The Town of Georgina is proudly celebrating a creative milestone after earning five MarCom Awards. The Town received its second platinum award in three years and was recognized for a number of initiatives including crisis communications, special events, website creation and a winter operations campaign.
“Congratulations to our Communications, Economic Development and Client and Cultural Services teams on their success at the MarCom Awards,” said CAO Ryan Cronsberry. “These awards honour excellence in marketing and communication, while also showcasing the creativity, collaboration, and dedication of our talented staff. I am so proud of the incredible work these teams continue to achieve and deeply grateful for their award-winning commitment to serving our Town and engaging our community.”
The Communications Division received a platinum award for the Ice Storm Crisis Communications Campaign. The storm created a unique and urgent challenge – how to communicate with residents who had no access to electricity, internet or cell phones as towers were impacted. With traditional digital channels compromised, the Communications Division adjusted its strategy to a more localized, offline approach. The division also won gold awards for Winter Wisdom Wednesdays, a recurring digital series designed to educate and engage residents on winter operations, safety and preparedness, and Safe Streets with Shelly. This program blended education and creativity to encourage safe driving while building public understanding and trust. Shelly the Safety Turtle was created to humanize enforcement and has been adapted throughout a number of areas including colouring books, videos, stickers and more.
The Economic Development and Tourism Division received a gold award for the Explore Georgina website. The creation of the website has been pivotal in establishing the Town’s tourism identity, positioning Georgina as a year-round contender among Ontario’s most recognized lakeside destinations.
The Client and Cultural Services Division won its first MarCom award, receiving a gold award for Marketing/Promotion Campaign for a Special Event for Vintage Christmas. It demonstrated how heritage sites can be reimagined to engage modern audiences while preserving history in meaningful ways.
The MarCom Awards are an international creative competition from the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals that recognizes outstanding achievement by marketing and communication professionals that exceed a high standard of excellence. MarCom Awards are among the largest, most respected international creative competitions. Each year, about 6,500 print and digital entries are submitted from dozens of countries. Entries are judged by industry professionals.