CASE STUDY
What Works Cities
The Opportunity
Well-managed cities use data to deliver services and solve problems, and What Works Cities helps local governments do exactly that. Launched in 2015, it’s the Bloomberg Philanthropies-supported local pillar of Results for America, and the first-of-its-kind standard of excellence for data-driven leadership.
The rapidly growing organization needed a marketing partner who could efficiently translate its ideas into visual materials across all channels — and it was critical to maintain brand consistency. Today, Buoy leads design efforts for both What Works Cities and Results for America, bridging the two brands.
CATEGORIES OF WORK
Advertising
Branding
Community engagement
Creative design
Digital marketing
Messaging
Report design
Video production
Web design + development
The Solution
In 2019, Buoy began serving as the primary design and marketing support for What Works Cities.
In our role as multimedia design leads, we’re responsible for executing Certification announcements, welcoming new cities to the growing data-driven movement. This includes creating the launch plan, banners, and plaques for each Certified city, as well as developing a unique suite of social media graphics and videos for both What Works Cities and the city itself.
Buoy has supported the organization’s expansion into both Canada and Latin America, also creating graphics and marketing materials for Spanish and Portuguese audiences. We’ve led design on pitch decks and presentation collateral, as well as outreach materials: mailers, one-pagers, digital ads, training materials, reports, social media campaigns, and microsites.
And when Bloomberg Philanthropies updated its own branding in 2023, we supported the accompanying What Works Cities brand refresh. Buoy continues to lead the organization’s design efforts across all teams, including for the broader Results for America organization.
The Impact
Since the organization launched, brand recognition has grown significantly — today, over 100 cities in the United States, Canada, and Latin America have achieved What Works Cities Certification.
Buoy has created a library of assets and templates, as well as communication toolkits for Certified cities and states, all of which enable the What Works Cities message to be exponentially amplified.
In acting as design lead, Buoy has been able to help the What Works Cities team focus on the work that matters: Growing the movement of cities working to improve their residents’ lives.
