Communications Assessment Findings & Implementation Update February 9, 2026
Good evening, Mayor and Council. And thank you to Ryan and Mike for the introductions. My name is Sara Madsen and I oversee Tripepi Smith’s communications work with the City of Bellflower.
Tonight, I’ll cover two things: first, a brief report-out on the Express Communications Assessment as a completed project, and second, an update on communications improvements that have happened in parallel and the early results we’re seeing.
Agenda
Part 1: Communications Assessment Report Findings
Part 2: Parallel Communications Improvements & Early Results
The presentation is split into two parts. Part one is the assessment’s findings. Part two is what staff has already been doing alongside that work to advance Bellflower communications in the mean time.
PART 1:
Communications Assessment Report Findings
I’ll start with the assessment itself.
Assessment Overview
The Express Communications Assessment was designed to give staff a clearer, more comprehensive understanding of how communications are currently functioning across the City, and where there may be opportunities to better align and support that work.
Why the Assessment Was Conducted
Support Strategic Plan Goal #2: Increase Public Outreach, Education & Connection Evaluate existing communications systems
Identify opportunities to strengthen consistency, clarity, and readiness
This effort directly supports Strategic Plan Goal #2, increasing public outreach, education, and connection. The intent was not to reinvent communications, but to evaluate existing systems and ensure they’re set up to support the City as activity continues to grow.
Assessment Scope
The assessment reviewed:
Internal communications
External communications
Policies and processes
Branding and visual identity
Digital, print, and outreach tools
The scope was intentionally broad. It looked at internal and external communications, policies and processes, branding and visual identity, and the full range of tools the City uses, including digital, print, and outreach.
Assessment Timeline & Process
July – December 2025
The assessment took place between July and December of 2025 and included discovery, platform review, data analysis, and development of observations and recommendations.
Staff Engagement
Six interviews with staff across departments
Focus on real-world workflows and perceptions
Feedback directly informed recommendations
Staff input was a key part of this process. Six interviews were conducted across departments to understand real-world workflows, day-to-day practices and perceived experience, which helped ground the findings in how work actually happens.
Assessment Observations
Based on that review, several overarching observations emerged. These observations reflect patterns across systems, not isolated issues or individual departments. Importantly, these observations highlight opportunities to strengthen and support existing efforts. And I want to reiterate that this assessment began back in July of last year. The second portion of the presentation details how some of these observations have already been addressed. Just keep that in mind as we run through this section.
Key Observations: Overview
Communications functions are active but structurally decentralized Bellflower’s brand is recognizable but inconsistently applied Digital engagement is strong, but systems operate in silos Crisis and media communications rely on institutional knowledge and lack procedural documentation
The assessment confirmed that Bellflower is already doing a lot of things well. The opportunity is not necessarily more activity, it’s strategy and structure. These observations point to areas where clearer frameworks and coordination would amplify the work that’s already happening.
Communications responsibilities are distributed across departments, resulting in uneven workflows, inconsistent approvals, and varying use of tools.
The City’s logo and visual identity are strong anchors, but the absence of a formal style guide leads to variation across platforms, departments, and materials.
The City maintains an active presence across social media, email, web, and print, yet these tools are not always strategically coordinated to reinforce one another.
Protocols for media response and crisis communications are largely informal and dependent on individual experience rather than documented procedures.
Key Observations: In Practice
Communications Workflows
Requests are routed through a mix of forms, emails, and informal processes depending on department, which can slow timelines and create inconsistencies.
Branding and Accessibility
Templates, fonts, colors, and ADA practices vary across platforms, and accessibility measures like alt text and captions are applied inconsistently.
Platform Coordination
Social media, email, print and the website are all effective individually, but are not consistently planned or deployed as part of a single, integrated comms strategy.
Emergency and Media Readiness
There is no standardized chain of command, documented messaging templates, or routine testing process for emergency communications.
In practice, this shows up through a mix of communications workflows across departments, variation in branding and accessibility practices, tools that work well individually but aren’t always planned together, and reliance on staff experience for emergency and media communications.
These observations helped staff better understand where coordination and clarity could support the work already underway.
Summarized Recommendations
Optimize Communications Workflow & Strategic Approach
Strengthen and Solidify Bellflower’s Brand and Identity
Expand, Optimize and Diversify the Existing Communications Toolset
Improve Media Relations and Outreach
Increase Partnership with Local Organizations and Community Groups
Based on those observations, the assessment outlined several high-level recommendation areas. I want to emphasize that tonight’s presentation is informational. Staff will likely return to Council at a later date with more detailed implementation items as appropriate.
Broadly, the recommendations focus on standardizing communications practices, strengthening the City’s brand and visual identity, better leveraging existing tools, and increasing coordination with media and community partners.
PART 2:
Parallel Communications Improvements & Early Results
That concludes the assessment portion of my presentation tonight. I’ll now shift to the work that’s been happening in parallel and share some of the early results of that work.
Why Work Began in Parallel
Improvements did not wait for final report, and in some cases, began before the report even started Focused on actions within staff’s control
Informed by early assessment insights
Tripepi Smith was a force multiplier to staff’s existing capacity to begin making improvements
While the assessment was underway, staff did not pause communications efforts. In some cases, improvements began even before the report formally started. This allowed the City to maintain momentum and focus on actions within staff’s control. Tripepi Smith supported this work by expanding staff capacity during a period of increased activity, and continues to do so now.
