Challenge
In the wake of the pandemic, Denver began experiencing increased crimes, more people in need on our streets, and significant mental health and drug challenges. Like our peer cities across the country, these challenges are concentrated within the downtown corridor. The Downtown Denver Partnership, Mayor Michael B. Hancock and the City and County of Denver; the Department of Public Safety, including Denver Police Department, Denver Fire and Denver Sheriff; the Regional Transportation District (RTD); and the Colorado Attorney General’s and U.S. Attorney’s offices united as Downtown Action Partners to address public health and safety challenges through a multifaceted approach that blends strong enforcement with compassionate response and service provision. SideCar PR was brought on by the Downtown Denver Partnership to lead the public launch of the initiative, dubbed Together We Will, on behalf of the Downtown Action Partners.
Tactics
With the goal of securing widespread public awareness and support for the initiative, we developed and executed the following tactics:
Results
As a result of SideCar’s programming and communications efforts, the Downtown Denver Partnership and the Downtown Action Partners successfully launched Together We Will with resounding public support. The press conference was attended by 200+ stakeholders and community members, as well as every daily print, online and broadcast media partner in the market, which led to twelve quality story placements with positive sentiments. The effort continues to attract positive media attention locally and nationally.
Outcome
Under SideCar’s leadership, a wide spectrum of government agencies (local, state and federal), nonprofit partners and other downtown leaders aligned on a shared language and communications strategy that positioned Together We Will as a nationally leading initiative for addressing complex public health and safety challenges. Since the launch in November 2022, Together We Will continues to receive public support and positive, optimistic media coverage.
Media Coverage:
To learn more about Together We Will, visit DowntownDenver.com/Safety