Day two at Green Cities and we’ve already had an interesting conversation that touches on the question of building awareness. RoofRay, an online service that calculates for homeowners how much money they can save on their utility bills if they install solar panels on their roof (www.roofray.com), asked how they could effectively share information with people about the benefits of solar AND inspire those folks to figure out if it’s the right choice for their own households.
Building awareness is the second phase of MG’s Public Will Building Approach, or raising awareness about an issue or need in a community through outreach aimed at educating, raising awareness and building interest about the issue by connecting it with existing core value(s) of priority audiences.
To increase awareness about their service (and the economic and environmental benefits of solar energy) from industry to mainstream consumers, RoofRay is currently working on a direct mail campaign.
We discussed the possibility of raising awareness using an integrated approach of grassroots outreach and traditional media techniques. Grassroots outreach provides direct person-to-person communication to connect the issue to existing values and perhaps most importantly gives your intended audience a chance to ask questions and reflect back to you what they need in order to take action. In essence, it gives your audience the opportunity to become engaged and to take ownership. Traditional communication tools such as media relations and advertising reinforces the work being done directly with audiences by creating a landscape in which your message is heard frequently and from many different sources. This gives champions a fertile environment to connect to others who are ready and willing to enter into the conversation.
For RoofRay, combining their direct mail campaign with traditional marketing (hey they’re at Green Cities – they’re already doing this!) and outreach to key community groups gives them more opportunities to work with and connect with others who looking at solar technology as a green solution.
It was a great conversation and their co-founder said he plans to read Metropolitan Group’s Public Will Building article on the plane on his way home. If you want to read this article, visit www.metgroup.com or visit us at booth #424!
