Public Outreach You Really Can Use
Got airtime?
If you’re responsible for your Phase II stormwater program’s public outreach
campaign—or if, like many programs, you don’t actually have a campaign yet but
have been intending to launch one—the EPA has something that might help. The
Nonpoint Source Outreach Toolbox is available on the agency’s Web site, with a
searchable catalog of more than 700 print ads, radio and television spots,
logos, slogans, and other materials.
Sharing public outreach materials is a common way for NPDES permittees to
save money and resources. The article on page 86 of this issue, “Powered by
Partnership,” describes how the six MS4s in Hendricks County, IN, are sharing
resources—all using the same mascot and logo, for instance, so people seeing the
message in different parts of the state get the impression of an integrated
program. The EPA has simply brought hundreds of these materials together to make
it easier to shop for what you need.
Whatever the problem of most concern in your program—Inconsiderate
dog-walkers not picking up after their pets? Homeowners overfertilizing their
lawns? Washing their cars in the driveway? Dumping trash in the storm
drain?—you’ll find something in the toolbox to address it. The collection is
organized into six categories: general stormwater and storm drain awareness,
lawn and garden, pets, motor vehicles, septic systems, and household chemicals
and waste. It’s also searchable by state if you’re looking for regional
materials—good if you have climate- or terrain-specific issues to address,
although this also increases the chances that people in your region might
already have seen a particular ad. If, however, you coordinate a campaign with
other nearby programs, as the Hendricks County MS4s have, then rather than the
similarity diluting the message it’s likely that the repeated exposure will help
people remember it.
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Most of the examples on the EPA’s site have been developed by local
stormwater agencies, with others by the EPA; most are available for use by other
programs. Contact information and terms of use are provided with each item. The
production values on many of the ads are excellent. Some are pretty darned
funny—exactly the sort of thing that will make people receptive to the message
and more likely to remember it. Several of the TV and radio spots are available
in both English and Spanish. Some have catchy music, and some even have
celebrities—the City and County of Honolulu, for example, has produced a TV spot
featuring actor Richard Chamberlain creating a storm drain stencil and another
showing Hawaiian comedian Frank Delima dressed as a fish. A disproportionate
number of the TV ads, in fact, show people dressed in silly fish costumes,
which, depending on the demographic you most want to reach, could be just the
thing.
With so many options to choose from, it helps if you know ahead of time which
are the most important messages to send to your particular public. If you have
the time and resources, a comprehensive survey, such as the one the North
Carolina Division of Water Quality conducted in 2005, can give you a good
picture of perceptions and behaviors in your state or watershed. But even if you
don’t know precisely what you’re looking for, browsing through the EPA’s catalog
to see what other programs have done is definitely worth the time.
Author's Bio: Janice Kaspersen is the editor of Stormwater magazine.
July-August 2007
Public Outreach You Really Can Use
Got airtime?
If you’re responsible for your Phase II stormwater program’s public outreach
campaign—or if, like many programs, you don’t actually have a campaign yet but
have been intending to launch one—the EPA has something that might help. The
Nonpoint Source Outreach Toolbox is available on the agency’s Web site, with a
searchable catalog of more than 700 print ads, radio and television spots,
logos, slogans, and other materials.
Sharing public outreach materials is a common way for NPDES permittees to
save money and resources. The article on page 86 of this issue, “Powered by
Partnership,” describes how the six MS4s in Hendricks County, IN, are sharing
resources—all using the same mascot and logo, for instance, so people seeing the
message in different parts of the state get the impression of an integrated
program. The EPA has simply brought hundreds of these materials together to make
it easier to shop for what you need.
Whatever the problem of most concern in your program—Inconsiderate
dog-walkers not picking up after their pets? Homeowners overfertilizing their
lawns? Washing their cars in the driveway? Dumping trash in the storm
drain?—you’ll find something in the toolbox to address it. The collection is
organized into six categories: general stormwater and storm drain awareness,
lawn and garden, pets, motor vehicles, septic systems, and household chemicals
and waste. It’s also searchable by state if you’re looking for regional
materials—good if you have climate- or terrain-specific issues to address,
although this also increases the chances that people in your region might
already have seen a particular ad. If, however, you coordinate a campaign with
other nearby programs, as the Hendricks County MS4s have, then rather than the
similarity diluting the message it’s likely that the repeated exposure will help
people remember it.
Most of the examples on the EPA’s site have been developed by local
stormwater agencies, with others by the EPA; most are available for use by other
programs. Contact information and terms of use are provided with each item. The
production values on many of the ads are excellent. Some are pretty darned
funny—exactly the sort of thing that will make people receptive to the message
and more likely to remember it. Several of the TV and radio spots are available
in both English and Spanish. Some have catchy music, and some even have
celebrities—the City and County of Honolulu, for example, has produced a TV spot
featuring actor Richard Chamberlain creating a storm drain stencil and another
showing Hawaiian comedian Frank Delima dressed as a fish. A disproportionate
number of the TV ads, in fact, show people dressed in silly fish costumes,
which, depending on the demographic you most want to reach, could be just the
thing.
With so many options to choose from, it helps if you know ahead of time which
are the most important messages to send to your particular public. If you have
the time and resources, a comprehensive survey, such as the one the North
Carolina Division of Water Quality conducted in 2005, can give you a good
picture of perceptions and behaviors in your state or watershed. But even if you
don’t know precisely what you’re looking for, browsing through the EPA’s catalog
to see what other programs have done is definitely worth the time.