Many households still look forward to the arrival of their park and recreation district’s printed program guide with anticipation. When it arrives, they take out a fat yellow highlighter, circle the programs and events that interest them, and add them to the family calendar. Even in the digital age, when smartphone use and social media dominate our daily lives, “we’ve actually done a couple of surveys and people still really love our printed guide, so I would say, for the foreseeable future, the traditional print guide is here to stay,” said Amy Lewandowski, director of marketing and community engagement for Arlington Heights Park District in Illinois.
While these quarterly publications are still a viable means of communicating park district offerings, today’s fast-paced, digitally connected world also demands more dynamic and interactive approaches to engage communities and boost participation. These days, most people turn to their mobile devices for information and entertainment, so park districts must meet their audiences where they are—in the digital realm. The digital transformation of the parks and recreation world has long been underway but comes up against some sector-specific challenges, including budget limitations and skimpy staffing. In addition, as Lewandowski points out, the average park district’s audience spans generations. “We have a very wide range of residents that we serve,” she said, from digital natives to a sizable senior population that’s not as technologically savvy or inclined.
The Arlington Heights Park District and others like it would surely miss out on opportunities to engage the community were they to move away from print and other traditional marketing tools altogether. Likewise, fast-tracking digital transformation efforts without first optimizing the digital tools a park district already has in place likely will result in missed opportunities to connect and convert. These include the district’s website, email campaign capabilities, and social media accounts.
Beyond those digital staples, districts that are further along in their digital transformation are reporting positive experiences with branded apps, which serve as both a business tool for operational efficiency as well as a marketing tool. But perhaps the furthest-advanced districts are effectively bridging the physical and digital worlds in compelling ways—for example, by creating “Instagrammable” (or share-worthy) moments and merchandise.
Website Optimization, for Starters
More than half of internet traffic these days comes from mobile devices, yet behind-the-times websites that aren’t
mobile-responsive still exist in the park district world, resulting in a frustrating user experience and high bounce rates. A survey by Think with Google found that 61% of users are unlikely to return to a site on mobile if they encountered a clunky user interface.
Developing an attractive, mobile-friendly and easily updatable website, complete with an electronic version of the program guide, is a logical first step for digital transformation. When linking to the website to convey facility- or program-specific information or to facilitate a specific task, like registering for an event, optimally the link should take people directly to the relevant page so they aren’t forced to navigate a series of drop-down menus and endure endless clicking. “I know some people still kind of like to do it the opposite way, because they want the website clicks,” which in the past was thought to provide a fuller tour of the site, with further engagement opportunities along the way, Lewandowski said. “But what we’ve actually found is that the more clicks people have to make, the less likely they’re actually going to follow through with registration.”
According to the most recent National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) Marketing and Communications Report, published in 2019, 97% of parks and recreation agencies “rely on their websites or those of their jurisdiction (city, town, county) to spread the word about their amenities, programs and offerings.”
Website optimization is indeed a marketing priority in the digital age, but it shouldn’t be the primary focus. In terms of marketing impact, Arlington Height’s website lags behind email, social media and print collateral. “Most people, when they’re on our website, are looking for something in particular,” said Lewandowski, adding that visitors spend less than a minute on average on the site. That indicates they’re looking for very specific information, not inspiration. Encouraging people to get out and get active calls for additional marketing tools.
Email Marketing Makes a Comeback
Parks and recreation marketers have long used email messages and newsletters to connect with patrons. According to the NRPA report, 89% of agencies use email to alert the public of their offerings. Until lately, though, email marketing had been overlooked or underutilized as marketers shifted their focus to social media. In addition, “I think people are kind of scared that emails will get lost in the shuffle, when you consider how many emails people receive each day,” said Lewandowski, adding that AI tools like ChatGPT help her generate subject lines that command attention.
Nowadays, however, social media content is more likely than email to get buried, as ever-changing algorithms affect content’s visibility. Email messages, on the other hand, go straight to subscribers’ inboxes, bypassing the vagaries of social media algorithms.
Unfortunately, many parks and rec marketers have let their email strategy languish and are still using a “tank” approach to ram their way indiscriminately into inboxes instead of leveraging targeted email campaigns and other, newer tools and tactics that have transformed email marketing into what Forbes describes as a “precision-guided missile capable of delivering the right content to the right device at the right time.”
As part of its software suite for parks and recreation professionals, a Creve Coeur, Mo.-based vendor offers an email tool that enables quick, easy creation of ad hoc emails, e-newsletters, and periodic custom emails, as well as automatically generated emails regarding such matters as overdue membership fees. So, for example, “You can send monthly newsletters to your entire registrant list, or, if you have a pipe burst at one of your facilities, you can send a notification only to those people who are affected,” said Datis Mohsenipour, North American regional vice president of marketing, fitness and well-being.
