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Additional Resources

1. Artwork from EcoCycle
   
2. The advertising department(s) of the local paper(s) in which you wish to run your ad(s)
   
3. A layout artist to lay out the ad with your information and to size it to the dimensions necessary for your particular newspaper. They'll need to be able to handle a Quark file created on a Mac.

NOTE: These ads could be modified to be a flyer or a poster. The Zero Waste Invitations could also be modified for this purpose.

Objective
The newspaper advertising campaign serves to promote your Earth Day event and to begin to introduce the concept of Zero Waste into the community's mindset. Newspaper ads were one of three mediums EcoCycle used to promote their event (invitations and bus ads were the other two). It is helpful to advertise in a variety of venues. Aside from television, newspaper ads are typically the most effective medium.

How To Do It
Step 1 (At least 3 weeks before you'd like to run your first ad.): Contact your local paper(s) to reserve space for your ad. The newspaper(s) will tell you what sizes are possible, and can give you prices for each. They will also ask you what day(s) you would like to run your ad. Ideally, your ad should repeat several times. NOTE: Different papers will have different size requirements, so your layout artist will have to make slight modifications to the ad to meet each paper's size requirements.

Ask the newspaper(s) the following questions:

1. What are the price differences for varying sizes, days of the week, different placements in the paper and for repeated runs of the same ad? (Note: Newspapers typically give a discount when the ad is placed more than once. Also, some newspapers give discounts to non-profits. You'll want to make sure your ad is in a fairly visible place and that it runs on days that get a lot of viewing. For example, EcoCycle ran their ad in six different papers. Ads were run in the "What's going on around town" sections, the local sections, and in the environmental pages. See "TIPS" below for more information.
   
2. What is the deadline to get finished artwork turned in?
   
3. In what format do they want your artwork (a hard copy they can scan, on disk, emailed etc.)?

Step 2 (Three weeks before you'd like to run your first ad)
Contact a layout artist who can work with the EcoCycle ads (Quark files created on a Mac ) and modify them to suit your event. Please get your layout artist's email address, physical address and contact info to provide to EcoCycle (See next step).

Step 3 (Three weeks before you'd like to run your first ad)
Contact EcoCycle to negotiate a use agreement for their artwork. Please note that EcoCycle artwork is copyrighted. They will send you a CD with the Quark for Mac artwork on it. Call Marti Matsch at 303-444-6634 or email her at marti@ecocycle.org. She will ask you for:

1. Some brief information about your organization
2. The nature of your event
3. Your timeline for your event
4. Your layout artist's contact info, including physical address for sending artwork

Step 4 (2-3 weeks before you'd like to run your first ad): Work with your layout artist to modify the ad with your information. Check a proof before it goes to the newspaper to be sure that your information is correct. Ask the layout artist for a copy, so you know what was sent.

Step 5 (1 week before you'd like to run your first ad): Deliver ad and confirm date and placement. This is VERY important! Make sure you and the paper are both clear as to which section the ad will be printed in, and on which date.

Step 6 (Day before you run your first ad): Proof ad. This is also VERY important. Make sure all information is correct, and that fonts, artwork, etc. transferred correctly from your layout artist to the newspaper.

Tips

• When choosing which days to run your ad, the first priority is to run it the day before your event.
• Consider running your ad on the day OF the event. (That's why there is also a version of the EcoCycle ad that says, "TONIGHT.") It is more expensive to run an ad that is slightly modified, but EcoCycle chose to do this so it would really stand out. If you do decide to modify your ad this way, do not give the paper the second version until AFTER you have given them the normal ad. (They may accidentally run the wrong ad on the wrong day.)
• If you can afford it, also run the ad a few days ahead of your event to give people a chance to plan ahead. Unless you are running your ad many times, don't run it too many days before the event, as people will forget they saw it.
• Ads can be expensive. Consider having the ad sponsored by a business, and include their logo in your ad(s).
• Other ways to publicize your event include letter(s) to the editor and a short entry in the "what's happening" or calendar column of the newspaper. Also, try to entice a reporter to write an article about the event to appear in the paper on the day of the event.
• When you are inserting your own text into the EcoCycle ad, keep it minimal. The less folks have to read, the better.
• EcoCycle ran their ad in six papers. In the main local paper, the ad ran five times: ten days before the event, seven days before, the Sunday before, two days before, and then the day of the event. (Sunday papers are the most thoroughly read, but the disadvantage is that there are so MANY ads in Sunday's paper
  

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