Case Study
City of Edmundston:
Streamlining Municipal Communications with Secure, Bilingual Email
A New Brunswick municipality transforms citizen engagement by replacing traditional mail with opt-in email newsletters—while navigating bilingual requirements and building trust through Canadian data sovereignty.
Background
The Challenge
Edmundston’s communications team faced a critical challenge: how to reach citizens effectively without the environmental and financial costs of printed materials. “We didn’t want to print anymore, or for people to receive mail that they did not want from us,” Dancause explained.
Beyond cost and sustainability concerns, the print approach offered no visibility into whether citizens were actually receiving or reading municipal information. The team needed a way to both reach residents and understand engagement with their communications.
The team required a solution that addressed several specific requirements:
- Security and Compliance: Municipal-grade security standards that met government requirements, with data stored in Canada.
- Bilingual Capability: Ability to publish in both French and English to serve their community.
- Ease of Use: A straightforward platform that didn’t require extensive technical expertise—”copy-paste” simplicity.
- Growth Potential: Features like sub-accounts available for future expansion as their program matured.
- Measurable Engagement: Unlike print distribution, the ability to track who was actually receiving and engaging with content.
Their arts center had been using MailChimp, but when they explored setting up a separate municipal account, “it was complicated, and the security level was not what we wanted.”
The Solution
After thorough research—including Google searches and consulting with colleagues at other municipalities—Edmundston’s communications team selected Envoke for its combination of security, usability, and Canadian infrastructure.
As a Canadian platform with data stored in Canada and pricing in Canadian dollars, Envoke addressed both the practical and compliance requirements the municipality needed.
The implementation focused on four key capabilities:
Opt-In Subscriber Management
- Public-facing signup forms allowing citizens to voluntarily subscribe
- Confidence that recipients actually want the information: “We know that when we’re sending out the information, that they actually want it, and they will probably read it”
- Trackable subscriber growth metrics reported monthly to leadership
Bilingual Content Delivery
- Simultaneous French and English publication in single newsletters
- Potential for language-specific targeting as the program evolves
Secure Canadian Infrastructure
- Data stored in Canada
- Meeting municipal security requirements that MailChimp couldn’t satisfy
- Canadian-based company with pricing in Canadian dollars
Scalable Features
- Sub-account capabilities available for future departmental expansion
- Room to grow
The Results
Measurable Engagement vs. Print’s Black Box
Unlike their previous print approach where there was no way to track if people saw the information being sent, Envoke provides visibility into subscriber growth and engagement. The team now has the ability to monitor their subscriber based, open rates and click through rates.
Improved Content Targeting
The team shifted from mass distribution to engaged audiences: “We know that when we’re sending out the information, that they actually want it, and they will probably read it, which is nice for us, because usually a lot of people don’t read at all.”
Reliable Support Experience
“I’ve sent a few messages to the Envoke support, and they’ve always been quick and responsive. I appreciate that. It’s nice to have someone who’s there, and so we don’t get stuck,” Dancause shared about Envoke’s customer support.
The team has found a foundation that meets their security requirements, serves their bilingual community, and provides room to grow—with responsive support when questions arise.
"Envoke gave us the security level we needed as a municipality, with data stored in Canada, and it's straightforward enough that our small team can manage it without getting stuck."
Communications Specialist
The City of Edmundston
For municipalities seeking to modernize citizen communications while maintaining data sovereignty and meeting bilingual service requirements, Edmundston demonstrates how starting simple with an opt-in approach can build engaged audiences over time—with the added benefit of actually knowing whether your message is reaching residents.
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