Promotion
Careful promotion of your garden market is another critical success factor. It will help employees become aware of the new program and answer their questions prior to opening day. Integral to promotion of your garden market is a communication plan that provides employees, the vendor, and management with the most current information about the garden market.
Developing a Communication Plan
Developing a communication plan and timeline are advisable for smooth
implementation of any workforce health promotion program. The communication plan can be developed
in parallel to the previous steps in this toolkit, so that it is ready for
use when the planning phase is complete.
Communication plans often include the following information:
- Project name
- Sponsoring departments and contact person
- Issue to be addressed
- Project goals and objectives
- Target audience
- Opening day timeline and communication strategies
- Ongoing promotion strategies
Opening Day Communication
As part of the communication plan, develop a strategy for promoting the
opening day of your garden market. The strategy should describe what promotional
materials and advertising channels will be used. Be creative and ask your
planning team for their ideas for advertising the market.
Promotional materials should explain the following information:
- A brief explanation of the garden market and its purpose
- Date and times of operation
- Location and directions
- Monies accepted for payments (for example, cash and credit or debit cards)
- A sample list of foods to be sold
Advertising channels that can be used include the following examples:
- Company e-mails
- Announcements at meetings
- Posters in highly visible locations
- Payroll inserts
- Public address system
Consider the following when selecting a communication method in each project phase:
- Target your audience. Check with your email administrator to find the best way.
- Use posters and flyers, but don’t leave them up so long that they become “wallpaper.”
- Make sure your communication plan includes notices about the operation of the garden market (for example, closings or delayed openings due to bad weather, traffic delays, mechanical problems, or other issues).
- Consult your garden market committee for creative ideas to attract more people to the market.
Ongoing Promotion
To maintain continued interest in your garden market, promote the market as a
regular source of fresh fruits and vegetables for employees. After opening
day, implement your ongoing promotion strategy.
Consider using these promotional ideas for your market:
- Advertise weekly specials. Ask your vendor for advance notice of special pricing each week. Verify your information with the vendor before publication so you don’t accidentally offer something at the wrong price.
- Provide employees with nutritious recipes that use the weekly specials. For a good source of recipes, see FruitsandVeggiesMatter.gov.
- Plan a first anniversary celebration to renew employee interest.
Next Steps
After you have completed the communication plan, your next step is to plan for opening day of your garden market and prepare for its ongoing operation.
Garden Market
Example Tools
-
CDC Garden Market Example - Informational
Signs
(PDF-1.4Mb) - Planning Checklist
(PDF-54k)
- Price Signs
(PDF-607k)
- Promotional Flyers
(PDF-62k)
Other Helpful Information
Please note: Some of these publications are available for download only as *.pdf files. These files require Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to be viewed. Please review the information on downloading and using Acrobat Reader software.
* Links to non-Federal organizations found at this site are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at these links.
Page last updated: May 22, 2007
Content Source: Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
