Contact: Meeta Gandhi, Director, Communication Services, 905-747-6311, meeta.gandhi@richmondhill.ca

RICHMOND HILL – Richmond Hill has won 2014 MarCom Gold Awards for two communication-focused projects – Ice Storm 2013 communications and the new Film Location Resource Guide!

“These projects demonstrate our efforts to engage the community and take a proactive and strategic approach in our communications,” said Mayor Dave Barrow. “We’re thrilled that our hard work has been recognized with these prestigious awards.”

MarCom Awards honour excellence and recognize outstanding creative achievement by marketing and communications professionals internationally. The MarCom competition, run by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP), has grown to perhaps the largest of its kind in the world with about 6,000 entries per year. A look at the winners shows a range in size from individuals to media conglomerates and Fortune 500 companies.

“The Ice Storm was an extraordinary event we won’t soon forget,” added the Mayor. “In addition to our outside workers, many other staff worked through their holidays and into the spring to get the news out, regularly meeting to discuss communication approaches and action plans.”

Throughout the response and recovery phases of the Ice Storm, Richmond Hill used a variety of tactics to communicate with residents and businesses about power outages, warming centres, winter maintenance, tree damage etc. These tactics included website updates, social media, traditional media (print stories and radio interviews), automated Town-wide phone calls, ads, posters, door hangers, debris cleanup maps, as well as the Town’s contact centre, Access Richmond Hill.

The new Film Location Resource Guide promotes Richmond Hill as the ideal location for film production in Ontario. The Guide includes photos and a listing of film locations in Richmond Hill; information about transportation, climate, and geography; filming guidelines and more. To download a copy of the Film Location Resource Guide, visit RichmondHill.ca/FilmGuide.

Richmond Hill previously received a MarCom Award for its Branding Project in 2012.