Social Marketing Campaign for Trails

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Social Marketing Campaign for Trails

• Dr. Sarah Keller
• Kathleen Aragon
• MSU-Billings students

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Why Trails Greenways

• Improve the quality of life
• Encourage physical fitness, lowering health care
  costs
• Strengthen local economies and tax base
• Combine environmental and economic benefits
• Preserve culturally and historically valuable
  areas
• Improve property values
• Traffic congestion relief
• Save gasoline

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Strengthens Local Economies

• Fitness activity is growing nationwide
• Between 1987 and 2003, mountain bike
  participation rose by 359, fitness walking rose
  almost 40, and trail running 16 (SMGA,2004)
• Trails generate money
• Average economic activity related to trails in
  Florida, California and Iowa is 1.5 million
  annually (National Park Service)
• Economic impact of trails involve a combination
  of newly created trailrelated jobs and the
  expansion of existing businesses related to
  travel equipment, clothes, food, souvenirs and
  maps
• In Los Angeles County alone, hikers supported a
  300 million hiking equipment industry (SMGA,
  2004)

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Economic Benefits

• Active design brings
• Job growth in construction and maintenance
• Expansion of existing business related to travel,
  equipment, clothes, food, souvenirs and maps
• Cities attractiveness as a recreation
  destination
• Cross-over use of tourism-related activities like
  river-rafting tours, bike rentals, restaurants
  and lodging.
• Businesses seeking to relocate or establish a
  corporate headquarters
• Increased property values
• 73 of the real-estate agents believe a home near
  a trail is easier to sell
• 29 homeowners were influenced by the proximity
  of a trail in buying their home

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Economic Benfits

• Suzan Beal, Coldwell Banker Properties along
  the trail have taken off Ive got a list of 300
  prospective buyers waiting for property along the
  river and trail

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Billings
Increased physical activity
Yellowstone County
Increased independence
Improved pedestrian skills
Community design
More social interaction
Trails
Less reliance on automobile
Reduced fear of crime
Decreased neighborhood/ school traffic
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Process

• Partner w/ experts
• Research audience
• Draft message concepts
• Pre-test
• Find sponsors
• Enlist media professionals
• Disseminate

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Partners

• MSU-B Dept. of
• Communication Theatre
• BikeNet
• Safe Routes to School
• St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation
• Media
• Spotlight Productions
• KTVQ
• Strange Sister Creative
• Accent Media

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Healthcare Industry

• Healthy communities are physically attractive
  and inhabited by active community members.
  Townsfolk are committed to promoting the Go
  Play assets of the community which invigorate
  vibrant economic engines and produce a great
  place to live.
• David Irion, Executive Director, St. Vincent
  Healthcare Foundation

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Research

• Formative research
• Focus groups with audience
• Secondary analysis of data
• Expert Interviews
• Alternative Modes Coordinator, City of Billings,
  Darlene Tussing
• Earl Guss, YRPA founder
• Kathy Aragon, Safe Routes to School Planner
• Mike Penfold, Trail Activist

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Objectives

• Increase
• safety of pedestrians
• perceived benefits of pedestrian modes of
  transportation
• motivation and intentions to use sidewalks,
  trails, bike lanes and greenways
• support for building sidewalks, trails, bike
  lanes and greenways

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Messages

• Message design
• Pick media channels
• Draft messages
• PSA TV or radio
• Print art billboard, posters, brochure
• Pre-test with audience members
• Pre-test focus groups to refine/change messages
  test effectiveness

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Dissemination

• Publicity
• Press release
• Media interviews
• Magic City Trail Trek
• Printing
• Production
• Distribution to broadcast/print media
• KTVQ
• Lamar Advertising
• Kick-off events
• St. Patricks Day Parade March 17
• Child Health Safety Fair March 24
• Bike-Walk-Bus Week May 14-19
• Magic City Trail Trek May 20
• Heart Sole Run June 9

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Billboards June 1-Sept. 1, 2007 Wicks Main
Sts.
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Billboards 27th St. S. June 1 Sept. 1, 2007
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Billboard25th Grand Ave.
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BillboardMetra Park
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TV PSAs

• Discover Billings
• Helmet Hair
• Family Time

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Brochure

• Kid-friendly map
• Trail benefits
• Safety
• Health
• Economic
• How to get involved

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Future

• MT Dept of transportation funding for 2007-08
  safe routes to school messages
• Citizens Pedestrian Advisory Council
• Community Health Plan
• Alliance Workgroup (Celebrate Billings, Deering
  Clinic, Board of Health)

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