Recently, I was with my twin two-year-old grandsons in the basement doing my best to keep them amused. They had played my drums for what seemed like an eternity and the search to find something a wee bit quieter to do was approaching desperation. I remembered a large Rubbermaid tub full of Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars tucked away in the furnace room. They belonged to their dad — he began collecting them when he was about their age. The twins helped me pull out the tub, their eyes lit up and they dove right in.
We pulled all kinds of memories out of that tub and each one seemed to catch their attention. Soon, the entire contents were dumped on the floor and they had a grand time pulling out firetrucks, police cars (one of which has a battery-operated siren that STILL works!), graders, diggers and loads of Hot Wheels. In the pile on the floor, a little red pickup truck caught my eye.
Wow, I remember that one.
A red Dodge Ram Truck with the Alliance Pipeline three-ring logo on the roof and brand on the hood. When I worked with Alliance, we had them made for events. They were handed out to people visiting our damage prevention booth and gave the kids something to enjoy. I snapped a photo of the little red truck sitting in the palm of my hand.
It struck me how many keepsakes, mementos, calendars and trinkets have been circulated to homeowners, emergency responders, landowners and occupants and members of the digging community across the country, in the continual effort to promote public, worker and community safety. The goal was finding something small enough to pack and ship while equally useful and durable to last. Sometimes we hit it just right and other times, not so much. All of this ran through my mind as I looked at this tiny truck in my hand that probably cost less than five cents to order.
I posted this photo to social media in early October with barely a mention accompanying it and to my surprise, it generated, and continues to generate, interest beyond anything I have ever posted before. Among the countless rain gauges, letter openers, magnets, pens, flashlights, pins, placemats and assorted other gadgets that have helped promote public, worker and community safety, this little red truck clearly struck a chord.
Today, our message is ClickBeforeYouDig but the means of promoting it, and finding that simple formula — that Little Red Truck — that makes the message stick, remains the same.
Author – Mike Sullivan, President – Utility Safety Partners