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Christie Bradley Faith Palmer

Jason Hermansdorfer Monica Afanador

Sarah Giffard

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 3

Introduction 4

Research and Analysis 6

Client Analysis 7

Situation Analysis 13

Public Analysis 17

Organization Analysis 20

Additional Research 21

Planning 22

Goals 23

Objectives 24

Strategy 25

Tactics 26

Crisis Plan 27

Media Kit 28

Press Releases 29

Fact Sheet 37

Pitch Letter 39

Media List 40

Radio News Release 42

Implementation 44

Bunny Sneak Peeks 45

Activities 47

Media Kit 50

Appendix 53

Appendix A: Research 54

Appendix B: Media 65

Executive Summary

Our campaign group consists of five seniors majoring in public relations at

Auburn University. Christie Bradley, Faith Palmer, Jason Hermansdorfer, Monica

Afanador and Sarah Giffard make up our team. Together we will use skills learned

throughout our time as public relations students in order to create a campaign that

meets the objectives of our client.

The client we are working with is the Auburn Parks and Recreation Department.

They have asked us to help them publicize and organize their 30th Annual Auburn Parks

and Recreation Easter Egg Hunt.

Our goals for this campaign are to develop new activities for this year‘s Easter

Egg Hunt, and to raise attendance among families in the Auburn community.

After researching other Easter Egg Hunts and meeting with Alison Hall,

community programs director for the City of Auburn Parks and Recreation Department,

we feel we have come up with an efficient plan to achieve our goal.

In order to raise awareness for this year‘s Easter Egg Hunt we have put together

a campaign consisting of a media kit, social media pages, a website, a logo for the event

and Bunny appearances. We are confident that these channels will effectively

communicate our message to the local Auburn community.

Our group has worked well together meeting every week to develop ideas for our

campaign. We have put together a cohesive campaign, and we are proud to share our

finished product with our client.

Introduction

Auburn Parks and Recreation is a department of the city of Auburn, Ala. Its

mission is to provide the Auburn community with quality cemeteries, recreational

facilities and recreational activities. In order to fulfill its mission, the department

coordinates seasonal events such as Auburn City Fest, Downtown Trick-or-Treat and the

Easter Egg Hunt. It also maintains the city‘s many cemeteries and parks, organizes

community sports leagues and programs a myriad of other community activities. The

Auburn Parks and Recreation events, programs and sports leagues are well attended

and the department has a strong relationship with the community. Despite its small

budget, the Auburn Parks and Recreation Department serves the Auburn community

zealously and effectively.

Beyond simply organizing events, the department does a great job of promoting

upcoming events. Because the community sports leagues involve so many local families,

direct communication is a benefit for Auburn Parks and Recreation. In addition, the

department posts banners around the city, uses local radio public service

announcements and takes advantage of area publications to promote upcoming events.

For the 30th Annual Easter Egg Hunt, the department partnered with our group

in an attempt to raise participation among Auburn families. An important part of

accomplishing this objective was deciding on the best channels to reach our target

public. The department knows its public very well from past experiences. This was

beneficial in deciding on where to target our media efforts. We chose to design an event

logo, create a brochure and fliers, produce a promotional video, make a series of press

releases, construct an event website and open social media accounts for the event.

The department also expressed a desire to do something new for this year‘s event.

In order to accomplish this objective of our client, we created a campaign around the

theme of ―Easter in Wonderland,‖ based around Alice in Wonderland. ―Easter in

Wonderland‖ will give this year‘s hunt an exciting twist and a personality that the event

has lacked in the past. This theme gave us a solid direction for designing the event logo,

as well as a great concept for branding this year‘s Easter Egg Hunt.

Research and

Analysis

Client Analysis

Situation Analysis

Public Analysis

Organizational Information

Additional Research

Client Analysis

Client:

Auburn Parks and Recreation Department

Contact:

Alison Hall- Director of Community Programs

Objectives:

To increase local attendance at the 30th Annual Easter Egg Hunt among

families in the Auburn area

To develop new activities for this year‘s Easter Egg Hunt.

Client Communication:

Alison Hall, director of community programs, is very flexible and said that

updates every few weeks would work great for her. After meeting with Alison at Kiesel

Park, she was able to show us the area we would be working with so we could better

visualize our plan of action.

Client/Event History:

The city of Auburn started the Easter Egg Hunt 29 years ago. 18 years ago

the department was granted Kiesel Park, a 122-acre park on Wire Road, to host the

event. The Easter Egg Hunt was moved to this location to accommodate crowds. Each

year the department hides more than 25,000 eggs for the event. The event is split into

four different age categories. A band is brought to the event for additional

entertainment.

In the past the event has been sponsored by Wachovia Investments.

However, because of the recent merger, Wells-Fargo will now be the main sponsor. At

this point the department is unsure of how the Wells-Fargo sponsorship will compare to

that of Wachovia. They have received support from the local branch, but the final say

will come from the bank's corporate office. In the past Wachovia has staffed the event

with their workers, provided balloons and soft drinks and paid for a band.

The Kiwanis Club of Auburn has sold hot dogs and other items at the event

vendors at the event as a fundraiser for needy families in the area.

Organizational Strengths:

The Auburn Parks and Recreation Department has built a popular core of

yearly events by being involved in the Auburn community. The events are well attended

because the organization is in good standing with the Auburn community. This positive

relationship makes their events an important part of the year for families from the

Auburn area, as well as other surrounding areas.

Another strength of the Auburn Parks and Recreation Department is that

they have a lot of opportunities to share messages with the community because the

community is highly involved with the department‘s sports leagues.

The department has positive relationships with the media around town.

Many of the local media sources are happy to carry the department‘s messages to the

community.

The department has Meg Rainey, a public relations specialist on staff.

Rainey, who is in charge of all the print media, press releases and radio spots, will help

with the implementation of the media kit we have created as a part of our campaign.

Organizational Weaknesses:

The Auburn Parks and Recreation Department is a visible and active

organization in the Auburn community, but that isn‘t necessarily because they practice

effective public relations techniques. Most of their success is due to the community‘s

participation in the different sports leagues that take place during the year. Families are

involved in the different leagues, making them a captive audience for the department‘s

other messages.

After our first meeting we learned that the Information Technology

department is in charge of the Auburn Parks and Recreation Department‘s social media

accounts. The IT department is very particular with how the department is represented,

and therefore they manage their social media accounts in a safe manner. We believe our

campaign can encourage the IT department to get more involved with using social

media in different creative ways.

A problem with getting the Easter Egg Hunt into the press is that during

the Easter season, the media is saturated with these types of stories. However, we

believe including our Bunny in a series of popular local events will help us increase this

event‘s visibility in the local media.

Opportunities:

The Auburn Parks and Recreation Department is open and receptive to

new ideas. They appreciate our youthful approach to the event, and are eager to partner

with us in order to raise awareness among local families for this event. As a team we

have a lot of opportunities to improve the Auburn Parks and Recreation Department‘s

relationship with the families in the community. Fortunately for us, the department is

already in good standing with the public we will be trying to reach. We anticipate that

this established trust between our client and the primary public will help us reach our

goals.

