If you MUST stage a groundbreaking event, try this

You can lump groundbreaking ceremonies, check-passings and ribbon-cuttings into one category.

They’re tired, lifeless events staged for the media and to stroke the organizers’ egos. Smart Publicity Hounds avoid them at all costs.

But if you absolutely MUST have a groundbreaking event because your boss demands it, here’s a different twist on a tired theme. It’s courtesy of Lois Kirkpatrick of the Fairfax County Department of Family Services in Fairfax, Va. Lois submitted a “Help This Hound” question for my blog and ezine a few weeks ago, and got some great ideas from my readers about alternatives to cliche groundbreaking ceremonies.

man with daughter at community groundbreaking event

When Lois emailed her question to me, she mentioned a clever idea for a groundbreaking her department hosted several years ago that actually resulted in fabulous publicity in her local weekly newspaper.

“We asked the community to bring their own shovels, trowels, pick axes—any kind of digging implement they had—to help us break ground. So we ended up with a bunch of kids digging in the dirt, surrounded by VIPs. The attached aren’t the photos that took up the entire front page of a local paper, but they give you an idea of the event.

“It was very successful!”

How about other fun alternatives to traditional groundbreakings, ribbon-cuttings and check-passings? What have you done in your own community to generate publicity for these otherwise staid events?

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