One of nine scenes created for Summer 2020’s #BEachSAFEly campaign. Credit: Joel Davenport for New York & New Jersey Sea Grant Programs.
Stony Brook, NY, May 4, 2021 - In a virtual ceremony held on April 27, Sea Grant’s COVID-19-inspired “#BEachSAFEly” campaign received a Folio Award from the Fair Media Council (FMC) for best “Social Media Public Awareness Campaign.”
In Summer 2020, at the height of the pandemic, as well as the middle of beach season, New York Sea Grant and the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium (NYSG and NJSGC, respectively) developed and implemented a nine-week social media campaign called “#BEachSAFEly.” The campaign was supported by a COVID-19 Rapid Response grant from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s National Sea Grant College Program.
The nine bilingual (available in English and Spanish) illustrated messages, created by freelance designer Joel Davenport, not only focused on standard “ocean hazards” tips such as “Break the Grip of the Rip,” but also incorporated general safety and health concerns related to COVID-19.
“While many social gatherings were discouraged last summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic, outside public spaces remained open and operating at a reduced capacity,” said Kathleen Fallon, NYSG’s Coastal Processes and Hazards Specialist. “Beaches became even more relevant as a place to which people could escape.”
“We are honored that FMC recognized #BEachSAFEly for both its design and effectiveness of conveying valuable health and safety information in an eye-catching way,” said Paul C. Focazio, NYSG’s Communications Manager. “The weekly series stood apart from other COVID-19 coastal messaging seen on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram because it brought in different aspects of water safety, such as wave and rip current awareness.”
Moving forward and building off of the success of this all-virtual campaign, in Summer 2021, NYSG and NJSGC will continue the extension of these messages by making the images available, individually as postcards and combined in a poster, to local beach venues and other community organizations.
#BEachSAFEly marks the third time in eight years that FMC has bestowed the honor to Sea Grant in this social media category — in 2020, it was in recognition of the “Currents Clips” limited video series and in 2014 it was for a collection of science-based information released before, during, and after Superstorm Sandy.
NYSG has offices located at Stony Brook University.
More Info: New York Sea Grant
New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University
and the State University of New York (SUNY), is one of 34 university-based
programs under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s
National Sea Grant College Program.
Since 1971, NYSG has represented a statewide network of integrated
research, education and extension services promoting coastal community
economic vitality, environmental sustainability and citizen awareness
and understanding about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources.
Through NYSG’s efforts, the combined talents of university scientists
and extension specialists help develop and transfer science-based
information to many coastal user groups—businesses and industries,
federal, state and local government decision-makers and agency managers,
educators, the media and the interested public.
The program maintains Great Lakes offices at Cornell University, SUNY
Buffalo, SUNY Oswego and the Wayne County Cooperative Extension office
in Newark. In the State's marine waters, NYSG has offices at Stony Brook
University in Long Island, Brooklyn College and Cornell Cooperative
Extension in NYC and Kingston in the Hudson Valley.
For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube links. NYSG offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/nycoastlines for its flagship publication, NY Coastlines/Currents, which is published quarterly.
