in communication with citizens.
TAMIO is an affiliate of the Texas Municipal League, which was organized in 1913 and currently represents some 98% of Texas’ urban population through its more than 1,150 member cities. Guided by its purpose statement—Empowering Texas cities to serve their citizens—the League helps city leaders meet the ever-changing challenges of governance. As partners, TML and TAMIO offer the best in representation and assistance to cities and their respective colleagues. For more information, visit www.texastamio.org
About Communications and Marketing in Trophy Club:
The Communications and Marketing Manager is committed to providing the highest quality of service to our residents and the community, as well as all departments and programs within the Town of Trophy Club by sharing the Town's strategic vision and core values for stewardship, service, teamwork, accountability, and leadership across multiple communication channels.
The Communications Manager is charged with managing day-to-day communications from the town to a variety of audiences. The Communications Manager relays public information to the community regarding an array of issues, from new laws to park additions and emergency notifications. The Communications Manager provides information to the media and works with department heads, elected officials and civic groups in town on a variety of communication, marketing, and advertising projects. For more information, visit www.trophyclub.org/communications