Branding and Content Submission Guide

Using the Council's Brands: any request to use the Council's Brands (as described below) for content creation and distribution must -

• Include Council collaboration for content strategy and development
• Include Council co-hosting for audio and video and editorial insights for text.
• Be approved by the Council prior to being distributed through our channels.
• If published in a media or channel not controlled by the Council, the content must be attributed to the Council with the insertion of its logo.

Council Brands: Our Brands include trademarks and URLs (this list not being exhaustive) for Smart Cities Council, Smart Cities Week, Smart Cities Academy, Smart Cities Activator, Readiness Program, Readiness Challenge and Readiness Workshops.

Who can submit: The Council welcomes contributions from its member companies and advisors. It also accepts articles from others if pre-approved in advance by email to the address below.

Audience: City leaders and staffers – those who are (or should be) involved in the design, deployment, and operation of smart city services.

Topics: We seek guidance to help cities properly apply smart technology to improve their livability, workability, and sustainability. We also welcome guest editorials and opinion pieces that tackle controversial issues.

Show and tell: Our readers are moved by real-life success stories. Show your results and explain you achieved them: 1) the problem at hand, 2) how technology was used to address that problem, 3) what challenges arose, 4) how the challenges were overcome, 5) the costs and 6) the benefits.

Style: Imagine yourself as a presenter on a Smart Cities Week panel. How would you explain your story in person? A clear, conversational tone resonates with our readers.

Tone: Keep it non-promotional. Yes, you can talk about your work and the results it achieved. Yes, you can mention your company, your products and your services if germane to the story. Yes, feel free to include links to your own site and materials. But please… don’t give us sales brochure copy.

Article Length: 300-500 words

Video or Audio Length See our Smart Cities Chronicles as an example of a best practice, especially from Episode 92 on.

What’s new? It’s OK to adapt or repurpose your own blogs or LinkedIn posts or things you wrote for your company newsletter, but overall we’re looking for content (and ideas) that has not already been read or heard about. Not sure what to write about? Contact us - we love a brainstorming session.

Next Steps: Use our form to submit content, or contact Editor@SmartCitiesCouncil.com before you start writing so we can reserve space for you and ensure your contribution fits with other content. For information on how to join the Council as an advisor or as a member company, email Membership@SmartCitiesCouncil.com.