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West Bend City renames Community Television to Communications department; committee plans outreach, events and sponsorships
Summary
New communications director Jess Wilde proposed renaming the department to reflect broader duties including social media, public relations and community programming. Committee set upcoming meeting dates and discussed outreach to local businesses and Movie in the Park plans.
The West Bend City Community TV Committee on Feb. 11 endorsed a staff plan to rebrand the department as the Communications Department to reflect expanded work beyond cable television.
Jess Wilde, the city’s director of communications marketing, told the committee she and staff reviewed the department’s functions and concluded the broader name better matches current work: “We landed on that where we will be the communications department. And what's in the communications department will continue to exist community television,” Wilde said. She said community television, social media, public relations and marketing functions would live under the new department umbrella.
Wilde said the team updated an org chart and will circulate materials; the committee agreed the department should refresh the mission statement and present a draft at a future meeting. Wilde noted that the department has already been coordinating with other city departments on email communications and social outreach and has completed a marketing grant.
Committee members discussed business outreach and sponsorships. A committee member who identified himself as a Chamber of Commerce ambassador urged staff to prepare a short leave‑behind pamphlet for ribbon cuttings and community events to pitch programming and sponsorship opportunities. Wilde and other staff said they would prepare materials and pursue sponsorships for city events.
The committee also reviewed programming highlights and community events tied to the department. Movie in the Park is scheduled for June 24 at Wagner Park and will show Frozen 2, selected by a public poll; the event will be free to the public and staff are soliciting returning sponsors. Wilde said the department’s business‑of‑the‑month series is performing well on social platforms; recent features include Cousins Subs and Billy Sims Barbecue. Staff reported steady growth on YouTube and VOD use: the department’s on‑demand site had 676 views this year (VOD platform specific), and the YouTube channel reached new subscriber and view milestones over the prior 28 days.
Administrative actions and future meetings: The committee approved minutes from Nov. 13, 2019 at the start of the session. Members set quarterly meeting dates for 2025 with the next meeting scheduled for Wednesday, May 6 at 6 p.m.; tentative future dates discussed included Aug. 6 and Nov. 4.
Ending: Wilde asked the committee for feedback on the rebrand and said staff will bring an updated mission statement and org chart to the next meeting for further discussion.