The Arlington Heights Park District has seen great success with its monthly e-newsletter, sent to about 30,000 email addresses with an impressive open rate of 50% to 60%, which is well above the industry average. These regularly scheduled e-blasts convey information about upcoming programs, highlight special events, and provide news updates to a wide audience efficiently. However, the power of email marketing software—untapped by many departments—is its ability to target specific demographics. The Arlington Heights Park District uses its registration software’s filtering capability to develop targeted email lists, including age-specific lists to promote relevant programs to the right audience, ensuring that families with young children receive information about youth sports while seniors get updates on activities tailored to their interests.
“Other targeted approaches we’ve done with email is pulling past participants’ names for certain programs to let them know those programs are being offered again,” Lewandowski said. “We’ve also done some cross-promotional targeting. For example, our fitness manager may come up with a really great program that would be really beneficial to golfers in the off-season, so we’ll pull our list of golfers and send them an email with information and a link to sign up. So, with our email marketing, we really utilize our registration software to target specific audiences and even to identify new potential audiences.”
Out of all the marketing tools at her disposal, Lewandowski said email marketing offers “the most bang for our buck.” In addition to boosting program participation, email marketing campaigns with integrated survey software (Lewandowski uses Survey Monkey) have helped the district to better engage the community in park planning and development. Through email, residents weighed in on the type and color of playground equipment they preferred for an area park. Also through email, the district garnered community support and gathered electronic signatures to help secure grant funding.
Raising Your Social Media Stature
Social media marketing is increasingly difficult to master. Facebook users that like or follow certain accounts see less of
their posts and more “sponsored” or “suggested” posts. Social media marketers find they’re engaging fewer followers, as their posts get lost in the shuffle. When it comes to what to post, how often to post, and other considerations that guide social media strategy, it seems that best practices have a short shelf life.
But Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms still provide a powerful means of building community and awareness. According to NRPA’s Park Pulse poll, conducted in 2024, 66% of U.S. adults stay informed about local events primarily through social media. For 53% of adults, Facebook is the top social media source of this information, followed by Instagram (27%), and then other social media platforms (21%).
It makes sense, then, for districts to use Facebook Events to promote upcoming activities. In setting up a Facebook Event, marketers can determine their target audience and expand the promotion’s reach beyond followers of their page by creating a Facebook ad, targeted by user location, demographic, and other parameters. Facebook users can see in their timelines when their friends have indicated they’re interested in an event, and Facebook Events sends reminders to those who indicate they plan to attend. With permissions, Facebook Events integrates with users’ electronic calendars, automatically adding the event.
User-created and -facilitated Facebook Groups provide a forum for community members to come together and seek and share content around a common interest. Facebook Groups provide a “powerful place” and a “massive opportunity” for parks and rec districts to interact with and promote programs to locals who’ve taken the initiative to create a space “where conversations are specifically around interests that sometimes align directly with parks and rec services,” such as fitness or parenting, Mohsenipour said.
Lewandowski has leveraged Facebook Groups and, in some cases, found it helpful. But she cautions that community groups can be “a little bit challenging” to gain access to, as some specifically prohibit promotional content. Districts can get in the backdoor, so to speak, and increase their social media presence across the board by encouraging the creation of user-generated content. Incorporate social media icons and handles on all printed materials and digital content to inspire program participants and park visitors to share photos and experiences online and to tag the district’s social media accounts. Foster ongoing engagement by responding promptly and appreciatively to user-generated content. Curate and repost user-generated content on the district’s social media channels, giving credit to the original posters.
As far as content generated in-house, parks professionals “work in such beautiful places that there’s no shortage” of nature glamor shots to be posted, “but the hardest part is actually going out there and taking the photos or videos because it’s so easy to get stuck at your desk,” Lewandowski said.
She’s found over the years that posts that capture “real-life moments,” recap special events, and provide a behind-the-scenes view of parks and rec operations and staff garner the most engagement. “After we had our Trunk or Treat event, we selected the best photos, and people loved seeing their family and kids,” which makes perfect sense, Lewandowski said. But they also love seeing the park district in action. “Anytime we’ve posted something like planting seasonal flowers around our fountain in the park or pictures of construction projects that are in the works, or when we do a staff member spotlight—people eat those posts up,” she added.
