The 3CMA Savvy Awards celebrate excellence in local government communication, recognizing innovation, clarity, and engagement in city, county, and district communication projects nationwide. Nearly 1,200 entries had come in from 265 jurisdictions—a record, signaling that more cities and counties than ever are investing in the art and science of public trust. The message was clear: the playbook for city and county managers, communications directors, and information officers is being rewritten, not just by theory, but by the sweat and vision of real teams making a difference.

The challenge is as urgent as ever. Residents, inundated by headlines and hashtags, demand not only accuracy but also empathy and action. Missteps—outdated websites, confusing messaging, or delayed information—can unravel years of trust in mere moments. Yet this year’s 3CMA winners proved that renewed trust is possible, often on shoestring budgets and with teams that prize connection over bureaucracy. Their stories are not just instructive—they are profoundly inspiring.

What Sets Award Winners Apart, Lessons from the Frontline

The most compelling lesson from the winners is that when cities listen first and measure always, their communications become transformational. At the center of every successful campaign is a commitment to what matters most: real people. Projects that triumphed did so by returning to four foundational pillars: human connection, strategic storytelling, technical excellence, and constant iteration. The innovations on display ranged from crisis-driven updates to inclusive, data-driven newsletters, but each one put the resident—not the bureaucracy—at the heart.

Strategic storytelling made complex issues feel both personal and urgent. Arlington, Texas, seized on the city’s love of baseball to build understanding around the annual budget. Dublin, Ohio, tackled pandemic anxiety by making their Rec Pack more accessible and actionable—a project that resonated with residents and won a Silver Circle award for crisis management. These are not one-offs, but part of a broader shift toward campaigns that build community pride and mutual trust.

Top 6 Communication Strategies from This Year's Top-Performing Cities

1. Solve Resident Problems, Don't Just Announce: Shift your focus from press releases to addressing actual resident pain points. Demand-driven communication is effective communication.

2. Streamline Content Management: Centralize updates, remove outdated content, and ensure consistency and accessibility across all platforms.

3. Lead with Accessibility and Inclusivity: Go beyond compliance. Prioritize ADA and multilingual access to ensure your message reaches and serves every resident effectively.

4. Tell Engaging Stories, Not Broadcasts: Move from broadcasting information to fostering genuine engagement. Employ humor, humility, and encourage participation to make your communication relatable and memorable. Projects like Bedford's "SROs Last Day of School" and New Albany’s “Office Studio Series” exemplify how local pride and relatable storytelling humanize government.

5. Prioritize Crisis and Community Needs: Timely, accurate, and empathetic communication is paramount, especially during crises. Dublin, OH's award-winning campaign demonstrated the power of addressing real community needs to build and maintain public trust.

6. Embrace Visual Storytelling and Design: Leverage high-quality video production and creative graphics to simplify complex topics and make them more accessible and memorable. Arlington, TX, and McKinney, TX, have successfully used this approach.

The Cities That Win Are the Cities That Listen

A pattern emerging from the awards is striking: many of the municipalities racking up top-tier honors have one key element in common—they are Citibot customers or early adopters of advanced digital engagement. Consider McKinney, Texas, a repeated honoree for visual storytelling, creative branding, and social participation. Corpus Christi and Arlington, both Citibot users, took home awards for inclusive communications, dramatic newsletters, and innovative social campaigns. Bedford, TX; New Albany, OH; Buffalo Grove IL; Mont Belvieu, TX; and Arlington, TX—all featured in the winner’s circle—share a commitment to proactive resident service, many powered by Citibot’s multi-channel and multilingual AI solutions.

The evidence is compelling. Cities leveraging conversational AI and real-time digital tools like Citibot are not just keeping up—they’re excelling. Their projects feature accessible, seamless, and responsive communications, often in multiple languages. These agencies are reaching more residents, increasing engagement, and building reputational equity that pays off both with award judges and, more importantly, with constituents.

Real-World Examples: What Works (and Why)

Take Bedford, Texas—recognition flowed for a “Last Day of School” campaign that struck a balance between warmth and wit, going viral and earning trust. In Red Oak, Texas, a team of just two communicators turned public decorating holidays into community-wide celebrations through strategic use of Reels and viral posts. Both results point to the power of authenticity, humor, and humility in government messaging.

Coral Springs, Florida’s bold visuals and design, recognized with a Diamond Award, illustrate how top-tier branding can be as effective for a parks campaign as for a Fortune 100 company. Arlington, Texas, demonstrated that even weighty topics like the city’s annual budget could become inclusive, engaging, and—the greatest compliment—actually watched by residents when presented with energy, clarity, and creative narrative.

Multilingual engagement emerged as a clear driver for momentum, with cities like Corpus Christi, Palm Beach Gardens, and Pinellas County fielding successful bilingual and trilingual campaigns. Corpus Christi's Silver Circle-winning strategy highlighted effective outreach in multiple languages, while Palm Beach Gardens was noted in the whitepaper's narrative for fielding bilingual and trilingual campaigns addressing various community needs. Citibot’s capability to deploy multilingual AI conversations across web, text, and chat significantly empowered cities like Corpus Christi and Arlington to engage residents effectively, irrespective of their language preference.

Citibot Customer Cities and Their Award Wins

Citibot’s public sector customers—cities and counties that have adopted its multi-channel communication and content management solutions—have distinguished themselves at 3CMA, often sweeping multiple categories within their size class. Below main highlights of Citibot customer award winners, the categories in which they excelled, and the strategies that led to their success.