Lessons in Adept Marketing of a GreenProject

Saturday, May 15, 2010 at 7:54AM

by Grant W. Austin, M.S., MAI, MRICS, PLE Take a look at the photo below. In the far distance is downtown Toronto and in the foreground within a river valley was a brick factory and quarry that began in 1889 and was abandoned in 1984. The old brick buildings sat idle for nearly three decades until a national charity devoted to greening communities initiated a $55 million project to reinvent the site as a showplace for urban sustainability. The sole purpose of this blog contribution is to highlight the multiple methods by which this project has been successfuly marketed to the local government, the community and contributors - it is an exemplary example of how to capture the attention of all key participants for your next project. Maybe some of the marketing and organizational lessons of this project can take your brownfield to the state of this property where it has just been recognized by National Geographic's Center for Sustainable Destinationsas one of the world's best geotourism destinations. Continued below the photo . . .

Here are some of their marketing strategies . . . In the News:

Metronews: Apr. 26 Evergreen profiled in article “Eco heroes honoured” reporting on the Green Toronto Awards http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/live/article/2--toronto-s-eco-heroes-get-honoured Globe and Mail (also carried by CTVNews) Tues. May 4: Brick Works fired up for the future . Detailed article and several photos profiling 16-hectare Evergreen Brick Works site in Toronto's Don Valley. Forest, meadow and wetlands now ... Toronto Star: Doors Open supplement kids guide profiles activities planned for kids down at the Brick Works for Doors Open Toronto weekend. Canadian Geographic Travel: Issue Summer 2010 – EBW referenced in detail as one of top 3 venues to visit while in T.O. Local, Spring 2010 Green Issue – Feature article for regional Beaches publication called Local. The City That Brick Built http://localmagazine.ca/features/the-city-that-brick-built/ Boston Globe, The art of history The most ambitious of the industrial revival projects is the Evergreen Brick Works in the Don Valley. Few cities can claim such a centrally-located example ... http://www.boston.com/travel/getaways/canada/articles/2010/05/02/the_art_of_history/ Toronto Star (Thursday May 6) - Toronto a 'laboratory of urban innovation'- Kaplan works out of the Providence, RI-based “Business Innovation Factory” he ... and the Evergreen Brick Works, the transformation of the Don Valley Brick ... http://www.thestar.com/yourcitymycity/article/4--toronto-a-laboratory-of-urban-innovation

The blog, Heads up Dad, does a wonderful photo montage/essay walk with kids through the Brick Works and ravine http://blog.headsupdad.com/2010/05/03/sustainable-fun-in-toronto-the-evergreen-brickworks-2/ Video:

Time lapse video of EBW parking lot being prepared for Holcim pour: http://www.archive.org/details/TimelapseMay4th2010TorontoBrickworksDonValley Events:

Thursday May 6th our “Peek Behind the Curtains of Evergreen Brick Works evening with Joe Lobko” was positively received by the building community, attended by some 75 builders and architects. Jamie Kennedy and Friends event planned for June 19 at the Brick Works has also been reported in the Post City news: Jamie Kennedy and friends heading to Brick Works Post City On June 19, the Local Food Five will man the hot plates at Evergreen Brick Works, 550 Bayview Ave., home to the smashingly successful farmers' market and ... Evergreen Short Video Contest being organized by our curator is making the social media rounds: http://www.workinculture.ca/apps/index.cfm?fuseaction=job.showDetails&jobid=&termid=

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