Municipal Innovators Conference
Getting people excited about a government conference—no easy feet
(that’s a pun not a spelling mistake—check out the video)
(that’s a pun not a spelling mistake—check out the video)
Video was created with Adobe Premier Pro and After Effects.
How it all started
It all started with a small, plucky group of dedicated public servants who are pushing the boundaries of how local governments work and deliver services.
It all started with a small, plucky group of dedicated public servants who are pushing the boundaries of how local governments work and deliver services.
With a growing Municipal Innovators Community and two years of small, but growing conferences in the bank, aspirations and expectations were mounting.
We wanted to appeal beyond Ontario and open ourselves to more than just people who work in municipal government.
So how could we grab attention? Great content presented in fun, dynamic ways. Not unusual in many cases, but not the norm for government.
What was different about your approach? Who was involved?
Supported by the dedicated Municipal Innovators Community, the City of Guelph team amplified its reach by using as many existing networks as we could to get great speaker ideas and conference partners. No matter how funny a video concept is, people won’t come to a dull conference with dull speakers and a boring format.
Supported by the dedicated Municipal Innovators Community, the City of Guelph team amplified its reach by using as many existing networks as we could to get great speaker ideas and conference partners. No matter how funny a video concept is, people won’t come to a dull conference with dull speakers and a boring format.
It’s an innovation conference so we started with some design thinking and customer journey mapping. We took care of the writing and graphic design ourselves, creating a colourful brand around our theme: "Collaborate. Create. Accelerate". We worked with Ward 1 Studios on the development of our promotional video—the centrepiece of our marketing effort.
We reflected what we heard and learned in our tone—we weren’t going to talk like old school government fuddy duddies. Hence the "goofiest" and "innovatiest", while still getting our message across, video and graphic design.
At one point, our friends at Ward 1 Studios asked if we were really going to go this far? And then we went farther and added gratuitous sock footage.
Print materials were created with Adobe Photoshop and InDesign.
What were your challenges? How did you address them
The MiC Conference was heavily local government focused with little pull outside of Ontario. So we had a few strategies to reach out:
The MiC Conference was heavily local government focused with little pull outside of Ontario. So we had a few strategies to reach out:
• Get great speakers, panelists and use their networks
• Encourage the MiC team, City staff and our Mayor to use their professional, provincial and national networks
• Develop a partnership with a national public sector publication and push the envelope with creative ads
• And push our unique video and ads hard on social media
• Encourage the MiC team, City staff and our Mayor to use their professional, provincial and national networks
• Develop a partnership with a national public sector publication and push the envelope with creative ads
• And push our unique video and ads hard on social media
Oh, and typically people outside of government don’t think a municipal public sector government conference in Guelph (what’s a Guelph?) about driving improvement, efficiencies and change in public service delivery sounds like their cup of tea.
And written that way it is coma inducing.
Our solution was fun, risky and attention-grabby marketing through social media and partner channels.
Web elements were created with Adobe Photoshop and InDesign.
What were the results—how did your efforts make an impact in your community?
We hit all our goals.
We hit all our goals.
We wanted to inspire disruption in government that would lead to better, more responsive services with people as the focus.
And we wanted to grow national awareness and attendance pulling from all areas that can help drive municipal innovation.
How did we do? We went from a conference with only municipal employees almost entirely from one province to a 50 per cent attendance increase to 180 people attending from:
• 36 municipalities from British Columbia to Nova Scotia
• 13 innovative businesses
• 10 provincial ministries
• 4 national organizations
• 1 local, world-class academic institution
We still haven’t seen another small-ish public sector conference promotion video quite like it. The response was super and we are proud of the work.
About Guelph
Guelph is a growing, diverse and vibrant community of more than 135,000 people, located about 100 kilometres west of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Guelph’s community partners and business leaders are making a difference locally and globally in agri-food, technology, environmental enterprise and advanced manufacturing industries. The city’s healthy local economy, thriving arts and culture scene, charming neighbourhoods, parks and green spaces make Guelph among the most livable cities in Canada.
Guelph is a growing, diverse and vibrant community of more than 135,000 people, located about 100 kilometres west of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Guelph’s community partners and business leaders are making a difference locally and globally in agri-food, technology, environmental enterprise and advanced manufacturing industries. The city’s healthy local economy, thriving arts and culture scene, charming neighbourhoods, parks and green spaces make Guelph among the most livable cities in Canada.
