Advertising an E-Waste Collection Event

Hi All-

I have two E-Waste Events set up- a small town one (Population about 2500) on Earth Day (4/26) and one in a larger town (About 9500 people) on May 3. We'll be offering free collection for computers and peripherals (No CRTs or TVs)

I work with two schools, but these are my first public collection events. We'll have a spot to put our Box Truck that we can hang a banner from next to Main Street, so that will help.

My question: How should I best promote the events? What have you done that has worked for you, or hasn't???''

Thanks for the Help!

Local Facebook groups have worked very well with me. And in a town as small as the your first town, a flyer in the local bank, post office and local convenience store would probably be the places to post. And then, in the small town, I would find the local group of the most intelligent people in town (where? at the local coffee shop! ) and try to explain to them how this will be beneficial for them. That should be a big help.

For the larger town, see if some club from the school can help you (and pay them). Ask them to create an event on Facebook and then have them share, share and share that event invitation. That has worked great for us.

I have 2 upcoming ones as well. both were set up through the either the township or village in coordination with their spring clean up events. they both advertise through mail flyers and through their websites as well. otherwise yard signs strategically located , facebook, craigslist, and a selective email campaign to bigger businesses should help. take your box truck and have a banner made with date and location and have it parked in high visibility places around town, make lots of fliers and have the schools you work with send them home with the kids for their parents.

Yard signs and banners at a local business where alot of people will go like the bank or gas station a feew weeks in advance should work well in the small towns. The people will spread the word. Also dont forget about the neighboring towns. I am sure people will drive little ways to donate some stuff. They did for our events.

Thanks for all the help!

We'll definitely embrace Facebook, Flyers, and Newspapers.

I work with the largest sanitation company in the region, and they're letting us run a flyer in with all of their monthly billing statements! I finally have a use for that pallet of LaserJets from the last school pickup ;)

We'll be able to park the box truck at the event site, so it should help. Now, another idea that came to my head: I drive a 1995 F150 sometimes. Do you think a rolling billboard would help? I think it would be a way to spread the word while doing my errands. I'm thinking something like this:
http://www.phoenix4signs.com/images/..._billboard.jpg
But, with more plywood and 2x4's :)

Do you think this would be a good idea or not? Has anybody every tried anything like this?

Thanks for the thoughts! Please keep 'em coming!