Montgomery Parks serves more than one million residents in Montgomery County, Maryland, managing over 37,000 acres – 10% of the county’s total land area.
Deer-vehicle collisions are a serious public safety risk in Montgomery County, where high densities of both deer and vehicular traffic intersect, particularly from October through January during peak deer breeding season.
Each year, the Montgomery Parks marketing team partners with the department’s wildlife ecology and management team to create a multi-week public awareness campaign.
The Deer Vehicle Collision Awareness campaign aims to increase public awareness of deer breeding season, educate residents about the dangers of deer-vehicle collisions, and inform drivers about actions they can take to reduce risk.
Historically, the campaign relied on a straightforward approach, featuring social media posts that paired general safety information with archival deer photography. While informative, the content generated low audience engagement.
In response, the Montgomery Parks marketing team set out to completely reimagine the campaign.
Our objective: Increase both reach and engagement compared to the previous campaign approach.
When our annual deer-vehicle collision awareness campaign began to roll out in 2024, we noticed that engagement remained low. We recognized this as an opportunity to rethink our approach. We took a step back and considered ways we could fundamentally shift how we present this information to the public.
Our goal was to create unexpected, culturally relevant content that would capture attention, encourage sharing, and make the campaign’s safety messaging more memorable.
We began by exploring relatable ways in which we could frame the seasonal deer rut – or breeding season. Through research of social trends and internal brainstorming sessions, we identified an opportunity to tap into the popularity of reality dating and relationship shows that were dominating social conversations at the time.
We started sketching out ideas for humorous content that would parody popular dating shows. As we developed content, maintaining the right balance was a key consideration—we wanted to push the creative boundaries enough to stand out, but at the same time, remain in alignment with our brand as a government agency and preserve the community’s trust.
To test the approach, in the Fall of 2024, we introduced one new concept alongisde our traditional content: “The Deerchelor.” This post used a striking graphic visual that parodied a popular reality dating show format while also highlighting deer mating behavior and its impact on roadway safety.
The post generated a significant response – garnering more than 11,300 views on Facebook; our second most-viewed post on that platform in 2024. The strong positive response validated our direction to move forward with a completely reimagined campaign.
The 2025 campaign fully embraced the parody-driven concept, including “Tin-deer” dating profiles, “Dancing with the Deer,” and “Buck Island” inspired executions. The campaign ran across Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn from October through December 2025.
Each piece of content paired eye-catching graphics or short-form video with educational messaging, including peak deer activity times, high-risk driving conditions, and defensive driving tips. To ensure accuracy and credibility, we collaborated closely with the department’s wildlife ecology and management staff throughout the campaign.
The campaign also demonstrated creativity under constraints. With no supplemental budget, all campaign assets were created entirely in-house by Montgomery Parks marketing staff.
Our reimagined Deer Vehicle Collision Awareness campaign delivered exceptional results - achieving our campaign objective with significant increases in both reach and engagement compared to the previous campaign approach.
Engagement explosion
In 2023, the original campaign generated a total of 150 impressions and 29 shares across 15 social media posts.
In 2024–2025, the reimagined campaign delivered more than 64,000 views across 23 posts—a substanial increase in visibility and audience interaction.
Content worth sharing
The original campaign in 2023 was shared 29 times, while the 2024-2025 campaign posts were shared more than 200 times across platforms – expanding organic reach beyond Montgomery Parks’ core audience.
Positive audience response
The campaign generated enthusiastic feedback. Examples of comments:
“This is brilliant…..Love the creativity and humor while still sharing an important safety message”
“This is the best way to talk about deer 🦌🫶”
“This is a great way to keep us all aware and also understand the annual rut. thanks!”
“A+ PSA game”
“Cute campaign! And so true! This time of year is crazy with deer!”
Outperforming our industry
From October through December 2025, engagement and audience growth rates across all four of our social platforms exceeded government industry benchmarks, demonstrating the effectiveness in breaking through and capturing audience attention.
Engagement Rate:
Industry: Government vs. Montgomery Parks
Instagram: 1.43% vs. 3.91%
Facebook 1.79% vs. 3.55%
X 1.21% vs. 2.97%
Linked In 2.16% vs. 8.45%
Audience Growth
Industry: Government vs. Montgomery Parks
Instagram: -0.32% vs. 6.68%
Facebook -0.40% vs. 1.18%
X -0.98% vs. -0.15%
Linked In 0.32% vs. 12%
By combining entertainment-style storytelling with public safety education, we were able to transform a traditionally straightforward awareness effort into a highly engaging and shareable public information initiative.