The department expressed to us the importance of having new ideas for

this year‘s Easter Egg Hunt. Here is a list of ideas we have for our client:

Create a logo for the event in order to raise awareness, and to achieve a

united image for the event.

Create a Facebook page and use it for research instead of a marketing

tactic. In this way the IT department may allow us to take control of the

department‘s social media.

The ultimate prize for a boy/girl is winning the crown of Easter Prince and

Princess.

Incorporate a station with animals. (Petting area sponsored by…)

Encourage the band to play music the kids can relate with. Ex: Bunny Hop

Promote the Easter Egg Hunt by having the Bunny appear at several

events BEFORE the Hunt. Ex: Making appearances at the trick or treat

event, the Christmas parade, daddy/daughter date night etc. This will

serve as a teaser for the event.

Create an egg hunt or station only for children with disabilities.

Because this is the event‘s 30th anniversary we could do a retro theme for

the event. What were you doing 30 years ago?

Threats:

The Auburn Parks and Recreation Easter Egg Hunt is a community event

and more people outside the community are attending. The department

has tried reaching out to a local church in order to spread the word, but

the churches hold their own hunt that most families attend instead. Our

job is to figure out how to bring more of the families within the community

to their Easter Egg Hunt.

The department has a low budget and is unable to spend a lot of money on

advertising. As of now they use press releases, radio announcements,

newspaper advertisements and a spread in a magazine.

The department has difficulty finding workers for the event. The majority

of college students are heading home to be with family and the people in

town want time with family instead of volunteering to work.

Historically, the Easter Egg Hunt has trouble starting on time due to

unexpected circumstances.

The Auburn Parks and Recreation City Fest is held a week after the Easter

Egg Hunt so it‘s hard to find athletes who are willing to come two weeks in

a row for autograph signing.

Because the Easter Egg Hunt falls on the weekend before Auburn City

Fest, the department‘s largest event, it makes it hard to find volunteers.

Situation Analysis

Overview:

The 2011 Egg Hunt will mark the 30th anniversary of this event. Auburn

Parks and Recreation created this event to provide the town of Auburn with an activity

surrounding Easter. The event is put on with help from The Kiwanis Club of Auburn and

Wells Fargo.

The ultimate aim of Auburn Parks and Recreation is to provide the Auburn

community with quality cemeteries, recreational facilities and activities. In hosting the

Easter Egg Hunt, Auburn Parks and Recreation is able to move closer to its goal. The

Easter Egg Hunt is a popular event, and it serves to bring families together as well as

unite the Auburn community.

The people who are affected by this event are the residents of Auburn, the

employees of Auburn Parks and Recreation, volunteers at the event and the

organizations who have relationships with Auburn Parks and Recreation. These

involved parties can affect the budget of the event and also the number of volunteers

available to help with the event.

Auburn Parks and recreation‘s organizational leaders have determined

that this event poses a great opportunity to attract more local families. In addition, they

would like to develop new ideas and activities to increase excitement around this event.

The research available is mostly based on personal accounts of the event in

years past. We also looked to other Easter Egg Hunts in order to learn what works well,

and what ideas might add to our client‘s event.

Internal Environment:

The media outlets available for communication include radio, television,

newspaper and magazines. Unfortunately social media is not an approved

communication method for our team‘s campaign. Auburn Parks and Recreation‘s

organizational leaders and staff are supportive and open-minded to new social media

ideas, but the Information Technology (IT) department must approve it first. The IT

department is currently in charge of the Auburn Parks and Recreation website and other

social media accounts. New public relations tactics are encouraged and welcomed.

As public relations professionals, we can provide publicity services to

Auburn Parks and Recreation. We can also create new event activities to add variety to

their event. The quality of the services that we provide can be determined by how many

local people attend this year‘s event compared to attendance numbers from the previous

year. We will be using the knowledge and skills acquired from various classroom and

internship experiences to guide us.

Because Auburn Parks and Recreation is responsible for so many activities

and events, they requested that we focus our efforts on their Easter Egg Hunt. We can

provide creative, public-relations services, however, due to the time frame of our class,

we will not be able to personally implement this campaign in the spring. Because of this

constraint, we will create a comprehensive guide for Auburn Parks and Recreation to

use in order to facilitate the public relations campaign we have created for them.

The 30th Annual Auburn Parks and Recreation Easter Egg Hunt will be

non-denominational, and it will stand apart from similar events because of a band

performance, an event for disabled children and other activities in addition to the Easter

Egg Hunt.

External Environment:

One aspect of the external environment is that our event is associated with

Easter, a holiday strictly celebrated by Christians. The strong religious affiliation of our

event has the potential to incite anger and jealousy among members of other religions

whose holidays are not recognized by the City of Auburn.

At the other end of the spectrum, it is important to remember that some

Christians may have a problem with the Easter Egg Hunt being under the banner of

―Easter In Wonderland.‖ For this reason we included a press release for the Auburn

Parks and Recreation Department to use in this specific circumstance. We also included

a news story of this exact scenario that created a stir in a different town.

Competition:

The external environment is extremely competitive. Not only do many

Auburn churches host their own Easter Egg Hunt, but this event also competes against

all the hunts offered in the neighboring town of Opelika. The stiff competition is a large

reason why the organization leaders of Auburn Parks and Recreation have asked us to

develop new ideas for this year‘s event.

Not only does Opelika‘s Parks and Recreation Department have access to a larger

budget to supply more goods at the event, they also have social media on their side.

Opelika Parks and Recreation has implemented Facebook and Twitter into their

communication channels, along with the main website. The Opelika Parks and

Recreation has the main event, ―Easter on the Square,‖ and also a pre-Easter Flashlight

Egg Hunt on April 1, at 7:15 a.m. for 3rd-5th graders.

The main Easter Egg Hunt is the same day as Auburn‘s Parks and Recreation

hunt. They also overlap in time. Auburn‘s hunt goes from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and

Opelika‘s activities start at 10 a.m. with the hunt at 11 a.m. The activities at the Opelika

Easter Egg Hunt include arts and crafts for 2nd grade and under, pictures taken with the

Easter Bunny, storytellers and food. The Easter parade starts at 10:45 a.m. The Easter

Bunny, the Easter Egg, the Baby Egg and the Easter Chicken all make an appearance.

Children are allowed to walk in the parade. The giant egg hunt starts at 11 a.m., and the

kids search for 25,000 eggs.

