Khoo Consulting is proud to announce that our client Dakota County Parks recently received an award from the National Association of County Parks and Recreation Officials (NACPRO). Dakota County Parks was named the 2022 winner in the category of Marketing, Awareness and Promotion Plan (MAPP).
The award category recognizes “a marketing effort demonstrating unique, significant, or remarkable outcomes. This award category includes projects involving market research, marketing plans, promotion, advertising, and the use of information technologies.”
Khoo Consulting worked closely with Dakota County Parks to develop the plan with a special focus on strategies for connecting with potential park visitors—especially those from BIPOC and other under-represented communities.
“What made this plan unique is that we customized each strategy to address the needs of each segment of the audience using approaches that are culturally appropriate,” said Poh Lin Khoo, founder and CEO of Khoo Consulting. “The community members shared their concerns and we tailored our approach with a plan that addressed their needs. It’s not a cookie-cutter approach.”
The plan is guided by data, as well as the lived-experiences of those in the community, to ensure the strategies are relevant and reflect the diversity of the audience. It includes mixed media focused on accessibility, such as outreach in multiple languages.
“Our audiences are responding to messaging that address their needs,” said Khoo. “It is important to show them we value and respect their cultural preferences using language and representations that resonate with their identities.”
“Being a fairly new business, I was very pleasantly surprised to hear about the award. It was reassuring to know the work we are doing is meaningful and impactful. It reinforced to me that we are moving in the right direction. We’re not just a marketing or PR firm, we are intentionally centering equity and inclusion in all our work. We are continuously learning from our communities and strengthening our relationships.”
NACPRO is a non-profit professional organization that advances official policies that promote county and regional park, recreation and conservation issues. View the official 2022 award announcement here
