Be Floridian Follow the Flock
Follow the Flock is an events-based public outreach and social media campaign designed to help improve water quality in our creeks and bays by promoting the message that “our yards are connected to our creeks and bays” and providing examples of best practices for residential yard care.
Follow the Flock is presented by the Science and Environment Council of Southwest Florida (www.scienceandenvironment.org), co-branded with the Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s Be Floridian campaign (www.befloridian.org), and sponsored by the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
Follow the Flock extends the outreach of Be Floridian and its use of the iconic pink flamingo lawn ornament to promote responsible use of water, fertilizer and pesticides and to advocate for using the right plant for the right place in your yard. Follow the Flock integrates a large-format travelling education display, smartphone “Be Floridian Challenge” game, “Watershed Stewardship” pledge, and a social media campaign. Oh, and did we mention the flamingo hat balloon artist?!
Project Locations
Sarasota and Manatee Counties, Florida
Client/Partners
Southwest Florida Water Management District, Tampa Bay Estuary Program: Be Floridian, Sarasota County, Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, Science and Environment Council of Southwest Florida
Opportunity
Create an outreach campaign to promote best practices for yardcare.
Services
Web design, Smartphone game design, Social meda strategy and marketing: Facebook, Large format display design, Community Outreach
Website
Campaign Story Boards:
Follow the Flock appears at outdoor and nature-based events and randomly at public places as a flamingo “flash mob”. At events, an outrageous flock of 48 pink yard flamingos, flamingo wranglers with custom Follow the Flock flamingo stickers, and flamingo balloon artists greet and draw participants into the educational display area. There, a six-foot tri-panel display highlights watershed science and best individual yard-care practices with clear, targeted messaging and a four-foot Be Floridian cardboard flamingo dispenses informational rack-cards. Individual storyboards feature messaging related to reducing fertilizer and pesticide use, reducing yard runoff, water conservation, and replacing sections of turf grass with the right plant in the right place.
Photographs from events:
Participants are encouraged to use smartphones to take an online “Be Floridian Challenge” to demonstrate their understanding of the issues and best practices and to make a “Watershed Stewardship Pledge” to pledge actionable steps for better yard stewardship. Paper versions of the Challenge and Pledge are also available. Each quiz and pledge taken enters participants into a daily drawing for a pair of iconic 1950s Don Featherstone-designed yard flamingos or one of two grand prize iPads. A third contest entry is available to participants for “checking-in” to the Follow the Flock Facebook page, which details future events and photos from past events. Captured email addresses allow for follow-up surveys and assessment.
Events and the Follow the Flock campaign are marketed using targeted Facebook advertising linked to the Follow the Flock Facebook Page and website. In addition, events are marketed via print media, social media and email newsletters. To date, more than 15,000 people have viewed the educational display at 16 events, the Be Floridian Challenge or the Watershed Stewardship Pledge have been taken over 1400 times, Facebook ads have been shown 3.7 million times to 700,000 targeted users, generating 9500 clicks and 7000 actions.
