Events Marketing: Inform the Public
by Dick Dyer, APR

Events marketing should be an important part of an organization’s communications tool box.

While on assignment at a landfill in central Pennsylvania, the company asked me to develop ways to show the host community the latest technology in landfilling and help people feel more comfortable about a proposed expansion. Since landfill companies are not high on anyone’s list of preferred businesses, I knew this would be a daunting task.

Going to the dump used to be an important part of our culture. My dad used to load up the trash and a rifle and take me to the dump every Saturday morning. We’d dispose of our trash, pick over items that had been set aside for recycling, shoot a few rats and talk politics with whoever showed up.

Nowadays, you don’t go to the dump. You go to the transfer station or have your trash hauled. Most people don’t even know where their trash goes, let alone how it gets handled. Therefore, modern landfill technology does not get seen and is not understood.

I was nervous on the day I flew from Maine to make my presentation to the landfill managers, including the group’s vice president. I was about to propose that they hold a landfill open house — a field day, at which they would serve hot dogs. At the dump!

Not surprisingly, my presentation was met with a hearty round of laughter. Who would ever come out to a landfill with their families to hear about landfill technology? Well, the group vice president, who had been trying for months to lower concerns in the community, came to my rescue and basically said: “Let’s give it a try. What have we got to lose?”

The result: More than 800 people in a community of 5,000 came to the landfill on a beautiful fall day to participate in the event. Here’s why it worked.

Tip No. 1 - Employ all the senses in the creative process
My idea was novel and creative and it employed numerous senses. First, we had food served in Frisbee plates that everyone could take home and enjoy. We also had numerous displays of information so that people could better understand the landfill technology. Next, we brought in buses that could take people through landfill operations. The buses were equipped with microphones and engineers/tour guides to explain what people were seeing. The engineers also pointed out what citizens didn’t see or experience—no rats, no smells.

Tip No. 2 - Don’t forget the target audiences, remember the little folks
Everything we developed was designed to be age appropriate. We had technical materials developed so everyone could understand the language. We also remembered that we needed to educate everyone about the facts of our trash, how it is handled safely and about recycling. For the children (though adults were interested too), we brought in a robot that was programmed to answer basic questions about recycling and environmental safety.

Based upon follow-up surveys in the community, the day was a huge success. In fact, the company offered open houses annually thereafter and the landfill expanded with community support. The best result of the event was the interaction between the employees of the company and their neighbors. The workers realized their neighbors were not really against the landfill, but just plain didn’t understand landfill technology.

Tip No. 3 - Remember that people are naturally curious about what goes on around them
For many reasons, companies do not open up to tell people what they do. That becomes a missed opportunity.

Dick Dyer is nationally accredited in public relations and owns Dyer Associates in Winthrop, Maine. He can be reached at dyerapr@fairpoint.net.