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
Opening Day Communication
Ongoing Promotion

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.

garden market sign 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.