Although attendance has never been lacking, according to organizational leaders

of the Auburn Parks and Recreation, the staff would like to see a larger presence of

Auburn locals at the Egg Hunt. We are proposing that Auburn Parks and Recreation‘s

Easter Egg Hunt offer Story Time with Alice, a special story time for children with

disabilities. Other activities that will set Auburn‘s Easter Egg Hunt apart will be a live

band, additional afternoon activities and Breakfast with the Bunny

Public Analysis

Families within the Auburn community are the primary target for the Auburn

Parks and Recreation Easter Egg Hunt. The Easter Egg Hunt has a positive image within

the Auburn community as well as abroad. This is the largest Easter Egg Hunt in Auburn

with more than 25,000 eggs hidden over a four-acre area. Due to large public

participation, in 1993 the hunt site moved from Duck Samford Park to Kiesel Park,

where it is currently held.

Most would consider an Easter Egg Hunt a religious event due to Easter being a

Christian holiday. Taking that into consideration, the Auburn Parks and Recreation

Program has done their best to make all families feel welcome regardless of religious

affiliation and background. The event is centered on music, food and activities to

promote family fun.

Though the hunt has been a growing success it needs more local community

participation. Ironically, more families outside of the community are attending the

Easter Egg Hunt. Through observation, the Parks and Recreation Program believe that

low community attendance is due to area church‘s hosting Easter Egg Hunts.

Another issue that has surfaced over the past few years is staffing. Due to City

Fest being held the following weekend, Auburn Parks and Recreation is having a hard

time gathering staff members. The majority of college students are heading home to be

with their own family for Easter, and others don‘t want to commit to two weekends of

work. An incentive might be for professors at the University to give extra credit or

service hours for students who are willing to work the event.

Due to large participation it‘s apparent that publics within and outside of the

community are aware of the Auburn Easter Egg Hunt. Newspaper articles, press

releases and radio scripts are only a few of the ways that the Parks and Recreation

Department inform primary publics of the hunt. The areas that could use improvement

are online social media sites. Both Facebook and Twitter are two of the primary

networking sites that publics use to get information out. Both of these networking sites

are unable to be run by the Parks and Recreation Department at this time. Until this

problem is solved, it will be hard connecting with younger families and those who gather

a lot of their news and information online.

As a campaign group it‘s our job to bring more Auburn families to the Easter Egg

Hunt. In order to accomplish this, we plan to incorporate activities for the disabled as

well as new and improved activities for the families. With this being the Easter Egg

Hunt‘s 30th Anniversary, our goal is to create positive change and implement a new

theme.

This year‘s theme will be Easter in Wonderland, from Alice in Wonderland,

where Alice will be attending with the Bunny. To continue this concept and promote

more organization, there will be stations named after prominent people and events from

the storybook. For example, The Mad Hatters Corner could be for ages three and under

and other stations would be named in a similar fashion regarding particular age groups.

Another way of reaching out to Auburn families is hosting an Easter Egg

Breakfast the morning of the event. This will promote quality time with the Bunny and

allow photos with children and families.

With these changes in mind we hope more of the Auburn community will be in

attendance and help promote this event that brings families together.

Organizational Information

Kiesel Park is Auburn‘s largest and most historically recognized park, which

covers 157 acres in northwest Auburn. The dog-friendly park is known for its nature

trails, horticultural beauty and the historically preserved Nunn-Winston House. Kiesel

Park is home to Auburn‘s Easter Egg Hunt and City Fest, an outdoor festival that draws

a crowd of 35,000 people each year in April. Other parks include, Hickory Dickory Park,

Town Creek Park and Duck Samford Park. There are about seven other parks in Auburn

in addition to the above mentioned.

The Auburn Parks and Recreation department offers 13 recreation programs

which include arts and crafts, athletics, birthday parties, ceramics, clubs, dance, fitness,

hobbies, martial arts, music, senior citizen programs, theatre, therapeutics and unique

activities. Registration is required for all programs.

The Auburn Parks and Recreation Department offers an elaborate soccer and

softball complexes. The softball complex won 1999, 2001, 2005, 2006 and 2008

Alabama ASA Complex of the Year. There are also baseball parks and tennis centers.

The Dean Road Recreation Center is the main location; however, there is Boykin

Community Center, which is home to the Boys and Girls Club of Lee County. There is

also the newly renovated Frank Brown Recreation Center, which is used for basketball,

birthday parties, sports games and has two pools, one on Samford Ave. and one on

Drake.

Additional Research

Appendix A lists sources used to gather information about similar events. After

researching these events, we now have a better understanding of what works and what

fails with an event like this.

In Appendix B are pictures we took from our trip to Kiesel Park. We took these

pictures so we could have a better understanding of the park and what the event will

look like.

In Appendix C is a negative press release that we found to serve as a guide if

religious protestors are against the new ideas that we have suggested. We have included

a press release that explains what could possibly happen if a group of protesters with a

religious affiliation gets offended by the name change of the Easter Egg Hunt to Easter

in Wonderland. The example press release that we have included is about a citywide egg

hunt that dropped the word Easter from the title of the event. We kept the word Easter

in our title, so we don‘t think this will happen, but if it were to happen, the most

important thing is to keep open communication with the media and to keep them

informed. The press release that we have included addresses an Alice in Wonderland

themed egg hunt and the media really simplified the problem to what it was—a simple

egg hunt that is fun for kids, not banishing religion from a holiday.

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Planning Goals

Objectives

Strategy

Tactics

Crisis Management

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Goals

Client Goals:

To draw more Auburn locals to the Easter Egg Hunt

To incorporate new ideas in this year‘s Easter Egg Hunt

Group Goals:

To raise awareness for the Easter Egg Hunt among Auburn families

To formulate a united image around the theme

To provide new events and activities for the Easter Egg Hunt

In order to achieve these goals, we will incorporate creative activities for the

event, use our design skills and coordinate effective communication channels to publicize

the event properly. The goals listed above will guide us as we send our client‘s primary

message to its primary public. We hope to convince Auburn families to attend this year‘s

Easter Egg Hunt, by showing them that this year‘s event is intended to be a day of fun and

music available to everyone regardless of age, ability or religious affiliation.

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Objectives

To distribute more than 2,500 flyers throughout the course of the Bunny‘s

appearances at events put on by Auburn Parks and Recreation which include;

10th Annual Downtown Trick-or-Treat, Christmas Parade and Daddy Daughter

Date Nights.

To have more than 50 people in attendance at the Breakfast with the Bunny

event.

To have Auburn residents make up 80 percent of the total number of people in

attendance.

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Strategy

To use press releases, a promotional video, brochures, a pitch letter, a media

advisory, radio press releases, social media, a website and special events to

raise awareness about the Easter Egg Hunt among Auburn Families.

To formulate a united brand front for this year‘s Easter Egg Hunt by using

consistent fonts, logos and characters to promote this year‘s event.

To develop new activities for this year‘s event in concordance with the theme,

Easter in Wonderland.

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Tactics

Through media releases and social media we hope to reach a larger audience than in

previous years. Our media kit will consist of fact sheet, media list, video news release,

brochure, pitch letter, multiple radio scripts and press releases. We also plan to create a

website that will hold all media kit information online as well as a promotional video. We

will use social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to reach a large population and

draw attention to the event.