Focus Area: Structure
Structural changes to communication roles, responsibilities and oversight Communications moved under Parks & Recreation
Formalized Communications and Marketing Manager role
Tripepi Smith supports Communications and Marketing Manager with strategy coordination and content development and implementation
One early focus area was strengthening communications leadership and coordination. Communications were formally moved under Parks and Recreation, the Communications and Marketing Manager role was formalized, and additional support in Tripepi Smith was added for strategy coordination and content development.
Focus Area: Processes & Strategy
Overhaul to communications processes and strategy
Created a work plan to begin optimizing City communications foundation Audited, optimized and documented City’s technical social media set up Prioritized reimagining and rebranding of City newsletters Began quarterly communication strategy meetings to bring more intentionality and vision to City communications
Another early focus area was strengthening both communications processes and overall strategy.
On the process side, staff began refining workflows to support more consistent planning and execution, including auditing and optimizing the City’s social media technical setup and reimagining the City’s newsletters to better align with communication goals.
From a strategy perspective, staff also began holding quarterly communications strategy meetings to bring more intentionality, coordination, and long-term vision to how City communications are planned and delivered.
Early Results of Preliminary Improvements
The following early results reflect preliminary improvements that were implemented while the assessment was still underway. They are not intended to be comprehensive or final, but rather to demonstrate how changes to structure, processes, and strategy are already beginning to show results across City communications.
Social Media Performance Improvements
Unification of voice and coordination between City and Parks & Recreation social media accounts Increased use of short-form video and reels tied to events and alerts Strategic boosting of key events and classes to increase attendance and registration respectively Measurable impact on reach and participation
On social media, early improvements included better coordination between City and Parks and Recreation social media accounts, increased use of short-form video for events and alerts, and selective boosting of key promotions. These changes helped increase reach and engagement tied to City programs.
Current Social Media Platforms
City + P&R
City
City
City
City
P&R
This slide provides a snapshot of the City’s current social media presence across both City and Parks and Recreation accounts.
Platform Audience Metrics
*As of July 31, 2025
*As of Feb. 3, 2026
692
This slide shows how the City’s social media audiences have grown across platforms over time, reflecting both City and Parks and Recreation accounts. On the left is a snapshot from July 31, 2025. The right snapshot reflects progress as of February 3, 2026.
Top Performing Social Media
Oct. 2025
Glow-A-Ween Family Dance Party
Boosted for $400
Dec. 2025
Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony
Organic post
This slide highlights a couple of recent examples that illustrate how communications supported City programs and events.
In October, the Glow-A-Ween Family Dance Party was selectively boosted to help drive awareness and attendance. In December, the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony performed strongly as an organic post.
These examples show how different approaches, both boosted and organic, are being used intentionally depending on the goal of the communication.
City Life Magazine
Expanded from Parks & Recreation-focused brochure to full coverage City magazine Mailed directly to 26,489 residents
Strengthens non-digital outreach and reach to individuals who are not present online
Bellflower City Life debuted with the Spring 2026 edition of the City’s quarterly print publication, transitioning from a Parks and Recreation brochure into a full City magazine mailed directly to residents.
Bellflower City Life Now
Strong subscriber growth
E-Citizen in July 2025: 692
Bellflower City Life Now in Feb 2026: 10,392
Open rates exceeding expectations
Feb. 2026: 49.4%
Industry Average: 32.5%
Email remains a trusted channel
The former e-Citizen was reimagined as Bellflower City Life Now beginning in February 2026.
You’ll notice a significant difference between subscriber counts from 2025 and where they are today, so I want to briefly explain that context.
In 2025, the City went through a required reconfirmation process that significantly reduced the active subscriber list. That number reflects only subscribers who reconfirmed at that time, not total contacts.
Since then, staff resolved deliverability issues, consolidated email platforms, and migrated Parks and Recreation newsletter subscribers into a single system. As a result, the City now has a significantly larger and more stable subscriber base receiving Bellflower City Life Now emails.
Today’s open rates and subscriber counts reflect that stabilized, consolidated system.
My Bellflower App
Launched Dec. 15, 2025
Real-time updates
Centralized service access
Growing adoption
Currently at 1,222 downloads
The My Bellflower App launched in December 2025 and provides real-time updates and centralized access to services. Adoption continues to grow. This tool complements City Life and social media, providing timely updates and easy access to services.
Integrated Communications Ecosystem
Bellflower Communications
Together, these tools form a coordinated communications ecosystem that allows the City to reach residents across multiple channels and reinforce messaging.
What’s Next?
Looking ahead, staff will continue building on the communications foundation that’s now in place.
Potential Future Communication Projects
Website Content Audit and Redesign (in progress)
City Brand Evaluation and Formalization
Crisis Communications Plan
Formalize Media Relations Plan
Audit and Modernize Social Media Policy
Expand Stock Photo and Video Library
Looking ahead, staff will continue building on the communications foundation that’s now in place.
The items listed here represent a menu of potential next-phase projects that support continued improvement in City communications. These are not listed in priority order, and they are not intended to suggest that all work will happen at once.
Some of these efforts are already in progress, while others will be evaluated as staff continues to assess current capacity, timing, and budget. The intent is that all of these areas are important over time, and staff is actively determining which items can be advanced now and which should be revisited at a later date.
Staff will continue to keep Council informed as this work evolves and will return with more specific recommendations as priorities, timing, and resources are clarified.
Thank You!
Questions?
That concludes my update. Thank you for the opportunity to share where this work stands and the direction it’s heading.
We look forward to continuing to support staff as they work to strengthen City communications and carry out Council’s intent under Strategic Plan Goal #2 to increase public outreach, education, and connection.
We’re happy to answer any questions.