Division B - Printed Tools of Public Relations
Category 4 - Brochure - Four Color
Florida reBuilds Brochure
Moore Consulting Group, Agency for Workforce Innovation
Award of Distinction
Research/Situation Analysis:
Florida has faced a shortage of trained construction workers due to
unprecedented growth and the 2005 hurricane season. According to a
study by the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation (AWI), there were
more than 13,000 construction job vacancies in Florida and many areas
faced delays with construction and repair projects due to hurricane
damages caused in 2005. After Hurricane Katrina, many Florida-based
construction companies moved their operations to the Gulf Coast region
(primarily Louisiana and Mississippi) because of the abundance of work
and the amount of emergency funds available for rebuilding efforts.
Concerned about the negative impact such a job shortage could have on
Florida's growth, Florida’s legislators and Governor Jeb Bush and Lt.
Governor Toni Jennings addressed methods for alleviating this lack of
trained workers. During the 2006 Legislative Session, the Florida
Legislature allocated $12 million to study and address the shortage.
AWI was tasked with creating and overseeing a program that would raise
awareness about the crisis, educate job seekers about opportunities
available in construction trades and train individuals in careers in
the construction industry. Lt. Governor Jennings recommended that AWI
call this new program Florida reBuilds. AWI hired Moore Consulting
Group (MCG) to conduct a comprehensive marketing campaign, including
media relations, public relations and partner-recruitment efforts. MCG
conducted a media scan, including a Lexis/Nexis search of related
Florida media coverage, and researched articles related to damages that
remained from the 2005 hurricanes due to the worker shortage. Finally,
MCG, in conjunction with AWI’s statistics and survey department,
conducted an analysis of information collected by AWI in 2005. AWI
leadership accelerated the original August 2006 - July 2007 timeline to
complete project objectives by December 31, 2006, due to an immediate
need for workers. To help spread the Florida reBuilds message to
interested parties, MCG needed a tool to inform and educate individuals
about the need for trained construction workers and the ongoing
communication campaign. Primary target audiences for this project
included: individuals interested in construction careers, trade
associations, educational institutions, construction companies and
Florida’s general public.
Objectives: 1) Develop a creative, eye catching
informational tool to raise awareness about the opportunities available
in the construction trades among targeted audiences and move them to
participate in the training program, as measured by recruiting at least
4,000 individuals to the program. 2) Raise awareness in the
construction industry, as measured by recruiting 48 partners. 3)
Produce the tool for less than $.75 per piece.
Implementation: Objective 1) Because of the
numerous programs that our partners (Workforce Centers, community
colleges and vocational technical institutes) provide, reBuilds decided
to develop a brochure that would stand out and make this issue
top-of-mind to its target audiences. After conducting several
brainstorming sessions, MCG designed and provided copy writing for two
concepts for the brochure: a toolbox shaped piece and a standard
tri-fold piece. MCG conducted two focus groups to determine which
brochure better resonated with our target audiences. The toolbox
concept was a unanimous selection as the piece our focus groups
preferred. Once the concept was secured, MCG finalized the copy for the
piece based on feedback from the focus group participants. The brochure
contained a brief overview of the construction shortage, a section on
whom to contact about the program and a section on how companies can
become involved as trainers. 2) MCG developed the brochure to be a key
element of the partnership recruitment kit. The kit was designed to
provide information about the crisis and targeted educational
institutions, vocational technical institutions, trade associations,
workforce/employment centers, construction companies and home
improvement companies. These kits were distributed to potential
partners statewide to enlist their support for the program. 3) MCG
negotiated with numerous paper suppliers and printers to secure the
best price possible for producing the brochures.
Evaluation: The program exceeded its goals and
reached its target markets for each objective: Objective 1) AWI loved
the brochure and asked for 25,000 copies to be produced and distributed
to all of the Florida reBuilds partners. Within a week of distribution,
calls to the Florida reBuilds toll-free number increased by 100
percent. The brochures were so popular that AWI requested an additional
15,000 and distributed them again to the reBuilds partners for use at
their "Build-A-Job” events. Due to the aggressive integrated
communications program (including the brochure), more than 7,400 job
seekers were recruited for Florida reBuilds training. 2) As a result of
partnership recruitment efforts, more than 100 organizations partnered
with Florida reBuilds, including Lowes, Caterpillar, Florida Home
Builders Association, Florida’s 24 Workforce Development Boards and
Florida’s Community College Network.3) Through working with existing
partnerships and extended negotiations, MCG was able to produce the
brochures for $.64 a piece.
Budget: Printing of brochures: $24,000. Shipping:
$1,500 (materials and postage). Staff time and assembly for shipping:
covered under the retainer. Total: $25,500 ($4,500 under budget).