Blue Goes Green advertises student fee
Signs were placed on projects throughout campus. Liz Kirkham, marketing intern in the Student Sustainability Office, said it’s a passive way to inform students of the fee, the use of the grants and the projects’ direct benefits.
Kirkham said the SSO interns began advertising for the grant applications this year and students were unaware of the Blue Goes Green fee and projects associated with it.
Ed Stafford, marketing professor, said students began asking about a $3 fee. Kristen Ladd, an SSO intern last year, came up with the idea for the initiative to advertise the projects to students.
Work started last spring, according to Alexi Lamm, sustainability coordinator. It was a two-part process, which started with acknowledgement plaques placed next to the projects.
The phrasing of messages and design for the signs were put together and passed through committees for approval. The options were also tested on one of Stafford’s marketing classes.
“We wanted to make sure the signs were something that would be quick and interesting to students and something students could connect to,” Kirkham said. “They placed the signage in high traffic areas to catch students’ eyes. There are 14 throughout campus.”
Lamm said Sustainability hosted a scavenger hunt last week to encourage students to look for all the signs. The first student to find all of the locations was rewarded with a menu sampling for them and five friends donated by Noodles & Company.
Stafford said the marketing groups wanted the signs to convince students that sustainability is more than just saving the earth in a provocative, humorous way. They looked at the values of USU students, their target group.
He said the Blue Goes Green projects also save students money. Filling a water bottle three times at the water bottle refilling stations located throughout campus pays the equivalent of the Blue Goes Green fee.
One of these stations now hosts a sign that says, “No high fructose corn syrup here.” Logan tap water is great, according to Stafford. It comes from remote wells and springs, and hundreds of annual tests ensure its safety.
“Our goal is to educate people that going green is not just saving the planet,” Stafford said. “There are many personal benefits that come with behaving in a more sustainable fashion.”
The signs throughout campus allow students to link the fees with something tangible, Lamm said. They focus on messages students can connect with, and the office hopes it encourages sustainable behavior and interest in funding for their own projects.
@mandalark12