Case Study: City of Virginia Beach boosts flood program awareness and wins voter approval with PublicInput

Virginia Beach Community Engagement Campaign Receives Diamond Level Industry Award

The City of Virginia Beach faced a major challenge in securing public support for a critical $567.5 million Flood Protection Program bond referendum. Residents were widely misinformed about the severity of local flooding issues and were initially unlikely to support the necessary tax increases. The city partnered with PublicInput to gauge public sentiment and identify critical gaps in awareness using the vendor's community engagement platform for initial surveying.

PublicInput enabled the city to conduct a preliminary survey that revealed specific public misperceptions. These insights informed a highly successful, multi-modal communications campaign that corrected misinformation. The result was a landmark victory, with the bond referendum receiving overwhelming approval from 72% of voters. This success was recognized with multiple industry awards, including a top Diamond Award from 3CMA.

City of Virginia Beach

Valerie Myers

Media & Communication Coordinator