City of Evanston Earns National Recognition for COVID-19 Digital Communications Campaign

The City of Evanston’s comprehensive efforts to inform and engage community members during the COVID-19 pandemic have earned it top honors from the national City-County Communications and Marketing Association (3CMA).

3CMA recognized Evanston with its first-place “Savvy Award” for 2021-22 in the “Digital Interactive COVID-19 public relations" category at its annual conference in Portland, Oregon earlier this month. The Savvy Awards recognize outstanding local government achievements in communications, public-sector marketing and resident-government relationships. 

“Throughout the pandemic, the City has worked collaboratively with our community partners and elected officials to provide residents with timely information and resources to protect their health and the health of our entire community,” said City Manager Luke Stowe. “I’m proud that 3CMA has recognized these outstanding efforts, which helped Evanston achieve a more than 90 percent vaccination rate while also increasing public trust and understanding during a very challenging time in our history.”

The City launched its campaign in January 2021, when COVID-19 vaccines were only recently approved and coveted vaccination appointments were scarce. Working with elected officials, including Mayor Stephen Hagerty and Mayor Daniel Biss, as well as local healthcare providers and community organizations, the City's Communications Division and Health and Human Services Department employed a variety of tools to inform and engage residents, including live “Coronavirus Q&As” broadcast on Facebook and Channel 16, weekly “Situation Reports” distributed through the City’s e-Newsletter, periodic “Messages from the Mayor” providing situational awareness and insight into the City’s pandemic response, interactive vaccination and case data dashboards, digital infographics and flyers, and much more.

In addition to receiving recognition for its COVID-19 communications campaign, the City was also awarded 3CMA’s second-place “Silver Circle Award'' for its weekly e-Newsletter, which provides a roundup of City and community news and events. Community members can subscribe to the City’s e-News and other notifications at cityofevanston.org/newsletter.

About 3CMA

The City-County Communications & Marketing Association is the nation's premiere network of local government communicators. The organization was founded in 1988 on the philosophy that communications and marketing are essential to helping governments engage and build stronger relationships with their residents.