If You Build It, Will They Come?

In the film Field of Dreams, an Iowa farmer builds a baseball diamond in a cornfield all because a mysterious voice tells him, “If you build it, they will come.” And people do, by the thousands. But in real life, building “it” often isn’t enough. In fact, it is not uncommon for an outstanding, well-planned activity or event to have a lower than expected turnout! What can a local section do to improve the situation? Well, as the movie also suggests, “ If you believe the impossible, the incredible can come true.”

Ideally, each section has a public relations chair, but even if you do not yet, getting started is easy! Look at what activities your section has planned. At an executive committee meeting, take a calendar and circle all the activities you have planned for the year that you’d like to promote. Besides your local section events, don’t forget National Chemistry Week (NCW) and Chemists Celebrate Earth Day (CCED)!

Next, dig into some of the tools that are already available. The Committee on Public Relations and Communications (CPRC) has a website with tools that are easy to use: For instance, on this website you will find a Public Relations Manual that is filled with terrific ideas on outreach and examples of press releases that you can just copy and fill in the details!

Think about who you want at your event: is it for children or adults, government officials or everyone? Or maybe it’s about engaging more members. Depending on the target audience, certain ways of presenting the subject might be more appealing than others. Kids love hands-on events. Meeting ACS senior officers or experts in an area key to your location would be great for government. Excellent visuals for camera crews might even draw the media. It’s also important to consider whether a gimmick of some sort—balloons, cookies, or handouts—might increase the draw. Visit the NCW and CCED websites for even more ideas!

Community events are terrific ways to engage new or less active members of your section—and to make a tangible difference in your city or town. How-to guides are available for adopt-a-school, -stream, or -library programs. CPRC works with the Committee on Community Activities to help sections plan and publicize such events.

A great example of a community event took place at the ACS national meeting in San Francisco in September. Members of the Board of Directors along with many ACS members volunteered at four sites around the Bay Area to plant trees, help at a food bank, and assist at the zoo. You can see a clip of that event until mid-November at a website designed for the meeting.

Need more help or ideas? Contact the Office of Communications or the CPRC at 1-800-227-5558, ext. 4400.

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