It is an irrefutable fact that in Western societies most people support the notion of land being set aside for parks. It is also a fact that for most of the population their importance is only top of mind when the integrity of a well known park is threatened.

So the challenge for Parks Victoria is a familiar one for any agency that derives most of its income from the public purse. How do we heighten people's sense of the value of our parks and encourage them to visit them more often without taking money from core environmental programs.

Below is a brief outline of how we met the challenge by creating an integrated campaign that optimises its impact and influence through consistent messaging and adherence to strict style guidelines in all collateral. We also took every opportunity to leverage off a small, paid promotional campaign through media and complementary partnerships.

Around the world there is a growing acceptance of the strong link between a healthy parks system, that is accessible to everybody, and a healthy society. It is well documented that people need encouragement to see easy options that will contribute to their well-being. Along with the obvious virtues of open space for physical pursuits, parks are refuges from urban stress, places for families to get together for picnics, spots for people to enjoy numerous outdoor activities, and for children to safely explore the magic of the natural environment.

With almost 4 million hectares set aside as parks for all, Victorians are blessed with an unparalleled heritage. At Parks Victoria we are committed to maintaining the health of these precious areas, whilst ensuring that more Victorians visit more of them more often.

Going to a park can be a great adjunct to both traditional and natural health therapies. Almost everyone's physical and mental well-being is improved by visiting a park. To encourage Victorians to visit, to inspire them to play a role in their care and to provide 'healthy' places for body mind and soul, Parks Victoria has developed a comprehensive integrated program.

Parks Victoria's first challenge was to develop a genuine and effective positioning in line with our core values. The positioning needed to trigger a perception in the public of an organisation that exemplified the qualities and attributes of custodianship, environmental protection and of making a contribution to a civil society.

The clear and simple slogan 'Healthy Parks Healthy People' implies that the environmental health of parks results in a healthy community and that spending active recreation time in well-cared for park environment leads to greater health and fitness of both individuals and society.

The core funds for the campaign were used for broad based awareness - an 8 week radio and print program with supporting activities culminating in the 'Victoria's Parks Festival' in Albert Park, supported by editorial from the Sunday Herald Sun. The festival held in early May, showcased statewide parks and recreational opportunities, displays from community and recreational groups all celebrating the benefits of outdoor recreation- entertainment, music, environment displays, tree-planting, boating, bike hire, fishing, fitness assessments etc

The Healthy Program Healthy Parks Healthy People program provides an opportunity to forge partnerships with several peak health bodies. These alliances give extra credibility to the campaign by legitimising the link between a health park system and a healthy society through the imprimatur of the medical profession.

Support was sought and obtained from the RACGP (Royal Australian College of General Practitioners), Asthma Victoria, National Heart Foundation and Arthritis Victoria. Colourful 'healthy' posters and brochures have been designed and distributed to general practitioners' surgeries statewide. These can be used to advise patients on how to get more information about healthy activities in parks.

Existing brochures and promotional programs are themed Healthy Parks Healthy People including three exhibition stands - Royal Melbourne Show, Caravan and Camping Show and Country Living Show. These events provide very high levels of exposure at well attended events with themes sympathetic to the campaign.

A significant contributor to the success of the campaign to date has been its endorsement by staff and in particular the championing of the positioning by regional communication staff and their teams. Integrating the campaign into everything from staff awards to intraweb, dragon boat team uniforms to everyday stationery and envelopes, rebadging of signage, stationery, report covers, existing sponsorship and media communications were all vital to the overall impact of the campaign

The program results to date are well above expectation. Parks Victoria has been approached by Deakin University, School of Ecology and Environment to study the relationship between a healthy park system and a healthy community. Parks Victoria are keen to support this initiative.

The support from the Royal College of General Practitioners and peak health bodies provide excellent future opportunities to expand partnership initiatives and opportunities.

A partnership established between 'Postcards' Channel 9 Television program and Parks Victoria features a park ranger, Marcia Johns, as a presenter and highlights park venues and visitor opportunities. Each segment featuring Parks Victoria is tagged with Healthy Park Healthy People and the Parks Victoria's 131963 information centre number. Due to the success of the series it has been placed in the popular time slot of 7.30pm Saturday - higher ratings expected.

The Australia Marketing Institute awarded Parks Victoria as State winner of the Public Sector, Best Marketing Campaign recently in Canberra. As state winner the Parks Victoria Healthy Parks Healthy People campaign will automatically be entered into the 2001 AMI National Awards for Marketing Excellence.

The program will continue and new initiatives will be included, when appropriate, to freshen it. Parks Victoria will continue to use the Healthy Parks Healthy People positioning and strapline for at least 4 more years in all external communications and continue focussing on maintaining support from staff through consistent messaging in all internal communications.

Any marketer will tell you that attributing degrees of success to any specific marketing campaign is difficult. So many factors can influence why more people visit your park: growth in population, change in demographics, improvements to the parks - all may contribute. What we can measure though is the reach and frequency of the campaign: The press component reached 85% of all Victorians 14+ at an average frequency of 5.6 - this means that on average each of the people reached by the campaign were exposed to the message more than five times. The radio component reached almost 60% of all adult Victorians at an average frequency of 12.6 times.

At the end of the day we cannot compel only encourage Victorians to take advantage of the myriad of opportunities to improve their physical and mental health in some of the most beautiful places in the world. If more people are now more aware of those opportunities and place a higher value on parks, then the campaign has been and still is a worthwhile part of our management strategies.