Reopen Placer Campaign
Placer County | 2020
When California’s shelter-in-place orders began to lift, Placer County faced a communications challenge that was anything but simple: how do you help hundreds of thousands of residents and thousands of businesses understand rapidly changing, legally complex public health guidelines — clearly, quickly, and in a way people would actually engage with?
At Placer County, I led the digital communications strategy for the Reopen Placer campaign — one of the most comprehensive government COVID-19 communications efforts in the Sacramento region.
What I did:
- Built the Reopen Placer website using Adobe Dreamweaver, creating a central hub for business and resident guidance
- Developed a custom “Can I Open?” interactive tool that allowed businesses to enter their type and instantly receive clear, specific guidance on whether they could reopen and under what conditions
- Managed social media content and digital outreach across platforms using Adobe Spark for rapid content creation
- Oversaw email marketing for the campaign, growing newsletter subscribers and achieving a 46% email open rate — nearly double the industry average for government communications
- Coordinated design assets across a team using Adobe Creative Cloud Libraries, enabling fast, consistent content production during a rapidly evolving situation
The result: The Reopen Placer campaign was recognized by Adobe as a best-in-class example of government digital communications and featured in the Adobe Government Blog alongside top government agencies from around the world. The campaign’s 46% email open rate and measurable increases in newsletter subscribers demonstrated that plain language, thoughtful design, and strategic digital communications can cut through — even in a crisis.
Read the Adobe Feature”Official government orders are written in ways that are not always easy for people to understand. With the Reopen Placer campaign, our priorities were to use plain language, a visually appealing look and feel, and a user experience that would make the communications approachable and clear for everyone."
— Darren Huppert, as quoted in the Adobe Government Blog, November 2020
SMUD Social Media Program
Sacramento Municipal Utility District | 2021–2023
SMUD is one of California’s largest publicly owned utilities, serving more than 1.5 million customers in the Sacramento region. When I joined as Program Manager of Social Media, I inherited an already strong program — and set out to make it the best in the industry.
What I did:
- Managed all social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and launched SMUD’s TikTok presence from the ground up
- Developed and executed SMUD’s overall social media strategy, including paid placement, content strategy, and platform-specific approaches
- Grew SMUD’s TikTok following from zero to tens of thousands of followers in a short time through a targeted paid strategy focused on reaching local Sacramento-area audiences
- Managed the CEO and General Manager’s LinkedIn presence, writing thought leadership articles that elevated executive visibility and organizational credibility
- Hired and mentored a social media specialist, transitioning from a solo operation to a team with clear division of responsibilities
- Live-tweeted major events, including a visit to SMUD’s innovative battery storage facility by the Secretary of Energy
- Led employee training on social media best practices during SMUD’s Learning Week
- Wrote internal communications articles on social media content for company-wide distribution
- Managed crisis communications across social media channels during high-pressure situations
The result: Under my leadership, SMUD’s social media program was recognized by J.D. Power with a top score and was regularly recognized by Esource — an energy industry research and advisory firm — as having the best engagement rate of any utility social media program in the country. That recognition reflects not just content quality but a strategic approach to community building that set SMUD apart from utilities nationwide.
Additional work
Placer County Website & Digital Communications Program
Placer County | 2012–2021
Over nine years at Placer County, I built and led one of the most comprehensive local government digital communications programs in the Sacramento region — managing the county website, email marketing platform, and social media presence for one of California’s fastest-growing counties.
Website Management & Redesign In 2018, I directed a complete redesign of the Placer County website on CivicPlus, a government-specific CMS platform. Gaining unanimous approval from stakeholders, including the County Chief of Staff and staff from the Board of Supervisors — navigating the political dynamics and competing priorities involved — was one of the most complex stakeholder management challenges of my career, and one I’m proud to have executed successfully. The redesigned site supported 150+ content editors across 26 county departments, all of whom I supported alongside county IT.
Email Marketing I managed the county’s enterprise email marketing platform, GovDelivery, supporting 30+ content editors across county departments. I designed the email templates used for resident communications across Placer County and drove the county’s weekly email newsletter open rate into the 40%+ range consistently — a benchmark that rivals the best-performing newsletters in any sector, let alone government.
#PlacerLife Instagram Campaign I launched the #PlacerLife campaign on Instagram to showcase the natural beauty of Placer County and celebrate the photography of local residents. The campaign featured a weekly “Photo of the Week” sourced from community submissions, cross-promoted to the county’s email newsletter subscribers — building community pride, growing Instagram engagement, and connecting the county’s digital channels in a virtuous cycle.
River Fire Crisis Communications
Placer County | 2021
When the River Fire broke out in Placer County, I was part of the front-line communications response — including personally staffing the phone lines as the situation unfolded. Working under extreme time pressure with rapidly changing information, I helped manage public communications to keep residents informed and safe during an active wildfire emergency. This is the kind of high-stakes, real-world crisis communications experience that can’t be taught in a classroom — and it’s exactly what I bring to clients who need a partner they can count on when it matters most.
SNAP Benefits Crisis — Food Bank Fundraising Campaign
Placer County Nonprofit | 2025
When the federal government shutdown threatened to disrupt SNAP benefits for thousands of Placer County families, a local nonprofit turned to Huppert Marketing & PR for help. With a time-sensitive need for community support, I developed and executed a targeted social media ad campaign to raise awareness and drive donations to local food banks and food pantries.
What I did:
- Developed an original infographic communicating the urgency and impact of the SNAP disruption in clear, accessible terms
- Published the campaign across social media platforms with a strategic paid ad boosting strategy targeting Sacramento-area residents
- Reached tens of thousands of residents in the local community
The result: The campaign generated tens of thousands of dollars in new donations to local food support organizations, helping keep Sacramento-area families fed during a period of federal uncertainty. It’s a reminder that the right message, delivered to the right audience at the right moment, can move people to action — and make a real difference in people’s lives.
Ready to talk about what I can do for you?
Every project on this page started with a conversation. If you’re facing a communications challenge — whether it’s a crisis, a campaign, a website, or a strategy — I’d love to hear about it.