Marketing Begins Within
By Jim Henegar
Parks and recreation has been a dream career choice for me. What other field would allow me to program activities that make a difference in so many lives while also allowing me to interact and participate with my community? I had so many ideas when I began 20+ years ago. I loved sports and was looking forward to offering athletic leagues, camps, and special events that the community could enjoy! My eagerness was met with an understanding that marketing would be vital to the success or failure of whatever the department was offering. Little did I know then that I should have been at the head of the marketing process.
Control The Message
I was lucky enough to start my career in a position that was well established and had successful existing programs/activities. My first special event was a 5K run, one of the premier events for the city. I was a little nervous because I really had no experience in overseeing such a huge event. However, I dove right in and began marketing the event exactly the way it always had been—flyers, press releases, and newspaper advertisements. I even had an inquiry from a major newspaper in the area concerning the event, which was exciting! I met weekly with my immediate supervisors, the parks and recreation director and superintendent, and kept them up to speed on my progress. When the director heard about the newspaper inquiry, he assured me he would respond since I was so busy and didn’t really have the experience with media that he had built up over the years. This made perfect sense to me, so I immersed myself in my work and labored long hours up until the day of the event. The event officially started at 6 a.m., so I was at the location at 2 a.m. to ensure everything was set up and ready to go. The race went off without a hitch and was a HUGE success. The journalist from the newspaper who contacted me was there and named our event the road race of the year! The article was published the following week so I excitedly bought multiple copies to share with family and friends. I opened the paper, found the article, and began to read, impatiently looking for my name as race director. Imagine my surprise when I saw that my director and superintendent were named as the race directors and were even interviewed for the article. There was not one mention of the tireless days and long hours I had put in. That was my first lesson in marketing—if I don’t control the message, others will.
Choose Your Words Carefully
Two months later my director wanted to start an annual golf tournament and asked me to begin the process by researching venues and looking at possible expenses and revenue. The department had just hired a special-event coordinator who would help market the tournament, which was a relief to me. The golfers started playing at approximately 8 a.m., and the coordinator and I quickly began preparing for the awards luncheon at the conclusion of play. At approximately 8:05 a.m., we discovered that an advertisement in the paper for the tournament stated there would be free drinks. Unfortunately, the new coordinator forgot to note that free drinks would be available only at the luncheon. We did our best to accommodate the participants but couldn’t afford to pay for free drinks during the entire day for over 80 golfers. This didn’t sit well with most of the players, and a few of them contacted another local newspaper. My director was interviewed again, but this time my name was mentioned as tournament director. This was lesson number two in marketing.
Enjoy Success, Acknowledge Failure
I hadn’t been in this field for a year, and already I had experienced the highs and lows this career offers. I soon realized I needed to do a better job of marketing myself as the person responsible for the success or failure of the events I supervised. Fast-forward 20 years and multiple municipalities, and this lesson finally kicked in! Please understand I am not suggesting I alone was or am responsible for activities/programs I oversee; however, if I am ultimately going to be held responsible, I have to control the message. I strive to create a positive image for myself and encourage fellow staff members to do the same. I am currently employed by Boca Raton, which is an amazing municipality, so my actions need to portray only the best. When people sign up for a program in my section, excellence is the only expectation they should have. Excellent programs begin with excellent leaders, which is why it is imperative that marketing begins within.
My section offers programs that were recently rebranded to take advantage of our strengths. We initially spent a large amount of money on marketing materials to reach as many people as possible. After years of hard work, we have now established a reputation for offering what we market: premier instructional youth sports programs and outstanding adult leagues. This was accomplished by promoting the exceptional abilities of our staff members. By following through with the goals described in the materials, we have been able to reduce the amount of money spent annually on marketing, which is now done almost primarily by word of mouth. Our customers sing our praises as the programs quickly reach capacity enrollment. This success wouldn’t be possible without the staff making a concerted effort to market themselves as leaders in the field, which their actions reinforce on a daily basis. We are able to sell our programs because we control and take responsibility for the message.
Remember that direct interactions with the people we serve essentially either sell our programs or eventually lead to their demise. We should take responsibility for the one thing we can control, and that’s our message! Let our behavior be the catalyst for positive change in others, and let’s lead the way in our field by being better today than we were yesterday. Good luck!
Jim Henegar, CPRP, CYSA, is the Athletic Supervisor II for the City of Boca Raton Parks and Recreation Department in Florida. Reach him at jhenegar@myboca.us.