Parks PSA is CREAM of the Crop
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First the silver screen, now an award of excellence. The County Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) is showing off a new plaque these days from the California Park and Recreation Society (CPRS). During a recent CPRS awards ceremony in San Jose, Parks took home the 2012 Award of Excellence for a public service announcement (PSA) video in the marketing category. (Watch the PSA below)
You could even say it won the C.R.E.A.M. of the crop! That’s because the PSA met the CPRS award requirements showing County Parks met Challenge, Resourcefulness, Execution, Accomplishment and Mission principles.
“County Parks has so much to offer with more than 45,000 acres of parks, trails and open space,” said DPR Director Brian Albright. “A PSA for neighborhood movie theaters was the perfect answer so that the next time these folks were thinking of getting outside, they would think of our parks, trails and facilities first.”
So what was the PSA about exactly? You know how old family movies take you back in time to the wonderful times you had together? This PSA takes on that same nostalgic look and showcases all the family fun you could have at a County park campsite. The video vignettes highlight hiking, biking, fishing, horseback riding, bird watching, quiet times playing board games, marshmallow roasting over a campfire and of course, camping.
Lakeside REC Club Supervisor Ryan Flickinger (middle) accepts the 2012 Award of Excellence for marketing from the California Park and Recreation Society.
The PSA made its debut last September at four of the most visited movie theaters in San Diego County, the AMC theaters in Escondido, Mission Valley, Otay and El Cajon. The 60-second video ran on the silver screen during movie previews and patrons could also catch the PSA on large 52” television screens in theater lobbies while waiting in line to buy snacks.
DPR and the County Communications Office worked together to produce the PSA and all the actors were volunteers or County Park employees. They should be proud. Their efforts paid off. During the five-week time period the PSA was shown, theater management estimates nearly 646,000 people saw the video each week. Cox Communications also aired the PSA on its channels 50 times during the same time period. Statewide recognition from the CPRS award was just a bonus.
County Parks knows it has a lot to offer. It just needed to get the word out there. People watched and listened and who knows? Your neighbors might invite you over to see some home movies of their adventures at a nearby County park. Take popcorn!