Hot Takes: Poolside

Strategy

Hot Takes: Poolside introduces Eugene's new city manager, Jenny Haruyama, in the format of Hot Ones. LRCS executive director Josh Bates walks her through a lineup of progressively hotter wings, trading real questions for real — and increasingly watery-eyed — answers.

It started as an internal piece: a disarming, human way for City staff to meet their new leader at an all-staff meeting. It landed well enough that we recut it into a four-part social series, so the public could meet her the same way — a little sweaty, and a lot more human than a press release.

Audience

• Primary: City of Eugene staff meeting their new city manager for the first time.
• Secondary: Eugene residents getting to know the person now running their city.

Goals

• Introduce a new leader as a real, approachable person — not a headshot and a bio.
• Give staff a genuine reason to feel connected to new leadership.
• Carry that same warmth to the public in short, shareable pieces.

The call to action was simple: meet the city manager — watch the series.

Touchpoints

Two people and a table of increasingly punishing wings, captured in one unscripted poolside sit-down. Real questions, real heat, and real reactions — shot in a single afternoon at a City pool.

Yield

The premiere did what a bio never could — it made a new leader feel familiar in a single room. The social cuts extended that introduction well past the meeting, turning a leadership announcement into something people actually wanted to watch and share.

What I'd do next

• Make it a recurring format for introducing new leaders, programs, and teams.
• Put a little paid budget behind the strongest cuts to push reach well past organic.