Accessing Hard to Reach Communities - Willoughby City Council

The City of Willoughby on the North Shore of Sydney, is a high density area with lots of apartments. The team at the council decided to trial organising a suitcase sale to increase participation by providing an opportunity for people from the surrounding apartment buildings without a garage to get involved in selling on the day, learn more.

This case study was kindly provided by Tejinder Gill, Sustainability & Waste Education Officer at Willoughby City Council​

To reach the right people, the council marketing team listed the Suitcase sale on the Garage Sale Trail website and then advertised it on Facebook as well as through posters and their regular e-newsletter to residents.

Tejinder advises that to organise a suitcase sale you need to allow approximately 6 weeks lead time.

The biggest tip from the team is to make sure there is a lot of signage on the day. Once you have organised your sellers, it’s really important to switch to shopping targeted messages and promotion to make sure there are plenty of buyers on the day.

​More tips from Willoughby Council for running a successful campaign:

• Communicate with your local community groups to get more people involved and get the word out - email or post the Introduction Letter provided in your Council Dashboard to community groups and schools, and follow up with a phone call 
• Get as many staff members involved as you can with plenty of lead time and spread the action items across as many departments as possible
• Use the social media guide to run a promoted Facebook campaign from as little as $20 and target the right people in your area
• Have a plan for promoting to shoppers not just sellers
• Use the local data on the Garage Sale Trail Council Dashboard to let residents know how many sales are registered to generate momentum in social media, print media and radio
• Work with local charities to develop a plan to encourage responsible donations after the event

Willoughby City Council Media Examples