Custom Apps as an Avenue of Outreach
Downloadable mobile apps offer a range of features that make it easier for residents to discover programs, register and pay for events and memberships, and stay abreast of last-minute changes or disruptions to scheduled programming.
As part of its software solution, Mohsenipour’s company has added a native mobile app experience enabling “the entire process of browsing, registering, and paying to take place within the app environment, whereas other apps on the market might take users to a certain point, where they’ve browsed and found a program only to be shunted to a website to register and pay,” he said. “So it’s a seamless experience.”
A recreation management software vendor based in Essex Junction, Vt., has also integrated a mobile app experience into its software suite that users customize themselves from a user-friendly “cockpit,” said Cindy McCall, parks and recreation marketing director.
The Wichita Park and Recreation Department in Kansas is a poster child for the app’s success. The department oversees scores of parks and facilities, including a popular attraction called Watson Park. “Anything you could want in a park, they’ve got”—including a train, ponies, pedal boats, and mini golf, according to Shana Appelhanz, marketing and communication manager for Wichita Park and Recreation. Previously, the park sold paper tickets for ride admission, available only at the park’s clubhouse. Through the app, ticket sales went completely digital, enabling park visitors to preload and reload tickets without standing in line at the ticket booth. Since launching the app in April 2024, the department has saved more than $30,000 on printing paper tickets.
Mobile apps also save time and money for recreation facilities by saving scannable membership cards on people’s phones, reducing printing costs and eliminating the bottleneck at the front desk, said Mohsenipour, adding that the app will eventually have proximity sensors “so that when someone’s within 15 feet of an entrance, without even opening their phone, their membership card will show up on their lock screen” for quicker, easier access.
Moreover, apps can leverage machine learning to provide personalized program recommendations based on a user’s past activities and interests. This level of customization not only enhances the user experience but also helps increase program participation by suggesting relevant activities to each individual.
One of the most powerful features of mobile apps is the ability to send push notifications directly and almost instantaneously to users’ devices. This direct line of communication ensures that timely information—upcoming events, registration deadlines, last-minute program openings, facility updates, and closures—reaches community members quickly and effectively. Before launching the app, Appelhanz reports that an unforeseen event such as a splash pad closure due to inclement weather or an equipment malfunction was difficult to communicate to the public “on the fly,” as website updates require computer and network access, and social media is “just not a good resource” for these types of notices. Now, if a splash pad closes, Appelhanz can notify patrons in real time—and she reports that she’s done just that, while walking down the hall.
Another time, the marketing folks had more or less forgotten to publicize a free swim day at one of the pools the department operates. “It just kind of fell through the cracks, and then they were like, ‘Oh no! What are we going to do?’” McCall said. But the solution was right at their fingertips. After sending a push notification on Thursday, by the time the pool opened on Saturday, there was a line out the door and the pool saw “one in, one out” capacity crowds all day. Appelhanz has had similar success filling same-day tee time gaps at golf courses, all through a single push notification through the app.
In a case study on Wichita, Appelhanz emphasized the importance of mounting a significant marketing effort behind the app launch: “If people don’t know about your app, they’re not using your app, and there’s no point in having the app.”
The Wichita Park and Recreation Department fostered awareness by promoting the app and its benefits via all existing marketing media, including the website, social media, e-blasts, digital displays, physical signage, and print materials, with links or QR codes so people could download the app. According to Appelhanz, this approach has led to widespread adoption and “a huge return on investment.”
Bridging the Physical and Digital Worlds
While digital technologies offer numerous advantages to parks and recreation marketers, traditional marketing methods still have relevance. And unconventional marketing tools that bridge the tangible world with the technological realm have met with great success.
To spread the word about upcoming programs and events, the Arlington Heights Park District still relies heavily on printed materials, including the distribution of brochures, flyers, and posters through parks and rec facilities, community and senior centers, libraries, schools, and supportive local businesses. Lewandowski recommends the online, template-based design program Canva, not only for ease of use but also because it can translate messaging into different languages when desired.
The district also uses yard signs and banners, although Lewandowski has stopped adding specific dates to event banners to lengthen their lifespan. “So, a banner will say, like, ‘Annual Trunk or Treat Event — Details on our Website,’” along with an URL or QR code.
Thinking outside the printed page or device screen, Arlington Heights recently gave out branded reusable water bottles as part of a summer sticker series that encouraged community members to visit various parks and collect unique stickers from each to adhere to the bottles. The Chicago Park District did something similar, offering both stickers and patches for park visitors’ backpacks.
By meeting people where they are—both online and offline—parks and recreation departments can continue to advance their mission and play a vital role in enhancing community well-being and quality of life in the digital age. RM