Why not spend the dog days of summer planning for Animal Health Week (AHW) success?
With AHW fast approaching, now's the time to consider how you want to promote your practice, showcase your commitment to the veterinary profession, educate clients about responsible animal ownership, and highlight the important role that veterinarians play in the lives of animals and their caregivers!
The deadline to order AHW specialty items may be past, but there's still plenty of time to plan some great promotional events to enhance your AHW celebrations.
In the June and July issues of the Canadian Veterinary Journal (CVJ), we talked about planning clinic tours, holding open houses, and even animal-themed parties to promote veterinary medicine and animal health care in your community. Here are more great ways to spread the AHW message:
School presentations: Students and teachers love welcoming special guests into the classroom. This AHW, why not plan to spend 1 or 2 hours with young children interested in animals or older students interested in veterinary medicine? Setting this plan in motion is relatively simple. All you have to do is approach a teacher or principal at a local school by writing a letter and following up with a personal phone call. Once the principal has approved your visit to the school, it's time to think about details. First of all, confirm the date, time, and length of your presentation, and the number of students to whom you will be speaking and their age range. Be sure to tailor your presentation to your audience by using suitable vocabulary and interesting material for the age group to which you are speaking. Whatever you choose to discuss, make it fun! As visual material and giveaways are always appreciated, order some extra AHW promotional items to hand out. Pens, bookmarks, coloring books, and career brochures are bound to be a hit with eager students.
Library visits: Much like the school presentation, visiting a library can be a lot of fun for you and for readers keen on learning more about animal health care and veterinary medicine. One way to recognize AHW in your community is to arrange a special event at the public library. Contact the librarian to ask about setting up an “Ask the expert” session relating to animal health care. Make sure to do your homework and be prepared to answer lots of interesting questions! If this doesn't interest you, many libraries offer “Storytime” programs for younger readers and their parents. As a “local celebrity,” you might want to volunteer an hour of your time to read from a veterinary book like Stephanie Maze's I Want to be a Veterinarian or to highlight the healing power of pets by reading from Stephanie Calmenson and Justin Sutcliffe's Rosie: A Visiting Dog's Story.
In addition to school and library visits, you can always volunteer to drop by a local Girl Guide or Boy Scout branch. These voluntary organizations are always looking for interesting activities for their members.
Spicing up the waiting room/reception area : For those wishing to celebrate AHW but are short on resources or time, the week can still be recognized by spicing up the clinic or hospital waiting room. With just a little effort, a waiting room can be turned into an informative and festive area! How can you do this? It's easy. Start by posting the complimentary AHW poster you received with your June issue of the CVJ (or by ordering a fold-free version). Then decorate the room with AHW balloons, decide which giveaways you would like to distribute and get your creative juices flowing. Do your clients really know the veterinarians and animal health technicians who care for their 4-legged (and beaked) friends? If not, it might be fun to post photos and mini-biographies of your veterinary team. Highlight their educational achievements, hobbies, and interests, and talk a little about the animals in their lives. As your clients get to know your staff better, they will feel more at ease in their company and will be more willing to ask questions and take their advice.
Be sure to include client education materials in your AHW display. The CVMA offers Commonsense Guides to Feeding your Dog and Cat, Commonsense Guides to Selecting a Dog or a Cat, and information on the CVMA Pet Food Certification Program, free of charge. Vaccination and career brochures may also be purchased by contacting the CVMA office.
To ensure the success of your Animal Health Week campaign, start your preparations early. For more information on AHW planning, contact Janice Mercer, Manager, Communications at 1-800-567-2862, ext. 19 or by e-mail (jmercer@cvma-acmv.org).
As always, a big thank you to our campaign sponsors, Hill's Pet Nutrition, Merial Canada, Iams, Pet Plan Insurance, Scotiabank and theCVMA Pet Food Certification Program.
(submitted by Janice Mercer, Manager, Communications)
