Marketing Minute
Marketing Minute
“By just changing the name, the perception of school meals completely changed and we created a buzz in our community.”
Left: Student opening their individually wrapped picnic lunch. Below: Food & Nutrition Services, Lee County Sheriff Department,
and Cape Coral Parks & Rec pose for photo in front of Fun Mobile.
Feeding You Community in a Creative Way!
Social Pro at NxtGen Network Breanna Gustafson
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It’s that time of year again! School is almost out for the summer and summer meal planning is underway. You may even be thinking of ways you can increase summer meal participation and market meals at no charge to your community. Have you considered rebranding your summer meal program? Rebranding your summer meal program is one of the best things you can do for promotional purposes, inclusivity, and the perception of your program. Here are some easy ways you can shine a new light on summer meals! 1. Stop calling it summer feeding Yes, technically that’s what it is, but why not come up with something more creative that speaks to all community members and not just the ones who may need it most? Rebranding the summer meal program at the School District of Lee County was one of my favorite projects I’ve ever worked
on. Changing “Summer Feeding” to “Picnics in the Park” reached and engaged a brand new audience, got more press coverage, and allowed for summer meal service to be an opportunity to educate the community about the district’s meal service program. The perception of school meals completely changed and we created a buzz in our community. Once the program was rebranded, we were able to rely on word-of-mouth marketing, something that isn’t typically found in school foodservice. “Teaming up with the School District of Lee County Food&NutritionServices tooffer theUSDAsummer feeding program, paired with fun and educational activities from the Cape Coral Fun-Mobile, has been a huge success,” said Michelle Dean, Cape Coral Parks & Recreation Marketing Coordinator. “By working together to promote the program through social media and other communication vehicles, both organizations were able to maximize limited marketing budgets and expand positive awareness throughout the community.”
Above: Pop-up nutrition education at summer meal events. Right: Coloring pages were also given with the picnic lunches to each of the students.
2. Plan events around meal service Have a summer meal kickoff day! This doesn’t have to be anything extravagant but simply working with other departments within your community to cross promote the first day of meal service will
help maximize your marketing efforts. You could even invite your local first responders to volunteer and help hand out meals that day. If you want to take it a step further, partner with your Parks & Recreation Department to co-host an event at a park that encourages families to come to the park
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