For Coastal Outdoor Advertising, supporting the community means more than placing a message on a billboard. It means using the company’s reach, creative resources and local relationships to help that message make a difference.
For many years, Myrtle Beach-based Coastal Outdoor Advertising has partnered with SOS Care to promote Guns & Hoses, an annual charity softball game featuring local law enforcement and fire departments. Proceeds from the September 26 event at Pelicans Ballpark will benefit SOS Care’s Project Lifesaver program, which serves vulnerable individuals and families throughout Horry County.
Project Lifesaver is designed to help public safety agencies locate individuals who are at risk of wandering because of autism, dementia, down syndrome or other cognitive conditions. Participants wear a small transmitter that emits an individualized radio frequency. If that person goes missing, specially trained first responders can use tracking equipment to help locate them.
This year, Coastal Outdoor wanted to take its support beyond promoting the event across their digital network.
Ashley Amoroso, Director of Strategic Planning for Coastal Outdoor, visited the Myrtle Beach Police Department’s annex to film Detective Zach Reffey explaining the program and demonstrating the equipment officers use during a search. Coastal’s creative team transformed the interview into an educational video for social media, giving families an opportunity to see how the program works before an emergency occurs.
“We have always believed that our medium should be used to serve the community as well as our advertisers,” Amoroso said. “Billboards can bring thousands of eyes to an important message, pairing that visibility with educational content gives people a better understanding of why the message matters.”
The campaign has taken on even greater significance following the tragic death of five year old Saylor Hayes, a non-verbal child with autism who disappeared while visiting the Pawleys Island area in August. Saylor had been enrolled in Project Lifesaver, but authorities later confirmed that she was not wearing her transmitter when she went missing.
While the Guns & Hoses campaign was planned before Saylor’s death, her story has brought renewed attention to the importance of wandering prevention resources, caregiver education and the consistent use of Project Lifesaver transmitters.
“Saylor’s story affected our entire community,” Amoroso said. “We hope this campaign helps more families learn that this resource exists and understand how critical it is for the transmitter to remain with the enrolled individual. If greater awareness helps protect even one vulnerable child or adult, the message has done something truly meaningful.”
The 17th annual Guns & Hoses Charity Softball Game will take place Saturday, September 26, at Pelicans Ballpark in Myrtle Beach. Gates open at 9 a.m., and admission is a $10 donation. All proceeds will support SOS Care’s Project Lifesaver program.
Through the combination of donated billboard space, locally produced video and community partnerships, Coastal Outdoor is demonstrating one of out-of-home advertising’s greatest strengths: its ability to make an important message visible to an entire community.
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