Launching Garage Sale Trail & Internal Engagement - City of Busselton

City of Busselton focussed their 2015 Garage Sale Trail campaign on internal engagement as well as generating local media with well-known actor, Myles Pollard, appearing as a local ambassador to promote the program in their area. About their promotions, learn more.

PHOTO: Media image featuring Myles Pollard, an Australian Actor known for his role as Dr James Edmunds in Home and Away and previously Nick Ryan on the TV series McLeod's Daughters. 

Media photos featuring Home and Away actor Myles Pollard were taken just a few days before the event, which featured on the front cover of the local newspaper. This raised the profile of councils involvement, and the garage sales happening in the area, ultimately encouraging local shoppers to get out and about on the day.

​After launching the campaign in Busselton with a media article in the local community newspaper, momentum was maintained through a series of radio ads and regular editorial stories every 2 – 4 weeks to keep the interest going. ​​

"We had a lot of support from our internal media team. Without them we would not have got very far.  We went hard at it and I think that paid off."
​Naomi Davey, Community Development Officer from City of Busselton

Initially City of Busselton used the presentation provided in the Council Dashboard to educate other team members about the program, with the support of the CEO which meant they had buy-in from the beginning. By spreading the program across different teams and team members, the Council was able to run a successful program.

​​Internal engagement was bought to life with a free internal garage sale where staff bought in items to swap with each other. Councillors were also highly engaged with the program from the outset.

During the campaign they logged into the Council Dashboard daily and fed back results to the team involved so they stayed motivated. It was also beneficial to pass on good news to the media staff so that they knew how successful their campaign had been.

​City of Busselton had a total of 152 registered sales and hosted a large group sale called the ‘Signal Park Sellathon’ which featured 62 stalls.

• The team at City of Busselton put their success down to:
• A media campaign covering both radio and print media
• Cross organisational staff involvement -  involving Waste, Libraries, Events, PR, Environment, Community & Commercial Services
• Distributing Garage Sale Trail information through established council networks and channels
• Maximising the support services provided by Garage Sale Trail, by using the templates and resources provided in the Garage Sale Trail Council Dashboard and regularly checking in with their Council Manager for new ideas​​

This case study was kindly provided by Naomi Davey, Community Development Officer from City of Busselton

​City of Busselton's Signal Park Sellathon Market

City of Busselton Media Examples