From October until the event, we will schedule multiple Bunny appearances at local

events around Auburn. Appearances will serve as a teaser to ensure that families and locals

will constantly be reminded about the event. We have also developed different activities

such as a cakewalk, egg toss, spoon race, egg-egg-Bunny, Alice-says and a face painting

station at the event. Eager families who want more quality time with the Bunny can sign up

in advance to attend Breakfast with the Bunny. During the hunt, we‘ve created an event for

disabled children to attend called Story Time with Alice. These fun and original activities

add to the event and will promote excitement among the Auburn community.

Reaching a larger audience and drawing attention through our innovative publicity

will help us bring more Auburn locals to the event.

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Crisis Management

Times of crisis are often defining moments for an organization. A crisis presents the

organization with the opportunity to fail or succeed. The Auburn Parks and Recreation

Department have executed a crisis plan for each event they host. It‘s vital for all persons to

feel safe in their environment and to enjoy time with friends and family.

Rain or shine, the Auburn Easter Egg Hunt is a non-denominational event that the

Community looks forward to each year surrounding Easter. The 30th Annual Easter Egg

Hunt will be held on Saturday April 23, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. If rain occurs, the event

will be moved to Sunday April 24, 2011 at 2 p.m. on Easter day.

Regarding any Parks and Recreation event, one‘s safety is vital. Police will be in

attendance throughout the event monitoring Kiesel Park. If someone gets lost during the

hunt, the police and part-time employees would begin a search while someone stayed with

the child‘s parents. There would be a known location for this type of situation so that

everyone could report back to the same place. If a child has a severe injury during the hunt

and a first-aid kit will not suffice, the Police will contact other assistance as needed.

The Auburn Parks and Recreation events are well attended and the department has a

strong relationship with the Auburn community. It has and always will be top priority to

bring safety and enjoyment to all recreational events.

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Media Kit

Press Releases

Fact Sheet

Pitch Letter

Media List

Radio News Release

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact Information: October 26, 2010 Alison Hall Director of Community Programs [email protected] Phone (334) 501-2930 Fax (334) 501-2960 www.auburnalabama.org

THE EASTER BUNNY ATTENDS DOWNTOWN TRICK-OR-TREAT

AUBURN, ALA. — Auburn Parks and Recreation‘s Annual Downtown Trick-or-Treat will be

visited by a very out-of-season-guest this year— the Easter Bunny. The Bunny will hop

around from table to table to help pass out candy and to sign autographs. He will be

alongside the football, baseball and soccer teams and cheerleading squad. The Bunny will

also hand out fliers for the 30th Annual Auburn Parks and Recreation Easter Egg Hunt on

April 23, 2011, which will unveil a new special guest.

The hunt for 25,000 eggs will be for children ages 12 and under from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Activities such as face painting, Breakfast with Bunny, a cake walk, an egg toss, egg-egg-

Bunny (formerly duck-duck-goose), Alice Says and Story Time with Alice will follow the egg

hunt. The hunt and activities will take place on the fields of Kiesel Park and the Nunn-

Winston house will be implemented this year for Story Time with Alice.

The Kiwanis Club will return to the event this year to sell pancakes at the Breakfast with the

Bunny activity. The money raised will be used to help needy families in the community.

Children will also find prize eggs stuffed with animals, Easter related toys, kites and more.

The Nunn-Winston house will be included this year because of the wheelchair access in the

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back of the house. The winners of the two golden eggs will each receive a $25 savings bond,

courtesy of Wells Fargo.

Alison Hall, the community programs director for the City of Auburn Parks and Recreation

Department, heads the production of the event each year. ―The event always has a great turn

out.‖ Hall said. ―There are always thousands of people that come out and we hope to see a lot

of the Auburn locals this year. We are also very excited about Alice joining our Easter crew

this year. It will truly be an ‗Easter in Wonderland,‘‖ she said.

The Auburn Parks and Recreation strive to provide the community with quality cemeteries,

recreational facilities and recreational activities, while always giving back to the community.

For more information please visit auburnalabama.org/parks or auburneasteregghunt.com.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact Information: December 2, 2010 Alison Hall Director of Community Programs [email protected] Phone (334) 501-2930 Fax (334) 501-2960 www.auburnalabama.org

THE EASTER BUNNY JOINS THE CHRISTMAS PARADE

AUBURN, ALA. —The Auburn Christmas Parade will have a special guest this year –the

Easter Bunny. The parade will take place on Saturday December 10, 2010. The parade will

take place on streets in downtown Auburn. The Bunny will ride in the back of an Auburn

Parks and Recreation truck which will feature a sign with the event logo and will be

decorated in holiday lights. The Bunny's helpers will hand out flyers to the people watching

the parade.









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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact Information: February 8, 2011 Alison Hall Director of Community Programs [email protected] Phone (334) 501-2930 Fax (334) 501-2960 www.auburnalabama.org

THE EASTER BUNNY DANCES AT DADDY DAUGHTER DATE NIGHT

AUBURN, ALA. — Auburn Parks and Recreation‘s Annual Daddy Daughter Date Night will

feature a special guest this year— the Easter Bunny. The Bunny will be dancing the night

away with the dads and daughters to promote the 30th Annual Auburn Parks and Recreation

Easter Egg Hunt on April 23, 2011, which will unveil a new special guest.












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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact Information: April 21, 2011 Alison Hall Director of Community Programs [email protected] Phone (334) 501-2930 Fax (334) 501-2960 www.auburnalabama.org

AUBURN PARKS AND RECREATION PRESENTS EASTER IN WONDERLAND

AUBURN, ALA. — Auburn Parks and Recreation‘s 30th Annual Easter Egg Hunt will be co-

hosted by the Easter Bunny and special guest Alice from Wonderland. The hunt for 25,000

eggs will be for children ages 12 and under from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Activities such as face

painting, Breakfast with Bunny, a cake walk, an egg toss, egg-egg-Bunny (formerly duck-

duck-goose), Alice Says and Story Time with Alice will follow the egg hunt. The hunt and

activities will take place on the fields of Kiesel Park and the Nunn-Winston house will be

implemented this year for Story Time with Alice.

Auburn locals have spotted the Bunny at many events around town throughout the year to

build anticipation for the 30th Annual event. He attended Downtown Trick-or-Treat, the

Christmas parade and Daddy Daughter Date Night.



Children will also find prize eggs stuffed with animals, Easter related toys, kites, coupons to

participate in the activities and more.

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Because of its wheelchair accessibility, the Nunn-Winston House will be accessible to

children with disabilities during the hunt and for the Story Time with Alice. children who

find the two golden eggs will each receive a $25 savings bond, courtesy of Wells Fargo.



out,‖ said Hall. ―There are always thousands of people that come out, and we hope to see a

lot of the Auburn locals this year. We are also very excited about Alice joining our Easter

crew this year. It will truly be an ―Easter in Wonderland,‖ said Hall.

