Municipal Association Executive Director Todd Glover, left, presents an Achievement Award trophy for the Communications Category to Greenville Mayor Knox White during the 2021 Annual Meeting on Hilton Head Island. (download photo)
The City of Greenville has received a Municipal Achievement Award for its Video Week-in-Review. The city won in the communications category. Twenty-seven cities and towns submitted their projects and initiatives for consideration in the annual awards.
Although the City of Greenville spends tens of millions of dollars every year on services and projects, those efforts can often remain unknown to residents. To more effectively communicate and engage with its residents, the city created the Week-in-Review videos to tell its own stories in a fun, conversational way and to increase transparency.
Greenville’s Department of Communications and Neighborhood Relations publishes the two-to-three-minute videos each Friday. The videos highlight how city staff is accomplishing council priorities in such areas as valuable growth, environmental sustainability, public transportation, recreation and events.
The videos are an outgrowth of a written Week-in-Review, originally used only for an audience of city staff. The communications department developed a form for managers to submit news, and hired a multimedia communications specialist to develop stories and create external digital content.
Stakeholders around Greenville and news outlets regularly share the videos, and staff has received feedback from new residents that the videos are helping them understand what is happening in the city. The videos have received more than 153,000 videos across the city’s online platforms. Because the project began during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has also helped create connections even in the absence of normal engagement efforts and meetings.
“Greenville’s Week-in-Review videos serve as a great example to other cities on how consistent communication with residents helps create positive relationships,” said Todd Glover, executive director for the Municipal Association.
These winning entries represent innovative projects undertaken by Municipal Association member cities and towns. Information and a video about the project are available on the Association’s website or by visiting www.masc.sc (keyword: Achievement Awards).
The Municipal Association of SC initiated the Achievement Awards in 1987 to recognize and encourage innovations and excellence in local government.
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