ERNEST LANDANTE, JR.

Thirty-seven children die each year in the U.S. from heatstroke after being left alone in a car. In New Jersey, 12 children have died from vehicular heatstroke since 1998.

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To prevent future tragedies, the New Jersey Department of Children and Families sought to educate the public to never leave a child alone in a car.

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I devised and executed a campaign to reach parents and caregivers where they are likely to leave a child in a car: retail store parking lots.

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Using my professional contacts, I recruited the New Jersey Food Council, New Jersey Retail Merchants Association, Wawa, AAA Clubs of New Jersey, New Jersey Bankers Association, and Agency Network Exchange to post stickers on their entrance doors reminding people to never leave a child alone in a car. We distributed nearly 2,800 stickers throughout the state.

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Working with the New Jersey Highway Authority, I placed nearly 200 signs at tollbooth bulkheads on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway. A digital version of the sign was displayed on the PNC Bank Arts Center’s electronic billboard.

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We announced the campaign by news release and video news release, which showed stickers on retail entrance doors, signs at tollbooths, and the electronic billboard sign. The video included interviews with a pediatrician, police officer, and the state’s meteorologist.

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The video news release was distributed via email to more than 9,000 people and posted on the department’s website and Facebook and YouTube pages.