During the NRPA General Session at the NRPA Annual Conference in St. Louis, we profiled our Park and Rec Kid initiative — a social media campaign to drive awareness that we have all been influenced by our local parks and recreation centers. This year, we showcased a video created by the city of North Miami Beach Parks and R.E.C. Department. To say that the video was met with rave reviews is an understatement. Given the popularity of the video (you can view it here), we did a little Q&A with the Parks and R.E.C. Department’s marketing coordinator, Aja Dorsainvil.

Parks & Recreation magazine: Why did you create this video?

Aja Dorsainvil: We created the video to bring more awareness to parks and recreation and all the activities and programs we provide to the community, while targeting millennials. Videos are extremely popular on social media and users prefer videos over photos now, so that’s why we created a video. We’ve actually started making videos as a way to promote our events.

P&R: The video covers a lot. How long did it take you to film?

Dorsainvil: We filmed “I’m A Parks & R.E.C. Kid” throughout the day over several days at each of our community centers; we also used photos and footage from past events. The video debuted at our Youth Symposium back in April, and we immediately shared it on Facebook — it was an instant hit.

P&R: Tell us about the rapper and producer.

Dorsainvil: The rapper is Jahmir Tolliver (aka Kid R.E.C.). He is actually a lifeguard. The videographer is Jason Hope (aka Jason Sax), a recreation leader. Both grew up in Parks & R.E.C. programs in North Miami Beach. We filmed the video using Jahmir’s Samsung S6 Edge phone.

This video isn’t just a great marketing piece from North Miami Beach, it’s also a great example of what can be done with creative staff, a smartphone and a mission. Your department can also use the Park and Rec Kid initiative to promote the great work you do.