Introduction
Coinciding with Florida Forest Services’ change from Division of Forestry (DOF), the organization commissioned the PIE Center to conduct focus groups to determine Florida residents’ perceptions of the forestry industry and FFS. Additionally, an online survey explored how FFS employees viewed the name change as well as other organizational characteristics.
PIE Center researchers conducted six focus groups in Orlando, Tallahassee, Gainesville and Fort Myers with the general public. For the questionnaire, about 1,175 employees received the web-based tool, of which 683 were completed and returned for a 51.8% response rate.
Key findings
Focus group participants held positive views of forests and government organizations that protect forests. When asked to name the organization responsible for protecting forests, participants did not associate DOF or FFS by name, though Department of Forestry was mentioned. Instead, participants identified DOF/FFS with forest management, wildfire prevention and suppression, parks and park rangers, as well as fish and wildlife protection.
Focus group participants’ response to the name change was mixed. The new name sounded helpful to some but did not change perception and confused some. For the logo, the trees and the badge shape were focal points of participants’ comments. For some of the participants, the trees in the logo identified the context of FFS’s work, but some participants wanted different trees. The badge shape elicited perceptions of authority, which was considered a positive context by participants.
When asked about the target audience of FFS, focus group participants believed the audiences included everyone but more specifically named children, schools and forest users. The participants said FFS should utilize multiple media sources, including internet, broadcast, billboards/signs, events, and paper-based communications to communicate the organization’s purpose. More specifically, the participants recommended radio and television broadcasts and direct contacts to their phones with text messages or automated calls for communication emergency information. Overall, the participants recommended increasing communication with the public to increase awareness of FFS.
Employees were asked to rate their perceptions of various FFS activities, including the importance of the activities to Florida and the importance for differentiating FFS from similar organizations. All of the activities listed were considered important by the employees, though wildfire prevention was rated as the most important. Employees also perceived wildfire activities as the most important for differentiating FFS from similar organizations, while recreation and landowner assistance were perceived as the least important for differentiation.
Employees believed communication by FFS to external audiences was important, but they viewed the current external communication as only slightly effective and slightly consistent. For communicating FFS’s duties to the public, TV, websites, and print articles were considered the most important communication channels, while text messaging, e-mail, and social media were the least important. For communicating emergency information, TV and radio were viewed as the most important communication channels, while text messaging was viewed as the least important.
Recommendations
FFS should increase its communications with the public and use multiple channels, such as broadcast media, websites, and face-to-face interactions. To target children, increasing FFS interactions at schools could be beneficial. For forest users, holding promotions at recreation-oriented stores could increase the presence of the organization. For emergency information, FFS should use broadcast media and technology to reach people directly.
The focus groups participants had difficulty differentiating FFS from similar organizations, often perceiving that there was overlap. The aspect of FFS protecting Florida forests should be a focus during interactions with the public, when creating communications materials, and working with the media. By focusing on this message, FFS can differentiate itself from similar organizations.
FFS should remain consistent in the branding and design of all promotional materials to help audiences recognize that FFS is the source for the materials. To do so, FFS should make its logo large enough that people do not have difficulty seeing it and place the logo where it can be seen without distracting from the materials. To avoid confusion, the relationship between FDACS and FFS should be made clear when both entities’ names are included on the materials.
