Tripepi Smith Gains Insights on “How to Give Your Government Agency a Facelift” CAPIO Webinar
On November 15, Tripepi Smith attended CAPIO’s webinar, “How to Give Your Government Agency a Facelift.” Two communication professionals, Chief Communications Officer for the County of Kern Ally Soper and Communication Director for Fresno County Sonja Piper Dosti, APR, shared their experiences and strategies for transforming the image of their government agencies.
Ally Soper, drawing from her background as a CBS/Fox Affiliate news station reporter and anchor, emphasized the importance of cohesive branding. Affirming that effective branding should reflect a company’s vision, values and mission. For agencies with multiple departments, Soper stressed the importance of ensuring all departments use the same brand to strengthen their agency’s overall image. She illustrated this point with the successful integration of the Parks and Recreation logo with the County of Kern logo during their rebranding efforts.
Sonja Dosti, with 15 years of experience in the film and TV industry in LA, brought an insightful perspective to the challenges faced by the County of Fresno. Dosti highlighted issues of outdated branding, multiple logos causing confusion and a lack of clear distinction between the county and the city of Fresno. She identified the problem as having “too many voices in the storytelling of the County of Fresno” and outlined a comprehensive five-step approach to address these challenges:
- Research: Understand the public’s needs and expectations by identifying the “why” behind the problem.
- Internal Staff Communication: Improve communication within the organization to address staff questions and concerns.
- Elevate Fresno County Pride: Showcase the diversity, history, geography and communities within the County to increase public engagement.
- Raise Awareness About County Jobs: Highlight the various job opportunities within the county to better fulfill its needs and promote a sense of community.
- Grow Social Media: Enhance multimedia engagement to connect with the public.
The webinar concluded with the key takeaway that effective government branding requires a strategic approach. To contribute to your agency’s success, actively engage the community across platforms, unleash creativity with both graphics and video content, make efficient use of resources (including editing tools) and ensure consistent branding across all departments. Agencies can also take advantage of their existing brand color palette to use secondary or tertiary colors to act as a sub-brands for departments within the organization. This gives the department a distinct feel while also remaining consistent with established brand guidelines. By aligning branding efforts with a clear vision, agencies can build a strong and cohesive identity that resonates with both internal staff and the public. The success stories shared by Ally Soper and Sonja Dosti serve as insights for communicators seeking to revitalize their agency’s image and connect with their communities in meaningful ways.