During the past few weeks, my team and I have had the privilege of working with leaders of the local business community, donating our time, money and expertise to a special project that really shows the profound effect word-of-mouth communication can have among people in a community. Yes, our community has been all abuzz.
While working on publicity for ABC-TV’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” we were part of a team that developed a grass-roots coordination of events to enlist the help and build excitement among hundreds of local companies and organizations, from builders to photographers, suppliers and restaurants, to thousands of volunteers and donors. No doubt, there are take-aways for businesses and not-for-profits that are planning or promoting events or getting behind a cause.
In just one month’s time it all came together to culminate in a weeklong event that started yesterday. Thursday, one well-deserving local family will return to a new custom home built by their friends and neighbors in our very own community.
The builder, Hearthstone Contracting in Washingtonville, got the call from the show and within three days a production team had flown to meet them. From there, Orange County Government and the Orange County Chamber of Commerce brought major business leaders from our community together. Media partner Pamal Broadcasting got behind the project from the beginning, supporting the effort with the full weight of both K104 and WHUD. They ran public service announcements over the airwaves, built awareness through their social media channels, provided talent and music for fundraising events and did interviews with the builders. K104 will broadcast daily from the construction site all week.
Volunteer list snowballed
A pep rally with all the traditional trimmings was planned. The event had the Port Jervis Red Raiders cheerleaders, the USO Liberty Bells, an Air National Guard color guard and Rascal from the Hudson Valley Renegades. With hundreds of members of the community coming out to show support, more than 150 attendees signed up to volunteer on the spot!
Email lists were shared, a Facebook page was built, and invitations to the fundraising events and join-the-build effort distributed far and wide across Orange County and beyond to get the word out and secure the necessary support
$1M raised in cash and services
A telling number for the involvement of people in our community is that nearly $1 million in cash, goods and services has been raised for this project through local fundraising in this short period of time. Of that, the largest cash donation was for $25,000. The bulk of the donations was from local businesses and individuals answering the call to provide the materials, labor and services necessary to do something extraordinary for one of our own.
That’s a lot of people that not only found out about the event but got involved and even donated awfully quickly.
Another telling number: This week there will be more than 1,400 of our neighbors coming together to build this home to change the lives of one deserving family forever.
Grass-roots marketing
Grass-roots marketing and public relations for a cause is about getting deep into the community and building relationships so the fever grows. It often involves knowing/identifying a cause that is buzz-worthy, working the phones and meeting key people in person who can talk to and influence others who can then do the same, and so forth. It involves putting on events, coordinating interview opportunities, and finding media partners to help spread the word.
Looking back over the past month what made “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” so successful here in Orange County was the communication and dedication among the people in this community. People told people who told other people who then told others: You get the idea.
There was no advertising budget for this event. So, a traditional communication avenue was not an option, and because the local ABC-TV affiliate is in New York City, we weren’t able to rely on local broadcast support to get the word out.
Together, however, we all got the message out. And Thursday as the community hears host Ty Pennington shout his famous slogan: “Move That Bus” the reward for this amazing community effort will be evident in the smiling faces and teary eyes of the homeowners as they see their new home for the first time.
Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a leading Hudson Valley advertising and public relations agency. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 294-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at www.adverxtisingandpr.com. His column appears Fridays.
