On Thursday, Sept. 6, the City-County Communications & Marketing Association (3CMA) honored the City of San Marcos with three national awards for outstanding communications projects.
3CMA’s 30th annual Savvy Awards Competition drew more than 700 entries—and ultimately, the City earned two City Silver Circle Awards, the second highest honor, for its newly minted brand and logo. The City also earned an Award of Excellence, third highest honor, for its revamp of Jack’s Pond Halloween Spooktacular.
“The City of San Marcos is committed to continually raising the bar in public service—and there is certainly no exception when it comes to engaging our community,”
said Communications Officer Sarah Macdonald, who oversaw all three projects. “San Marcos is one of the fastest growing cities in San Diego County and enjoys an exceptionally high quality of life. These communications efforts help strengthen the City’s position as an emerging regional leader.”
The new brand invites people to come explore everything San Marcos has to offer with a simple tagline: ‘Discover Life’s Possibilities.’ The logo plays off that with a stylized compass rose in the “O” of San Marcos, conveying a feeling of exploration.
3CMA judges were particularly impressed with the City’s strategic thought stating it is proof that “good logos aren’t just plucked out of thin air, [but rather] take time, effort and a defined process.”
These projects—which were executed with assistance from JPW Communications, a firm that specializes in serving the public sector—have empowered the City to implement brand consistency for the first time.
To date, more than 50 publications have been refreshed with the logo including the community newsletter, budget cover, digital assets, economic development brochures, trade show exhibits and a comprehensive set of office templates including letterhead, business cards, email signature lines, staff reports and cover pages. This translates to approximately 80 percent of all collaterals for the city—a remarkable conversion rate.
The City was also awarded for greatly improving its outreach surrounding Jack’s Pond Halloween Spooktacular, which increased attendance by a staggering 467 percent.
“We are very proud of what we’ve achieved this year,”
Macdonald said, adding that these wins come on the heels of two other state awards from the California Association of Public Information Officials (CAPIO).
“We look forward to keeping San Marcos on the forefront of government communications in the coming years, too.”
