Case Study
About the White River Vision Plan
The White River Vision Plan was a joint effort between the City of Indianapolis and Hamilton County Tourism, Inc. in partnership with Visit Indy’s philanthropic arm, Tourism Tomorrow, Inc., to develop a comprehensive and coordinated regional, community-driven plan to enhance 58 miles of the White River in Indianapolis and Hamilton County.
The Situation
Representatives from the City of Indianapolis, Hamilton County Tourism, Inc., Visit Indy, and Agency Landscape + Planning sought to gather resident feedback regarding wants, needs, and concerns for a 30-year vision plan to revitalize the White River. The plan incorporates recommendations for events, water experiences, connection and access to the river for residents and visitors. The vision plan also includes insights and suggestions for environmental and ecological preservation and restoration. Resident participation was incredibly crucial to the process so that the plan fully represented the unique and diverse Central Indiana community.
Our Goal
Because community participation was paramount during the vision plan process, we wanted to cultivate regular media placements throughout May 2018 – June 2019 in as many diverse communities as possible.
Our Approach
The Porch Light team worked to facilitate media interviews with key spokespersons during an initial press conference in May 2018. Then, using findings and research from discovery, envision and action phases of the plan, we created three distinct announcements to encourage residents to attend and participate in public conversations throughout the city or to take an online survey detailing their thoughts and feedback on the plan as it progressed. In addition to print and broadcast news outreach, we also incorporated outreach to publications focused on minority communities in Central Indiana. To expand our reach to even further, we contacted influential churches and nonprofit organizations focused on minority outreach to increase the pool of diverse residents participating in each meeting.
The Results
We secured coverage placements in every single media outlet currently available in the central Indiana market, including the fashion-focused PATTERN magazine, neighborhood magazines and newspapers such as the Towne Post, the Noblesville Times, and Indy Midtown magazine.