The Auburn Parks and Recreation Department strives to provide the community with

quality cemeteries, recreational facilities and recreational activities, while always giving back

to the community.


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FACT SHEET Contact Information:

Alison Hall Director of Community Programs [email protected] Phone (334) 501-2930 Fax (334) 501-2960 www.auburnalabama.org

The 30th Annual Easter Egg Hunt will be held on Saturday April 23, 2011 from 10

a.m. to 12 p.m. at Kiesel Park in Auburn.

2011 marks the 28th year the event has been sponsored by Wachovia. Wells-Fargo

who recently took over Wachovia, will take over the event and hand out soft drinks

and balloons.

The Kiwanis Club of greater Auburn joined forces with the hunt in 1994 years ago

selling hotdogs and hamburgers as a fundraiser for needy families in the community.

This year the Kiwanis will be selling pancakes for Breakfast with the Bunny.

The egg hunt was held at Auburn High School and Duck Samford Park and was

moved to Kiesel Park in 1993 to accommodate a growth in attendance.

There are four age divisions for the Easter Egg Hunt: 3 and under, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12

years old.

25,000 eggs filled with candy, prizes and coupons.

◦ 25 prize eggs are hidden for each age category. Prize eggs included stuffed

animals, Easter related toys, kites and much more.

◦ Two golden eggs will be hidden in the park. Each golden egg winner received a

$25 savings bond and an Easter basket full of candy and prizes courtesy of Wells

Fargo.

105 eggs will contain coupons which can be used to participate in one of the following

activities:

◦ Egg-egg-Bunny (formerly duck-duck-goose)

◦ Egg toss

-more-


38

◦ Alice Says

◦ Spoon Race

Additional activities available for everyone include:

◦ Story Time with Alice

◦ Breakfast with the Bunny

◦ Cake Walk

Auburn Parks and Recreation Contact: Alison Hall, community programs director,

334-501-2940. The media contact for the department is: Meg Rainey, public relations

specialist, 334-501-2936.

-###-

39

Alison Hall November 18, 2010 Community Programs Director PITCH LETTER Auburn Parks and Recreation Department 307 South Dean Road Auburn, Ala. 36830 Dear Ms. Hall,

Thousands of graduates enter the work force each year with hopes that the education they

have invested four years into will help place them into a fulfilling career of their choice. We believe

our campaign will prove our readiness and confidence to enter the workforce.

Our goal is to provide you with a campaign full of innovative ideas, a planning and an

implementation process, social media options and a media kit for the 2011 Easter Egg Hunt.

Although social media has not been a part of your public relations strategy in the past, we believe

that our inventive website and logo, along with creating a Twitter and Facebook page, will further

participation in the Easter Egg Hunt from Auburn locals.

With the new ―techno-savvy-mom‖ generation, utilizing social media outlets is the only way

to continue growing and producing new ideas. Everything is going technological, including new

employees. Future graduates that will soon employ the world will implement new-age technology

and prosperous businesses will adapt.

The simplicity and easy implementation of our campaign will help mold the Auburn Parks

and Recreation‘s future in social media and prove the positive impact that it can have on its success.

Sincerely,

Christie Bradley, Sarah Giffard, Faith Palmer, Monica Afanador and Jason Hermansdorfer

40

MEDIA LIST Newspapers Auburn Opelika News Fax: (334) 749-6242 P.O. Box 2208, Opelika, AL 36803-2208. Please make sure to indicate which section of the paper you are submitting information to be published. The Corner News Carla Nelson- Editor [email protected] (334) 821-7150 The Auburn Plainsman [email protected] [email protected] (334) 844-9109 The Auburn Villager [email protected] Magazines East-Alabama Living

(334)826-2929 Lee Magazine

[email protected] Auburn Opelika Parents

(334) 209-0552 Fax: (334) 826-7303

Opelika Lifestyle Magazine (334) 745-4861 Fax: (334) 749-4740

Radio Tiger Communications (Tiger 95.9- rock, Power 99.9-rock) Steve Ocean-Operations Manager [email protected] (334) 887-9999 Fax: (334) 826-9599 Quantum of Auburn (Mix 96.7-Top Forty, Kicker 97.7-Country, The Bull 100.9-Country) Ben Taylor- Director of Sales [email protected] (334)745-4656 Ext 304 Fax: (334)749-1520

-more-

41

MEDIA LIST CONTINUED TV WTVM 9 Columbus (ABC) Story Idea Line (706) 494-5458 Press Releases (706) 327-0197 [email protected] WNCF 32 Montgomery (ABC) News Hotline (334) 270-2801 [email protected] WRBL 3 Columbus (CBS) Steve Korioth- News Director [email protected] Newsroom (706) 324-6397 WSFA 12 Montgomery (NBC)

Matt Stanley- Today in Alabama Producer [email protected] Scott Duff- News Director [email protected] News Tips [email protected] (334) 613-8303

WLTZ 38 Columbus (NBC) News Tips (Alabama Bureau) (334) 321-4966 Community Calendar (706) 507-7159 [email protected]

42

Auburn Parks and Recreation Total Time: 0:30 Easter in Wonderland AU Campaigns, Producer

ANNOUNCER: THIS YEAR‘S 30TH ANNUAL EASTER EGG HUNT AT KIESEL (KEE-

SUL) PARK IS NEW AND IMPROVED. A SPECIAL GUEST WILL KICK OFF THE

FESTIVITIES ON SATURDAY, APRIL 23, AT 10 A.M. FOR MORE INFORMATION

REGARDING EASTER IN WONDERLAND AND HOW TO VOLUNTEER, CONTACT

ALISON HALL OF AUBURN PARKS AND REC AT 334-501-2930.

-###-

43

Auburn Parks and Recreation Total Time: 0:60 Easter Wonderland AU Campaigns, Producer

ANNOUNCER: AUBURN PARKS AND REC IS BRINGING NEW MEANING TO THE

TERM EASTER EGG HUNT. THIS YEAR‘S 30TH ANNUAL EGG HUNT AT KIESEL (KEE-

SUL) PARK IS TURNING ALICE IN WONDERLAND INTO EASTER IN WONDERLAND.

THERE WILL BE ACTIVITIES, SUCH AS STORY TIME WITH ALICE, Breakfast WITH

THE Bunny AND OF COURSE 20,000 EGGS LOST IN WONDERLAND. FESTIVITIES

KICK OFF ON SATURDAY, APRIL 23, AT 10 A.M. FOR MORE INFORMATION

REGARDING EASTER IN WONDERLAND AND HOW TO VOLUNTEER, CONTACT

ALISON HALL OF AUBURN PARKS AND REC AT 334-501-2930.

-###-

44

Implementation

Bunny Sneak Peaks

Activities

Press Releases and Radio

45

Bunny Sneak Peeks

The Bunny will make appearances at three Auburn Parks and Recreation events prior

to the Easter Egg Hunt on April 23, 2011. The appearances will serve a a guerilla marketing

tool to raise awareness of the event.

