By Pedro Candela Terry, Content Marketing Manager, Genasys Inc.
No time to read the whole blog? Click to see the key takeaways:
- The City of Tacoma chose Genasys Protect for faster message delivery, detailed recipient data, and flexible communication options. The platform has significantly improved how the city connects with residents in real time.
- Tacoma is now able to send not just emergency alerts, but also general and weather-related messages, allowing residents to choose how they want to stay informed, boosting public engagement and increasing subscriber numbers across the city.
- With World Cup 2026 on the horizon, Tacoma created dedicated messaging groups and onboarded tribal partners to ensure inclusive, inter-agency communication.
When Tacoma was designated a Fan Zone for World Cup 2026, its emergency managers faced the reality of hosting thousands of visitors while keeping residents safe. Their solution offers a real-world look at how one city is closing communication gaps, building community engagement, and preparing for high-stakes events.
As a designated “Fan Zone” for World Cup 2026, the City of Tacoma is expected to host large groups of local and visiting crowds ready to participate in the celebrations. With that comes the logistical challenges of facilitating a common operating picture while overseeing the crowds, guiding the flow of people, and disseminating information when required.
City of Tacoma officials agreed it was time to upgrade their current emergency notification system. They chose Genasys Protect, a leader in comprehensive protective communications with a full suite of software and acoustic devices that achieve targeted communications, inter-agency collaboration, and live or recorded messaging that can reach thousands of meters.
Talking with the City of Tacoma
With a population of over 230,000 people, the City of Tacoma has faced its share of emergencies and now was actively preparing for the World Cup 2026. We wanted to see how the transition to Genasys Protect was going, so we met with Tieka Adeogun, Chief Emergency Management Officer, to get her input on the Genasys Protect suite and the implementation process.
What types of challenges have you faced that led you to Genasys Protect?
“Our biggest challenge was determining if our alerts were being sent to the public—Our previous system would kick us out after sending an emergency alert. It would take us several minutes to get back into the system to see if the alert was sent and how many people the alert was sent to – so when we’re thinking about that from a life safety perspective, it just doesn’t work for us.”
What made you choose Genasys?
“Genasys just seemed to work for us. From the moment we got to play with the test environment, we got to see how it worked. We appreciated all of the people that helped onboard us – it was the best decision we could have made for a city our size.”
“Genasys went out of their way to make sure the platform worked for us – showing us different ways to send messages and how we could triangulate to go back and see how many people receive our messages.”
How have you used the system so far?
“We’ve created a dedicated, dynamic group that is focused on World Cup 2026. A lot of people will be coming here to our venues to watch the games, so we’ve created a sign-up with a keyword so people can start signing up now.”
How does Genasys Protect change how you do your job?
“It allows us to be more involved with the community and how we are messaging. Previously, all we did was send emergency alerts because we were already uncertain about if the existing system would allow us to send out our messages.”
“With Genasys Protect, it allows us to send general messaging. Residents can stay in the know about what’s happening in and around Tacoma.”
How does Genasys help your community?
“It’s helped us because we get to listen to what people want from their alerting system. Whether they want emergency alerts only, whether they want weather alerts, or whether they want general messaging. It’s allowed us to listen to the community, bring them in, and hear what it is they want.”
“It’s also easier for them to sign up, so we just keep watching our numbers grow as we continue to push Tacoma Alert through Genasys Protect.”
Have you noticed any improvements in public safety outcomes since using Genasys Protect?
“Yes, we have continued to watch our numbers grow and that’s because of the ease of use of the system. So, we know for a fact that we are reaching more people. You can see on the app the areas where we are seeing an increase in sign ups and those are places where we didn’t have a good reach before.”
“We’ve also been able to engage with our tribal partners and to get them set up on the same system. They are also using it for the World Cup and getting their members to sign up on Tacoma Alert through Genasys Protect, so they can receive alerts from us as well.”
What would you say to someone considering Genasys Protect?
“I would say jump on that train! It’s an awesome train to be on. Along with the awesome service we’ve received to ensure we’re onboarded and comfortable with the system (which is a big deal), the system has gone out of its way to show us that it’s going to do exactly what we need it to do.”
“There hasn’t been a time where I felt like we have lacked or been missing pieces to the puzzle; it’s been consistent from customer service to the actual use of the system. The biggest thing about Genasys is that they understand the importance of emergency alerting and what it means to us in Emergency Management or Public Safety. I would recommend it to anyone.”
To Sum Up
Whether your community is threatened by floods, wildfires, hurricanes, or large scale events and one-off situations, Genasys Protect is the right technology to keep your emergency managers and first responders in communication and also keep your community informed.
Contact Genasys Protect to learn more about our software and physical speaker capabilities.to learn more about a community emergency notification system that adapts to today’s needs while preparing for tomorrow’s challenges.
