Promoting Outdoor Recreation and Physical Activity on the WebAlyssa UrsilloJuly 17, 2011

Case Studies•National Park Service (NPS) Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA)•Active Living By Design (ALBD)•YMCA of the USA (The Y)

Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance

Program (RTCA) Mission: implements the natural resource conservation

and outdoor recreation mission of the National Park Service in communities across America

Health Vision: Through its Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program, the National Park Service has launched a nationwide initiative to encourage healthful outdoor physical activity in National Parks and local communities to demonstrate practical approaches for public land managers and community leaders who want to encourage active lifestyles.

Target Audience: partners with non-profit organizations, local, state, federal government agencies, tribes, community groups, health-related organizations

RTCA HomepagePathways to Healthy

Living Homepage

Web Strategy

Conservation monthly e-newsletter: 8000 subscribers

E-postcards announcing applications and projects

State PDF pages highlighting projects

Community Toolbox, Making Friends Handbook

Press releases and news

Embedded videos about projects

Pathways to Healthy Living

Brief descriptions of health projects

Health partners list

Brief description of health initiatives

Outdated publications

No link back to RTCA, no RTCA branding

General

Branding and Web

Development•Not on NPS Content Management System

•Restrictive and inconsistent government policies on social media and web design

•Utah State University web audit and positioning framework

•Clark Strategic Communications recommendations

Future Directions

NPS.gov

SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weaknesses-Large government agency-Dedicated staff-Several partner organizations-Past web audits and communication strategy consultations-Valued reputation as skilled experts by partners-Highly successful e-newsletter-Videos highlighting projects embedded in site

-No access to NPS CMS-Restrictive and inconsistent government policies on social media and web design-Situated within slow moving government bureaucracy-Weak branding-Out of date content-Less experience with health messaging-Staff diffused through regions, making communication challenging

Opportunities Threats-Momentum around physical activity and outdoor recreation promotion-New role in health promotion-NPS.gov revamp and new vision-NPS social media guides and strategies-Corita’s position will focus more exclusively on website

-Many other health organizations more experienced in field-Social media use opens up agency to complaints about government-USU surveys found many communities and organizations do not know RTCA’s mission or services-Health only one area of focus

Active Living By Design (ALBD)

Mission: create community-led change by working with local and national partners to build a culture of active living and healthy eating

Vision: All communities are healthy communities where routine physical activity and healthy eating are accessible, easy and affordable to everyone

Target Audience: grantees, future funders, media, interested communities

ALBD Homepage

Web Strategy

“Story Catcher” – showcases community project successes for funders and media

Tool for grantees

Community profiles and communities in action

Vimeo, Flickr, Wikipedia, Facebook fan page for grantee alumni

Media Center and image gallery

Dashboard and Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities (HKHC) website

Branding and Web

Development

•Began as program office of Robert Woods Johnson Foundation: Active Living by Design (ALbD)

•Began as resource hub and moved to highlighting community work

•2009 became independent organization Active Living By Design (ALBD)

•New logo

Web Development

HKHC Homepage

SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weaknesses-Well-organized and easy to navigate site-Large national organization funders-Based in school of public health-Successful rebranding effort-Targeted social media strategies-Community profiles and communities in action-Use limited resources efficiently-Exclusive health focus

-one staff person managing two websites-limited budget-Website doesn’t contain links to social media-At times website is content heavy-Difference between community profiles and communities in action unclear at first-latest news sections and recent resources not updated

Opportunities Threats-Can use features from ALBD site for new HKHC site-Dashboard site allows grantees to build own stories by posting photos, etc.-Explosion of research on active living and healthy eating

-Staff now focused on new HKHC program and website-No longer giving grants to selected communities through ALBD-Explosion of new resources makes it difficult to keep site updated with latest publications

YMCA of the USA

Mission: put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all

Focus Areas: youth development, social responsibility, healthy living

Healthier Communities and Healthy Family Home initiatives

Target Audience: local Ys, families, adults, kids

Healthy Family Home target audience: families with kids aged 5-12

Ymca.net Homepage

Healthy Family Home Homepage

Web Strategy

Facebook page – 21,729 people like it, Twitter for some initiatives, Y Finder App

Local Ys have own websites, social media, web presence

Five pillars of a Healthy Family Home: eat healthy, play every day, get together, go outside, sleep well

Healthy Family Home newsletter, starter kit, quiz

Branding and Web

Development

•Healthy Family Home launched in 2008

•Began with 3 pillars in phase 1, now has 5 in phase 2

•Rebranding effort in last year with revitalized logo and website – more colorful to reflect diversity

•“The Y” brand being brought to local Ys

Future Directions

Robust sharing site

More content, knowledge, move towards outdoors and connecting with local Y camps

Phase 3 of Healthy Family Home targeted to emerging families and separate web presence for teens

SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weaknesses-Large federated non-profit-Long history and well-recognized brand-Successful revitalization of website-Extremely easy to use and visually appealing website-Local Y Finder feature-Healthy Family Home specific web strategy-Social media staff person-Strong focus on communities

-Some health initiatives (Healthier Communities) scattered throughout website-Limited social media presence for large organization-Large diffuse network of local Ys makes branding and unified messaging efforts challenging-Lack of resources posted on website

Opportunities Threats-Connecting with local Y camps to promote health benefits of outdoor recreation-Many national organizations as collaborators-Expanding Healthy Family Home to other target audiences-New uses for Twitter-Increased outreach through local Ys

-Many other initiatives and focus areas not directly related to health-Y not necessarily known for health initiatives-Other organizations or people connected to local Y creating social networking profiles not endorsed by YMCA of USA

Comparison

RTCA ALBD YMCA

Facebook x

Twitter x

Vimeo/YouTube x

Flickr x

Wikipedia x x

E-newsletter x x

Toolkits x x x

Press releases x x x

Embedded videos x x

Search bar x x

Resources tab x x

Community profiles

x

RTCA Recommendations

Gain access to NPS CMS (in the works for 6 years)

Organize navigation by focus area: river conservation, trail development, health initiatives

Consider renaming “Pathways to Healthy Living” to “Healthy Communities”

Prominent links to RTCA on NPS.gov and partner websites and social media

Create health project profiles and health e-newsletter

Twitter for individual projects, Facebook alumni page, Vimeo and Flickr accounts

Health Pages

ALBD Recommendations

Connect sites with links to Vimeo, Flickr, Wikipedia, HKHC on ALBD site

Consolidate “what we do,” “our approach,” and “about albd” tabs

Create “our communities” tab to organize community profiles and communities in action

Hire intern or staff to update content (resources and research)

Develop e-newsletter and ALBD community toolkit

YMCA Recommendations

Organize all health initiatives under “Healthy Living” and list them in drop down menu

Develop a “resources” tab with publications, toolkits, etc.

Create Flickr, Vimeo, and Foursquare accounts

Incorporate families’ voices/personal accounts in Healthy Family Home web presence

Develop social media presence and resources for Healthy Family Home

Create community profiles for Healthier Communities initiative

Acknowledgments

Corita Waters, Outdoor Recreation Planner, RTCA

Mark Dessauer, Communications Director, ALBD

Kurt Gelhausen, Director of Corporate Relations, YMCA

THANKS!

Questions?