Three events which are put on by Auburn Parks and Recreation have been

chosen as the primary venues for the Bunny's appearances. These events include the 10th

Annual Downtown Trick-or-Treat on October 28, 2010; the Christmas Parade on December

4, 2010; and Daddy Daughter Date Nights on February 10-12, 2011. At each appearance the

Bunny will be dressed in a different costume.

These events have been chosen because they all draw large numbers of people

in the area, attract diverse groups and are evenly spaced approximately two months apart

from each other. Because Auburn Parks and Recreation is a participant in these events the

Bunny will have fewer limitations on his appearance during the events.

Downtown Trick-or-Treat:

The 10th Annual Downtown Trick-Or-Treat took place on Thursday October

28, 2010, from 6-8 pm in Auburn. Parts of College and Magnolia Streets were closed down

to allow families to trick-or-treat at the various downtown merchants. At the Downtown

Trick-or-Treat the Bunny was dressed up as Aubie the tiger, the official mascot for Auburn

University. The Bunny and his handler passed out 500 flyers to families attending the event.

The appearance lasted from 6:30-7:15 in order to reach the maximum number of attendees.

46

Auburn Christmas Parade:

The Auburn Christmas Parade will take place on Saturday December 10, 2010.

The parade will take place on streets in downtown Auburn. The Bunny will ride in the back

of an Auburn Parks and Recreation truck which will feature a sign with the event logo and

will be decorated in holiday lights. The Bunny's helpers will hand out flyers to the people

watching the parade.

Daddy Daughter Date Night:

The Daddy Daughter Date Night events will take place Thursday, February 10

from 5:30-8 p.m., Friday, February 11 and Saturday, February 12 from 6:30-9 p.m. The

Bunny will make appearances each night during the dance portion of the event. He will be

dressed in ―formal‖ attire and will interact with the fathers and daughters. In the goodie

bags given out to each attendee will be a flyer promoting the Easter Egg hunt in April.

47

Activities

The main activity is the Easter Egg Hunt, which Auburn Parks and Recreation has put

on each year. We have decided to place coupons in 105 eggs*, and if a child finds an egg with

a coupon. The coupons can be used to participate in Alice Says, Egg-Egg-Bunny, an egg toss

and a spoon race. The coupons do not have to be bought, but are a simple way to organize

the children into the activities.

Children who do not find coupons in their eggs can participate in the other

activities we have created with the exception of the cake walk, face painting, Breakfast with

the Bunny and Story Time with Alice.

Alice Says is our rendition or Simon Says. This will require 30 kids to line up in front

of Alice and listen to her commands. She will need a microphone and a list of things the kids

could do. If Alice does not say, ―Alice says‖ before her command and the kid completes her

task, they are out of the game. The winner will receive an Easter egg basket provided by

Auburn Parks and Recreation

Egg-Egg-Bunny is our play on duck-duck-goose. Fifteen children will sit around in a

circle while one taps the others on the head saying, ―egg.‖ Once the child taps someone on

the head saying, ―Bunny,‖ the selected child chases the other around the circle until they sit

in the empty spot. If the selected child touches the other before they reach the spot, the

other child goes into the middle of the circle. The game continues until the next activity

begins.

* Another option would be to put coupons in every egg or to simply open the activities

listed above to everyone. However in the interest of planing, we have designed this campaign using

105 coupons. My placing a limit on participation, Auburn Parks and Recreation will know the

exact number of supplies they will need for each event.

48

The egg toss requires five teams of two children and five eggs. The teams stand

equidistant to each other while tossing an egg. After each toss, the children back up. Once

your egg breaks, your team is out. The winning team will receive an Easter basket provided

by Auburn Parks and Recreation.

The spoon race requires ten teams of 5 children, 50 spoons and 50 eggs. The spoons

and eggs will be provided by Auburn Parks and Recreation and can be purchased at a local

Walgreens, CVS, Kroger or Wal-Mart. The members of the team will take turn racing with

eggs on their spoons, and the first team to cross the finish line without dropping an egg

wins. The winning team will receive Easter baskets

The two activities that do not require coupons are the cake walk and Breakfast with

the Bunny. For the cake walk, Auburn Parks and Recreation will provide 15 cakes and one

table. The kids must wait in line, and the first 15 children in line will get to play first. There

will be 15 rounds and one cake per round. The cake walk is played like musical chairs.

Numbers will be placed on the ground, and the children will start walking in a circle over the

numbers while the music plays. Once the music stops the children stop. Then the Bunny will

pull a number from a basket, and if your number is the number he pulls, you win a cake.

Cakes will either need to be donated or purchased by Auburn Parks and Recreation.

The face painting station requires a table and chair from Auburn Parks and

Recreation as well as face paint and an artistic volunteer to paint the faces.

Breakfast with the Bunny will be held the morning of event under pavilion at Kiesel

Park. The Kiwanis Club of Auburn will sell pancakes as a fundraiser for needy families in the

area. Auburn Parks and Recreation will need to provide some tables ans chairs, however

families are encouraged to bring a blanket and eat picnic style. During the Breakfast the

Bunny will be mingling and taking pictures with the families.

49

Story Time with Alice will take place in the Nunn-Winston house and will require

Alice and a children‘s book. This event will be open to everyone; however, disabled children

will be admitted first.

50

Implementation of Media Kit

Press Releases and Radio Broadcasts:

In our campaign, we included four press releases, and a 30 and 60 second

radio broadcast. The first press release was for the Downtown Trick-or-Treat in Auburn

where Bunny made an appearance. The second was for the Christmas parade, and the third

was for Daddy Daughter Date Night in February. These press releases were to explain the

appearance of Bunny earlier in the year and to build excitement for the unveiling of a special

guest at the event. The main press release is for the actual Easter Egg Hunt in April and

explains all of the new activities that we came up with. We also wanted to inform the

community that there is wheelchair access during ―story time with Alice‖ at the Nunn-

Winston House at Kiesel Park.

The early press releases will be sent to the newspapers included to help

promote participation. The 30 and 60 second broadcasts should be done just before the

event in March and April. We have also included ideal local radio stations to contact due to

location in relation to the Easter Egg Hunt.

Fact Sheet:

We thought it would be useful to have a fact sheet on the Easter Egg Hunt for

future reference and implementation of new events. The fact sheet presented to us from past

Easter Egg Hunts was very helpful in seeing exactly what we wanted to do differently. Each

activity, past and new, and all the details of the event are listed on the fact sheet. This could

be used for social media purposes, when sending out press releases, making brochures and

making fliers for the target audiences.

51

Pitch Letter:

We created a pitch letter to specifically deliver our goals about attendance of

the event and social media to the Director of Community Programs, Alison Hall. The Pitch

letter states our perspectives on the growing influence of social media in society and the

potential dying off of companies that do not adapt. In our opinion, social media is the future

of communications between businesses and is a necessity to prosper.

