THE CLIENT

The City of Charlotte Communication & Marketing (C&M) Department provides comprehensive communications guidance and assistance to City employees, department leaders, and elected officials. C&M provides effective, accurate, and fast information on the Queen City’s leading initiatives and issues, tells her stories and successes, and supports the City’s constituents in sharing their thoughts and concerns with city leadership. 

THE CHALLENGE

C&M required communications consulting services to research, analyze, and develop communications strategies and initiatives to advance a seamless, strategic, and effective local government communications platform. With consulting needs ranging from operational analysis, campaign assessments, SEO recommendations, to crisis communications strategy, training, and 24/7 crisis response, a RFQ was opened in 2019 for communications consulting services.

RESULTS

CGR and Mower, combining their individual agency expertise and partnering as prime and subcontractor, won the contract in May 2020. Since then and in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, CGR and Mower collaborated on two campaigns thus far: 

• Food Service Recovery Grant Program The Team developed and executed a dual-language (English-Spanish) paid/earned media and grassroots campaign to increase awareness and applications for a $30M COVID-19 Food Service Recovery Grant Program. With a condensed launch and a short, 4-week campaign, CGR and Mower Teams mobilized to quickly conceptualize, design, and publish $100K in discounted paid media and supporting earned media, resulting in 2.5M+ online impressions and 1600 website goal completions. With a robust and meticulously-tracked grassroots effort, 200+ Black- and Latino-owned businesses were individually contacted and nurtured by trusted in-language influencers, resulting in 21 confirmed minority applications and 6 known awards.     
• RENEW Training Program Again, acting quickly in a time of incredible need for the community, CGR developed a series of digital ads for a combination of display, native, and paid social advertising. The goal was to drive awareness and interest in the RENEW Training program.
• Workforce Partners Support Grants As the RENEW program classes rapidly filled and grew to a waitlist within a span of days, CGR paused the campaigns and nimbly shifted course. In its place and to serve our client’s changing needs, CGR reallocated funds and efforts to interview and develop a series of 25+ success stories for local nonprofits and businesses who received both RENEW Training and Workforce Partners Support Grants.