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).