Hamilton Communicates

A few weeks ago I began an internship in the City of Hamilton’s department of Economic Development. For two days each week I work with the Marketing Coordinator, Michael Marini, to assist with an array of tasks including, but certainly not limited to social media analysis, communicating with media, research, and generating publicity.

 Local television station Cable 14 airs programming of interest to Hamilton communities. Every week day at 5pm the station airs For the Record, a public affairs show produced by Mike Cameron. Part of this show is a relatively new, weekly segment called It’s Your Business which presents news specific to economic developments in Hamilton, and aims to educate people about what is going on in their own local economy.

I had the opportunity to attend the filming of the segment aired on November 22. The special guest on this particular segment was Sam Mercanti, President and CEO of Carstar Automotive Canada. He appeared on the show to talk about the expansion of Carstar head office in Hamilton – a $14 million investment in our city.
Watch the segment on YouTube here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvmSKrnvDnE&feature=player_detailpag

I found this to be a very interesting and exciting experience, as it gave me a behind-the-scenes look at using television as a medium for communication. Having never been involved with broadcasting in any capacity, I was in awe of all the technical equipment and the whirlwind of activity to prepare in the final moments before the camera started rolling.

Communicating information about projects, initiatives, and news related to Economic Development and attracting positive attention to them is a key objective for the City of Hamilton – not only for the sake of open, effective communication with stakeholders but also for encouraging future and continuing investments in the city. The goal of the department is to spur continued economic growth, job creation, and revitalization in Hamilton.

The Economic Development department uses a variety of different tools to communicate with its publics including social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and others) and traditional media (print, television and radio). Working with local media outlets is one way that the department delivers messages to its audiences.