Step Seven:
Promote Your Campaign and Educate Employees

Creative messages, including slogans and themes, can bring your campaign to life and give your communications program a unique look. To create messages that work, it may be helpful to conduct some research among the employees to determine what your co-workers like and will respond to.

A campaign theme will capture the employees' attention, build enthusiasm and personalize the campaign. The theme should be built into every aspect of the campaign such as the kick-off, thank-you cards and appreciation event. Some suggestions for themes include:

• Capitalize on trends or fads such as movies, popular songs or sporting events.
• Select two or three colors that will be prominent throughout the campaign.
• Organize a casual day in which employees dress in accordance with the theme.

In addition to publicity, employees should be given the opportunity to learn about participating charities through kick-off events, brochures, films, presentations and tours. Events can help motivate employees and make the campaign fun.

The kick-off event is the big debut for the campaign. The kick-off is an opportunity for employees to:

• Gather valuable information from the charities participating in the campaign.
• Meet fellow employees who have benefited from a participating charity.
• Come together as a company to support their campaign.
  

Other Types of Events

Baby Photo Contest:

Display childhood photographs in the lunch room/lobby and have employees guess who is who.

Candy Jar:

Fill a jar with candy and have employees guess the number of pieces in the jar. At the end of the campaign, the employee closest to the correct number gets the jar of candy.

Garden Produce:

Employees with gardens bring in their excess produce and each person who turns in a pledge card receives a lunch bag full of produce.

Talent Show:

Showcase your employees' creative side.

Healthy Food Fair:

Invite a nutritionist to come and give a seminar on the do's and don'ts on healthy eating. Have employees bring their healthy dishes.

Pizza Party:

Each department receives a jigsaw puzzle that looks like a pizza to put together as a team. Each department that reaches its campaign participation goal receives a pizza party.

Raffle:

Each employee that turns in a pledge card or attends a group meeting can participate in a raffle. Prizes could be a car wash by the chief executive officer, movie passes, plane tickets or hotel accommodations.

Veggie Weight Guess:

Employees guess the weight of a squash or pumpkin, similar to the Candy Jar idea.