… OR how some cows, a chicken, a couple goats, a bear and a deer joined forces to spread the word about our countywide survey.
For the past month Rappahannock folks have seen flyers, posters and print ads featuring these animal kingdom types chit-chatting about the Foothills Form survey. There are none better, the thinking went, to talk about developments in rural Rappahannock than our own picturesque livestock.
While the get-the-word-out campaign was a real team effort (like most great things are), all credit for the animal-spokesman theme goes to our own Stephen Brooks, one of FF’s most active directors.
During a come-one, come-all brainstorming session on community engagement at the Rappahannock Library, a group gathered in August to discuss how to launch the survey.
We were able to hear from some of this county’s most creative minds: writers, designers, filmmakers, photographers, marketers. With focus group sessions wrapping up and a draft of the survey in the works at the UVA Center for Survey Research, we started batting around ideas. Mr. Brooks, a roll-up-his-sleeves FT Valley homeowner, tossed out the talking cow idea. We all looked at him kind of funny, but our campaign was off and running! Multifaceted designer Bill Pragluski sketched out the flyers using some great livestock photos by Molly Peterson and others. The admittedly cornball text came from all of us. We’ve enjoyed hearing positive feedback, and we’re pleased with the result: A steady stream of residents saying they filled out and returned their survey.
We hope everyone caught a glimpse of the four consecutive messages, featured in newspaper ads and flyers posted around the county.
And now, for the first time, here’s the whole crew pictured below! Big thank you to everyone involved!
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