City of Duarte Expands Work with Tripepi Smith
“Tripepi Smith was head and shoulders above everyone else,” Margaret Finlay, mayor pro tem for the City of Duarte remarked during a Duarte regular city council meeting on October 27, 2020. That night, the Duarte City Council affirmed Mayor Pro Tem Finlay’s sentiments, unanimously voting to extend Tripepi Smith’s six-month communications retainer for another two years. The selection was made after a competitive bidding process.
“As a city, we are committed to transparency and public engagement with the residents and businesses in Duarte,” said City Manager Daniel Jordan. “We also recognize that in our modern world, communications are complex and span platforms. Hiring a firm with expertise was a move that could both save money for the City and offer a full array of talents that no single person could reasonably possess. We found a firm that could supplement staff efforts and unify City messaging so our communications are as helpful as possible.”
Since May 2020, Business Analyst Saara Lampwalla and Junior Business Analysts Molly Lockwood and Clare Burgess had supported the City’s communications by managing social media, writing articles and press releases and maintaining web pages. The team audited and revamped the City’s coronavirus portal; designed branded graphics for the City’s communication channels; and streamlined its social media, including verifying its Instagram, launching a Linktree account and securing access to Facebook Local Alerts.
“Tripepi Smith hit the ground running, bringing ideas to the table and executing on coronavirus communications and other critical community stories,” Jordan continued. “They were also a huge help to our team during the Bobcat Fire, including expanding our capacity for emergency alerts and Facebook Local Alerts. We look forward to the positive impact of having two years of Tripepi Smith’s partnership with the City.”
Now, more Tripepi Smith team members, including Senior Graphic Artist Kjerstin Wingert and Director Jon Barilone, are joining Duarte’s Tripepi Smith team to deliver an expanded scope of work. In addition to managing social media, writing press releases and articles and updating the website as needed, Tripepi Smith will redesign and create the quarterly City News newsletter, develop a style guide, refresh the City’s 2014 communications assessment, advise staff on the City’s upcoming website redesign, host quarterly strategy meetings and deliver monthly metric reports.
“Duarte’s City Council and staff are passionate about reminding residents and businesses that they’re an integral part of the community,” Saara commented. “As a contract city, Duarte balances full-time City staff and contractors for services, such as public safety, fire–and now–communications. Bringing Tripepi Smith on to supplement staff’s efforts with public outreach demonstrates the best of the contracting model. Staff is now more liberated to focus on the higher stake priorities that demand their attention.”
Tripepi Smith’s relationship with Duarte extends back to 2014 when the firm assessed the City’s communications, in a 69-page report. In 2017, Duarte once again called on Team Tripepi Smith to create a Public Opinion Survey Brochure and train staff on email marketing with Constant Contact. More recently, in 2019, Duarte looked to Tripepi Smith for photography, videography and drone services to build its library of stock imagery and create its 2018 Eddy Awards submission video.
“Duarte has always maintained an active presence on social media as well as traditional media, such as its print and digital newsletter, City News, the website, press releases and articles,” Saara stated. “Our goal is to sustain that pace by fine tuning processes, tools and the City’s voice and presence online. I am confident that with the City’s rockstar staff and my talented colleagues, we are on the right track.”
About the City of Duarte
The City of Duarte was incorporated on August 22, 1957. Guided by integrity and transparency, the City provides exemplary public services in a caring and fiscally responsible manner with a commitment to our community’s future. For more information visit the City’s website or call (626) 357-7931. Follow the City of Duarte on Facebook; Twitter; Instagram and LinkedIn.
About Tripepi Smith
Tripepi Smith is a California-based marketing, technology and public affairs firm that serves for-profit, nonprofit and public agencies. Its unique mix of marketing and technology prowess provides a competitive advantage to agencies seeking to leverage the internet to achieve their communication goals. The firm provides full content creation services, including: ghost writing, collateral development, photography, video production, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, email marketing campaigns and website design and execution. Tripepi Smith clients include: City of American Canyon, City of Culver City, City of Cupertino, City of Daly City, City of Duarte, City of El Cerrito, City of Indian Wells, City of La Cañada Flintridge, City of Lakeport, City of Lake Forest, City of Napa, City of Paramount, City of Santa Cruz, City of Tracy, City of Vallejo, Cal Choice Energy Authority, California Joint Powers Insurance Authority, Inland Empire Utilities Agency, Rowland Water District, California Contract Cities Association, California City Management Foundation, Institute for Local Government, League of California Cities, Renne Public Law Group, Bob Hall & Associates and Climatec Energy Services.