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Editor’s Note: This column, “LBWA” (Leadership By Wandering Around), is based on the premise that, in order to find out what’s going on in the field, a parks-and-rec leader has to leave his or her desk and “wander around” the area of operations, talk to people, ask questions, and kick around ideas with the individuals in the thick of delivering services to the public. So the author will bring up issues and ask the leaders among the readership to share their knowledge and experiences.
The “LBWA” column in the April issue touched on the marketing mission that all recreation departments must adopt to remain competitive in today’s environment. The article prompted one Florida recreation superintendent to write in with some additional ideas. Shannon Schafer, in the city of Safety Harbor, wrote about some of the ideas used in that department.
“We are one of those small departments with no marketing division, but the importance of marketing has been shared with all our staff,” Shannon wrote, adding that the entire staff is involved in brainstorming, production and delivery of marketing ideas. The members employ all the standard marketing tools, such as news releases, flyers, banners, postcards, brochures, social media and the like, but one unique idea was to gain permission from the local schools to appear on morning video announcements.
“We have an excellent partnership with our local schools so we make regular visits to their morning shows,” Shannon noted. “We not only promote our programs, but the mission of all parks and recreation departments, which is to keep kids active and healthy. Kids come up to us at our centers, parks, events and say, ‘Hey, I saw you on TV at school.’”
