Part 2 of 3: Implement a Marketing & Communications Plan

Upon starting my current role, one of my initial workplan items was to complete a thorough Marketing and Communications Plan for the department.

We are a mid-sized department with about 75 FTE’s.

The post-pandemic era brought changes in leadership and with it, a need to revisit and clarify our marketing and communication protocols.

The vision:

However, as with most busy local government professionals, I had competing priorities that were limiting my ability to spend the time necessary to dedicate to the project.

After a 1:1 with my director, and saying “I need help”, she suggested we utilize the assistance of a consultant to get it across the finish line.

I’m so glad we did.

My goals for the project:

1. Practical: Every element of the plan needed to be grounded in real-world application.

2. Tactical: Strategies had to be specific, designed for on-the-ground use by staff within each team.

3. Actionable: The plan should serve as a catalyst for immediate implementation.

To distill complexity into simplicity, we worked with our consultant on a “communication playbook”.

A one-page document that took all of our communication channels and turned it into a quick reference guide.

The playbook simplifies decision-making by providing an at-a-glance overview of our communication channels, strategies, and protocols.

Serving as a concise, go-to resource for immediate clarity on where to direct questions or how to execute communications tasks.

For each communication channel, we give an overview for more context:

With even more detail for those diving deeper:

We encouraged staff to print off the one-pager as that should direct them to “the next step” when a question comes up on their team.

Other sections include:

• Plan Training and Promotion

• Communication Vision

• Goals and Objectives

• Roles and Responsibilities

• Key Messages

• Establishing Newsworthiness

• Equitable Involvement Resources

• Editorial Calendar

Several appendices are included at the end of the plan, such as:

• Brand Guidelines

• Audience Personas

• CAPRA Certification guide

• Promotion Checklist

• Social Media Engagement Guide

• Performance Metrics

• Apparel Standards

• Printing Specifications

• Research/SWOT

• Templates

To access the full Communications & Community Involvement Plan, jokingly, I'd suggest forwarding this newsletter to another parks and recreation professional you know who might enjoy Parks & Recipes.

But in all seriousness, you can view the entire plan under the Marketing & Communications recipe category on www.parksandrecipes.com

3 gold stars to whoever forwards to one friend though 😉

In the concluding installment of our mini-series "Marketing for Parks & Recreation," we'll explore our strategies for achieving Equitable Engagement within our community.

Over the last week, our most popular recipe was:

Also, ya’ll responded so well to our poll question last week for those who would use a modern job board, specifically catered to leadership positions within the Parks & Recreation industry.

We are working on the development and will be sure to keep you all updated on our progress.

To inquire about posting to the job board we would love to send you a one-pager with the key facts that separate us from NRPA, various State Associations, etc.

Send us a quick email with the subject line “Job Board” and we will reply with key information and reserve you a spot, along with a code to access our introductory pricing.

Have a great day 👍🏼