Mat-Su Borough officials hope the ads will draw residents online to learn about projects such as a proposed ski area at Hatcher Pass, the Goose Creek Correctional Center being built at Point MacKenzie and the ferry and rail routes that would connect Port MacKenzie to Anchorage and the main Alaska Railroad line.
Mat-Su Borough planner Lauren Kruer said it's part of a larger plan to use the Internet to make it easier for residents to keep abreast of what's happening in the area without driving to Palmer to attend borough meetings or visit borough offices.
"We looked at how we've been reaching people in the past. We still get people coming to meetings saying 'I've never heard of this,' " she said.
The ad is simple, a 30-second spot filled with photos of traffic, computer-generated music and a little text. The message: that the Valley is growing rapidly and "YOU can help" by logging on to the borough Web site, www.matsugov.us.
Borough manager John Duffy said it's the first television commercial he can recall in his 23-year tenure at the borough, according to spokeswoman Patty Sullivan.
Kruer said the borough, like many industries, is struggling to find the best ways to reach people in a changing media market.
Government has traditionally relied on newspaper advertising, mail-outs and posting information online for meetings and public notices.
But mail-outs are expensive and many returned undelivered. They also don't reach renters or residents who don't own property in the borough. Newspapers have a limited reach. Not everyone has online access.
Kruer said her department hoped to reach an untapped audience with the radio and television ads.
Still not everyone is convinced the ads will do what the borough wants.
Kevin Brown, a Palmer City Councilman and owner of marketing and political consulting business Strange Bird Consulting in Palmer, said television ads are often thought to reach more residents than many other markets.
But he said he would have recommended using a mail-out based on both borough tax rolls and voter registration information, or even a mail-out to every borough address, a service the U.S. Post Office offers.
A mail-out with useful information such as emergency numbers might have a longer shelf life than even the radio and television spots, he said.
Brown added the borough has to be prepared to frequently update its Web site if it hopes to keep residents coming back.
Without new information posted frequently, users get out of the habit of checking a Web site, he said. Once gone, they can be difficult to get back, he said.
Jim Turner, a former Mat-Su Assemblyman and owner of Turner's Corner store near Hatcher Pass, said he understands the borough's dilemma in trying to get residents engaged. But he questioned whether the money spent on the ads would amount to more than "whistling in the wind."
Turner said he almost daily sees people who have just moved to the area.
He said he frequently gives an overview about how local government works at the area's community council meetings to help new residents get acquainted.
But it's difficult to reach everyone, he said, and many people only learn how government works when they have a reason to.
"The idea of a ski area has been banging around in Hatcher Pass for some 25 years. I still get people moving out here saying 'What? A ski area? I didn't move out here for that,'" he said.
Kruer said the commercials, which were composed and produced by borough staff, are a test. If the number of hits on the borough Web site goes up, more commercials might follow, such as one highlighting some of the big-ticket projects the borough is working on.
Kruer said borough employees are looking for more ways to reach out. Sullivan, the borough's public information officer, already compiles weekly podcasts with the borough mayor Curt Menard and manager John Duffy that are posted online.
Palmer-based group Radio Free Palmer streams borough Assembly meetings live over the Internet and posts them as podcasts on its www.radiofreepalmer.org Web site.
Another idea being evaluated is whether to install Web cameras on library computers to allow rural residents to arrange face-to-face -- or screen-to-screen -- meetings with borough staff. Kruer said her department is also discussing filming public open houses and posting the meeting overview and questions on a YouTube channel online so residents unable to attend can learn about the project and hear their neighbors' concerns.
"If you want to know about it, we want you to know," Kruer said.
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