|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
By Willie Brown
The City of Inglewood’s Video and Social Media team earned national recognition last week, taking home two prestigious awards for their ‘How Wood Are You?’ series at the 2024 3CMA Savvy Awards in Arlington, Texas. Celebrating the best in creative marketing and communications for cities and counties nationwide, Inglewood won Best Overall Social Media Strategy and Most Innovative Communications, standing out among over 1,100 entries from across the United States and Canada.
The ‘How Wood Are You?’ series was created and developed by Thomas Bunn to engage younger audiences, promote community pride, and provide humorous yet educational content. Co-producer Alani Perkins, an Inglewood native and proud graduate of St. Mary’s Academy, also hosts the series, bringing a fun and engaging energy that gives each episode its unique charm. With filmmakers Kendell Sellers and Carlos Orozco contributing through their creative work in videography and photography, the series quickly became the City’s highest-performing social media initiative, widely celebrated by the community.
Thomas Bunn, Inglewood’s Video and Social Media Manager, explained, “How Wood Are You” was designed to focus on our community while making folks feel proud to be from Inglewood. Our guiding ethos was to entertain and educate through humor, and we’re thrilled with how well it’s been received.”
The campaign’s results speak volumes: Inglewood’s social media following increased by 25%, post reach jumped by 63% to 1.7 million users, and profile reach skyrocketed by 64.5% to 2.1 million users compared to the previous year.
The Savvy Award judges commended the series as a benchmark for civic engagement, stating: “The ‘How Wood Are You?’ series effectively combines humor and education to increase engagement, promote community pride, and provide valuable civic information.” The judges also praised the team’s resourcefulness in producing the series in-house without additional costs.
Bunn, a life-long Inglewood resident, has revolutionized the way the City communicates with the public since joining City Hall 8 years ago. His creativity and leadership has brought Inglewood national acclaim, having now won four Savvy Awards in the last three years. Inglewood Today is proud of former contributor Thomas Bunn, who was instrumental in the rebranding of the newspaper. During his time with us, Bunn highlighted the accomplishments of the city’s youth through his series ‘Inglewood on the Positive Side,’ which celebrated the positive impact young people were making in the community.
The City’s recent Savvy Award win is a testament to the dedication and creativity of the team, and it solidifies Inglewood’s place as a leader in innovative, community-focused communications nationwide.