Explanation of Video:

With the worldwide popularity of YouTube, it‘s hard to deny that we live in the

world of the short video. People just can‘t resist watching a 30 second clip. Because our team

was focused on developing the online reach of the event through creating a website,

Facebook page and Twitter account, we knew that once we got people plugged into our

resources we needed to have something that could deliver our message in an engaging

manner. A short video was the obvious choice.

We used students involved in Auburn athletics to help us present our message

because we were targeting our message to the Auburn community, and Auburn esteems its

athletes. If Auburn people believe that the athletes support the event, the community will

follow suite.

The video is short and engaging, and the message is clearly stated. We used the

video as a complement to our online resources. A screenshot of the video can be found in

Appendix B.1

Website:

One of our main objectives for this campaign was to raise awareness for the

52

Easter Egg Hunt among families in the Auburn community. The fastest and most efficient

way to spread messages is using the internet, and we knew that in order to get our message

to the families in the Auburn area we needed to develop the online reach of the 30th Annual

Easter Egg Hunt.

The website is designed to be the headquarters for our different online

resources. Our different online resources include a Facebook page and Twitter account.

These different resources serve to deliver messages and create buzz, but at the end of the

day, we want them to forward people back to our website.

We designed our website to engage the viewer aesthetically while still being

simple to navigate. Because our primary target is mothers in the Auburn community, we

focused both on the site‘s aesthetic appeal and the sites usability. It‘s important to

remember than not everyone is computer savvy, and for this reason, our site‘s navigation is

designed to be clear and user-friendly.

In addition to helping us send messages, our cast of online resources will serve

to give the event credibility. Most people don‘t understand how the internet works, and so

they naturally give credibility to things they don‘t understand. For the common person, an

organization or event with it‘s own website earns instant credibility. We want the 30th

Annual Easter Egg Hunt to seem like it‘s an important event, and the website helps us

accomplish this.

Screenshots of the Website can be found in Appendix B.2

53

Appendices

Appendix A: Research

A.1 Sources Consulted

A.2 Photos of Kiesel Park

A.3 Negative Press Release

Appendix B: Media

B.1 Video Screenshot

B.2 Brochure

B.3 Graphics

54

Appendix A: Research



A.3 Negative Press Release

55


Park City Mountain Resort's annual Easter Egg Hunt (Park City, Utah)

◦ Description:

▪ Food and drinks provided. Started at 9 a.m. There is a hunt with two golden

eggs containing prizes. Still, some of the non-golden eggs contained prizes less

valuable. Clues for the golden egg distributed throughout the resort.

▪ They use Facebook and Twitter to get the word out. There is an Easter Bunny

that skis around the resort and visits with guests all day.

◦ Source:

▪ http://www.firsttracksonline.com/News/2010/4/2/Sundays-Annual-Easter-

Egg-Hunt-at-Park-City-Mountain-to-Include-Golden-Egg/ "Some sort of

prize can always catch the attention of the public.

◦ What can be learned:

▪ Maybe the puzzle pieces to the big prize could be hidden around Auburn the

week of the event.

▪ Food and drinks can draw people in.

▪ The events are VERY important.

▪ This shows that social media is an important tool to communicating to the

public what is going on. We need to make this happen."

Eggstravaganzoo (Nashville, TN)

◦ Description:

▪ """Families from all over Middle Tennessee will be hopping over to Nashville

56

Zoo for a fun-filled day of egg hunting, games and animal exploration at the

12th annual Eggstravaganzoo. Music City‘s largest egg hunt takes place

Saturday, April 3 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. More than 30,000 plastic eggs will be

distributed on the Zoo‘s Festival Field for hunts held throughout the day.""

◦ Source

▪ http://www.zandavisitor.com/newsarticle-3108-

Visit_the_Nashville_Zoo_and_Collect_Their_Eggs_During_Eggstravaganzo

o


▪ "Obviously Auburn does not have a zoo, but if we could come up with

somewhere to host the event other than the park or bring animals to the park I

think even church-goers would attend. We have to come up with something

other than just an ""egg hunt"" to bring people in. I also like how they had a

theme with each hunt. ex: ""Larger, golden eggs which can be redeemed for

special prizes will be hidden throughout the Zoo for children to find. Various

Zoo animals will be hunting for special ―eggs‖ hidden just for them within their

habitats.""

▪ The breakfast idea is good. It's time with the Bunny for pictures without chaos.

The fact that its the only time you can take pictures brings more people in to

attend. ―Before the fun of Eggstravaganzoo, enjoy breakfast and a special visit

from the guest of honor at Bunny Breakfast. Pancakes, eggs, sausage and more

are on the menu, and the Easter Bunny will be hopping around posing for

pictures. Choose from four times: 8 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.

Breakfast is by reservation"" "

57

The Brewer Easter Egg Hunt (Brewer, ME Outside an Auditorium)

◦ Description:

▪ "Visits with the Easter Bunny, who handed out coupons.

▪ Children who found golden eggs were given bicycles which were donated by

the Kiwanis. Each child was allowed to pick up 14 eggs.

▪ For children 6-12 years old there was a flashlight egg hunt just like a regular

egg hunt but with flashlights at night.

▪ There are three hunts held, one Friday night (flashlight hunt), Saturday

morning and Sunday morning of Easter weekend.

▪ The event is put on by the Brewer Parks and Rec Department , the Brewer

Kiwanis and the Brewer Burger King.

◦ Sources:

▪ http://www.bangordailynews.com/story/Greater-Bangor/Children-make-

quick-work-of-Brewer-egg-hunt,103593?print=1


▪ Having a different kind of hunt for older children that would provide more of

a challenge would be good. It would be hard to put a limit on the number of

eggs a child could collect. Perhaps having pictures with the easter Bunny

would be a good event before the hunt itself so that people who show up early

will have something to do.

Eastminster Presbyterian's Egg Hunt (Indialantic, FL)

◦ Description:

▪ This is an egg hunt put on by a church . Activities include pot-luck lunch, cake

http://www.bangordailynews.com/story/Greater-Bangor/Children-make-quick-work-of-Brewer-egg-hunt,103593?print=1

http://www.bangordailynews.com/story/Greater-Bangor/Children-make-quick-work-of-Brewer-egg-hunt,103593?print=1

58

walk, and egg hunt. This event does a good job of getting people to stick

around long after the hunt is over. I think the pot-luck lunch is the main

attraction for families to bring blankets and have lunch. The church has a nice

grass area that makes for a great venue for the hunt and lunch.

◦ Sources:

▪ personal experience


▪ The egg hunt is a bit unorganized and it sounds like the Parks and Rec. Dept.'s

hunt is much better organized. The main thing to be learned is that it is

possible to get families to stick around after the egg hunt, and a put-luck meal

could prove to be a good idea. The downside to this is that the Kiwanis club

would probably be upset about competing food options. Also, if people are

traveling from far away it will be more difficult for them to bring a food item.

