After the initial data collection and analysis phase of the project, Gleam NSR partners are taking action and connecting with different target groups. Back in December, partner city Rotterdam hosted an event in Feijenoord to provide personalized advice on the implementation of the zero-emission zone in Rotterdam, which was put in place at the beginning of January.
This event was organized by the city as part of Logistiek 010, a collaboration between the city and organizations in the logistics sector. Founded in 2014, Logistiek 010 is a community committed to smart and clean city logistics in Rotterdam. Today there are almost 3000 member companies that transport goods or have goods transported, government entities, and knowledge and educational institutions.
This event hosted in the Feijenoord borough of Rotterdam, like the first pilot event in Delfshaven in October, was designed to inform small local business owners and entrepreneurs about the zero-emission zone that would begin in Rotterdam this January and what they could do to prepare. Both neighborhoods were chosen for the pilots because of the high amount of high emission class vehicles that drive there.
Colleagues at the city and working in the two neighborhoods collaborated to determine the best resources and methods for connecting with the different target audiences. The city used social media, personal invitation letters, flyers (with a team distributing them), and posters. What did they discover? Though it takes more time and energy, leveraging the personal networks of colleagues working in the neighborhoods as well as sending individual letters were the most effective ways to reach busy business owners. Many business owners don’t have time to go look for resources in addition to managing their company’s activities, so direct engagement through a letter or someone they know personally worked best to invite them to the events.
1-1 Advising in Delfshaven
These smaller local in-person events were tested and proven to be more effective at reaching small business owners in different parts of the city than relying on the city’s mainstream communication channels alone. However, during the evaluation we could see that it is important to combine different local events into a larger communications campaign rather than soloing out each one. With a larger campaign bigger audiences can be reached with more time and resources than if local resources are only applied to an individual event.
Logistics advisors and representatives of the city’s mobility department were present and connected with over 50 people during the two events. The overall amount of people attending the events was low, but the outcomes and quality of the engagement per person was very high. Everyone who attended reported being happy to have spoken with someone and to have received the help and personalized advice.
Check back soon for updates on the City of Rotterdam’s Logistiek 010 activities and more about the implementation of the zero-emission zones there and in other Gleam NSR cities.