Publicity matters when you’re launching a first-ever competition. Not everyone will have the luxury of partnering with a national magazine like Fleet Maintenance when planning a competition, so in that regard, I wanted to touch on several things we’ve done in Nebraska that are tools anyone can implement.
One of the easiest things you can do is talk about SuperTech, which is completely free. It’s really that easy: you talk about SuperTech. You talk to fleets, you talk to dealers and you talk to potential sponsors. You ask them if they’ve heard about SuperTech. If they have, you ask them what they think. If they haven’t, you give them an introduction to the competition.
Another easy thing to do is get different groups of people involved. Community colleges may not be the first thing you think of when you think about SuperTech, but for those of us in Nebraska, it was a natural fit. We’re partnering with the colleges to help proctor our exams. Think outside of the box and get different groups of people involved.
And finally, create a flyer that can serve as a talking piece. Post it on a Web site. Include information about your event. Keep it in your briefcase and take it to every meeting you go to.
None of these ideas are monumental, but they are simply a few of the things we’ve been doing in Nebraska to help us stay publicized.