WEST HOLLYWOOD—The city of West Hollywood was honored with 3 awards recognizing excellence in communications by the City-County Communications and Marketing Association (3CMA). The awards were handed out during the 3CMA’s Savvy Awards event on Thursday, September 7, which was held in conjunction with 3CMA’s national Annual Conference in Anaheim, California. According to a press release from the city of WeHo, the awards recognize the communications and outreach efforts of local governments throughout the United States.

“Congratulations to the City of West Hollywood’s Communications Department for these exceptional national recognitions,” said West Hollywood Mayor John Heilman. “Our City prides itself on creativity and on constantly raising the bar. These 3CMA awards are affirmation that we’re leading the way among small cities in how we engage with the community.”

The City of West Hollywood took home the following awards:

-The City’s Hakuna Truvada PrEP education public service announcement won the Savvy Award, 3CMA’s first-place honor, in the category of Video Education/Training. Hakuna Truvada, a fun a lyrical parody of the mega-hit song, Hakuna Matata, was produced by and stars YouTube sensation and Broadway star Todrick Hall. It raises awareness of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) with dancers in wild animal prints dancing over to the Los Angeles LGBT Center WeHo for a health checkup and PrEP prescription. The judges said it was an “engaging way to talk about a sensitive subject…” The video, which has more than 316,000 views on YouTube, can be viewed at https://youtu.be/M-_Nm0-ZV20.

-The innovative and leading-edge Social Media Takeover of LA Pride, which was conceived as a fresh new way to promote LA Pride in West Hollywood. The effort channeled traffic to the City’s social media properties (@wehocity) and consisted of the City giving the “keys” to its social media platforms to celebrity drag queen Willam Belli during LA Pride weekend in June 2016. The Social Media Takeover was recognized with a Silver Circle Award, 3CMA’s second-place honor, in the category of Social Media – Best Campaign Use.

-The City’s Automated Garage Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting won a Silver Circle Award, in the Special Events – One Time Event category. The Automated Garage at West Hollywood City Hall is a technological marvel and the City’s exciting grand opening event was equally forward-thinking and engaging. The City was recognized for its efforts in creating specific themed areas that emphasized the project’s art installations, engineering feats, accessibility, and innovation.

The 3CMA organization received 698 awards entries this year across 38 categories. Entrants were judged by volunteers from throughout the United States. It is the nation’s premiere network of local government communicators. The organization was founded in 1988 on the philosophy that communications and marketing are essential to helping governments engage and build stronger relationships with their residents.

For additional information, contact Lisa Marie Belsanti, West Hollywood’s Director of Communications at (323) 848-6378 or at lbelsanti@weho.org. For people who are deaf or hearing impaired, please call TTY (323) 848-6496.