Easter Fun in New Orleans (New Orleans, LA)

◦ Description:

▪ Dinosaur Egg Hunt at Audubon Zoo

▪ Different hunts for different age groups, the hunts were all called something

different based on where i was at. They had rides. eggs were stuffed with candy

toys and tickets for rides and prizes. Fairy Godmother did face painting.


▪ There are similarities with all of these hunts, but I think the ticket idea in the

eggs is good. Maybe a cake from the cake walk, picture with the Bunny?

59


60

A.3 Negative Article

Chocolate Bunny meltdown / Media hops all over Walnut Creek and its renamed egg hunt

When the great Easter Bunny hullabaloo hit Walnut Creek, it took nearly everyone by

surprise.

Surely, city officials thought, this couldn't last. It would all blow over once people realized

that they hadn't banned Easter, just renamed their annual kids' event a "Spring Egg Hunt"

rather than an "Easter Egg Hunt."

"Honestly," Walnut Creek spokesman Brad Rovanpera said this week, "with all the things in

the world to worry about, people are coming unglued over this?"

They are. And the reaction speaks less to the controversy about religion in the community --

it's just a rabbit, after all -- than the media's inclination to play into the simmering anger

and resentment among Americans who are convinced their rights and privileges are being

taken away.

In this case, you could call it a "hare-trigger" reaction.

Walnut Creek resident Michael Runzler wrote a letter to the editor complaining about

"banning the Easter Bunny," and when it ran last week in the Contra Costa Times, the

response was immediate.

"I heard from two Fox TV news shows in New York, KGO (news radio), Channel 7 (the ABC

affiliate) and The Chronicle," Rovanpera says. "I did most of the interviews, but I turned

61

down Fox in New York. They wanted me to go to a studio in Oakland on Sunday, and I never

miss '60 Minutes.' "

And who would have thought that would be just the start of it? This week, Runzler appeared

on Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes" national news show, clips from which were then picked

up by "The Colbert Report" on Comedy Central.

Stephen Colbert, whose character is a humorous parody of conservative talk-show hosts,

billed his segment "Easter Under Attack," and specifically mentioned Walnut Creek. Colbert

added a tongue-in-cheek warning "to keep your eyes open and your marshmallow Peeps

close to your chest."

"That," says Runzler, "is when we knew we had a Bunny by the tail. When I sent a letter to

the editor I never imagined it would get this kind of response."

No kidding.

In a way, the whole fuss is utterly predictable. Fox commentators struck a national nerve last

year when they mounted a campaign against those who substituted "Season's Greetings" for

"Merry Christmas." So the image of an Easter Bunny getting frog-marched out of town was

perfect for stirring up emotions.

There are, however, a few problems.

For starters, Walnut Creek isn't banning Easter. They've just changed the name of their

traditional egg hunt. Nor, despite Runzler's fears, are they removing the familiar fuzzy

rabbit.

62

"We still have the Bunny," city spokesman Rovanpera says. "We just rebranded the event.

We did it five years ago and until last week nobody even knew or cared."

And by the way, about that Bunny.

"I'm not going to defend the Easter Bunny or eggs," says the Rev. Kevin Murphy, whose St.

Matthew Lutheran Church is one of the largest in Walnut Creek and is just a few blocks from

the annual egg hunt. "In my congregation, Easter egg hunts don't have a blessed thing to do

with Easter, which is about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

"And by the way," Murphy adds, "rabbits don't lay eggs."

Details, details.

Still, Walnut Creek city officials, who changed the name of the event to avoid spending

public money for something that could be construed as religious, are thunderstruck to be

suddenly cast as radicals with a runaway social agenda.

"It is absolutely amazing," says Mayor Sue Rainey. "The thing is, it happened five years ago.

This is ridiculous."

And the sleepy, tree-lined East Bay suburb hardly deserves to be singled out for national

attention. You'd be hard-pressed to find a city that hasn't renamed its Easter egg hunt.

By Rovanpera's unofficial count, no fewer than eight towns surrounding Walnut Creek --

from Brentwood to Danville -- host an event with some kind of egg-related name that does

not mention Easter.

In fact, Todd Trimble, who works with Rovanpera at the Heather Farms Park, where one of

63

the two egg hunts on April 7 will be held, says he used to work in Pleasanton, which

"changed the name a good 10 years ago."

Across the bay, San Mateo has staged its Eggstravaganza for years.

Up in Marin, San Rafael has an Alice in Wonderland Spring Festival and not only suggests

that you bring your own eggs, but that you hide them yourself, too.

Not that any of that information stopped the protests. Runzler has created a Web site --

defend www.theeasterBunny.com -- which he says got 1,300 views in the first day and a half.

And Rovanpera is now getting angry letters.

"When you start to destroy the common culture of a nation," one person wrote, "you begin

to destroy the nation, little by little."

Another woman called Rovanpera and told him she had planned to bring her 4-year-old

niece to the egg hunt, but now was going to refuse to allow her to come, in protest.

Rovanpera could only think of one thing to say.

"How sad for the little girl," he replied.

Oh yeah, kids and candy eggs. Wasn't that what this was supposed to be about in the first

place? Bay Area egg hunts

Here are some of the egg hunts scheduled in Bay Area cities before Easter, which falls on

April 8:

Walnut Creek: April 7, Spring Egg hunts for preschoolers through fifth-graders at 10:15 a.m.,

Heather Farm Park, 1750 Heather Drive, and Larkey Park, Buena Vista Avenue at First

http://www.theeasterbunny.com/

64

Avenue. $5 per person. For more information, call (925) 943-5858 or go to ci.walnut-

creek.ca.us.

San Rafael: April 7, Alice in Wonderland Spring Festival from 2 to 4 p.m., Falkirk Cultural

Center, 1408 Mission Ave. $5 per person; babies in arms free. For more information, call

(415) 485-3327 go to cityofsanrafael.org.

San Mateo: April 7, Eggstravaganza from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Central Park, El Camino Real

and East Fifth Avenue. For more information, call (650) 522-7470 or go to

cityofsanmateo.org.

C.W. Nevius' column appears regularly. His blog, C.W.Nevius.blog, can be found at

sfgate.com. E-mail him at [email protected].

http://ci.walnut-creek.ca.us/

http://ci.walnut-creek.ca.us/

http://c.w.nevius.blog/

mailto:[email protected]

65

Appendix B: Media


B.3 Brochure

B.4 Graphics

66


67

Twitter

68

Facebook Group:

69

B.3 Brochure

Page1:

70

Page 2

71

Page3

72

Page4

73

B.4 Graphics

Logos:

74

The Bunny:

75

The Bunny in Costume:

76

Other Graphics:

finalfinalputup

Documents

city of auburn parks

local auburn community

introduction auburn

annual auburn parks

auburn university

recreation department

community activities

auburn city fest