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Tempe's communications team reports national ranking, awards and rapid storm response
Summary
Communications director Chris Baxter Ging told council the city moved into the top 10% nationally for municipal communication, won four PRSA awards, doubled social media activity and raised $23,000 after a storm through targeted outreach and an online campaign.
Chris Baxter Ging, Tempe's communications and marketing director, presented year-to-date outcomes for the city's communications plan, saying the city has "become top 10% in the nation for communication" and credited new tools, a refreshed website and cross-department collaboration.
Ging highlighted several program results: the new public-records platform (Just Voya) for online requests and payments, four Public Relations Society of America awards for social media and video, and measurable outreach gains (8,300 social media posts across accounts, a 400% increase in video views and email campaigns reaching about 4 million people across 800 topics). He noted Tempe Today is distributed weekly and that targeted placement (for example, including PQI progress on the water bill) helps reach residents directly.
Ging also described the city's emergency communications after an October storm: "Almost as soon as the storm was over, we posted to social media ... We raised $23,000 to help people recover from the storm." He told council the communications team has prioritized close coordination with police and fire (a dedicated PIO for fire) and continued improvements to the city's website and short-form video strategy.
Council members praised staff and offered ideas for neighborhood-focused and senior-targeted outreach; Vice Mayor Garland said the communications team's support at public events and short videos has been especially effective. Ging said the team will keep updating the website for AI and federal accessibility standards and will continue the multi-channel strategy focused on timely, useful information.
Next steps: council and staff agreed to continue the communications plan and share neighborhood and senior outreach ideas in upcoming committee meetings.
