Truly great opportunities don't often present themselves to associations. So when they do, it's important that organizations not only recognize them but also harness them to boost their industry as well as the association.

That's exactly what the Soil Science Society of America did after learning that the United Nations declared 2015 as the International Year of Soils (IYS). SSSA's Director of Science Communication, Susan Fisk, and its Director of Member Services, Susan Chapman, knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build awareness about the value of soils, soil science, and their members, as well as to highlight SSSA as the premier information resource on soils.

They also knew that soil scientists are very passionate about their work, and given the right information and motivation, they could become evangelists for the campaign. But no matter their members' passion, establishing a yearlong communications campaign would be no easy feat.

"We had to consider what would be involved with engaging all of our stakeholders and how we fit into the schemes of other soil-related organizations around the world," Chapman says. "We had to figure out who we were going to engage to pull this off."

They also had to manage expectations and channel enthusiasm within SSSA. "A lot of people who aren't involved in marketing or communications immediately started listing off cool things to do," Fisk says. "They were great ideas, but we had to figure out how to organize them."

They also knew that soil scientists are very passionate about their work, and given the right information and motivation, they could become evangelists for the campaign.

SSSA formed a task force, led by its past president, which included leaders and key stakeholders from academia, government, and industry. That group decided to focus the yearlong campaign on two audiences: members and K-12 educators. The goal was to develop resources and activities (e.g., lessons plans, blog posts, and videos) for both of these groups that would have a lifespan beyond IYS.

To manage the enormity of the project, Chapman and Fisk broke it into 12 distinct themes, each assigned to a specific month, and led by members with particular interest, passion, and expertise in those areas. For example, the January theme was "Soils Sustain Life," while October focused on "Soils and the Products We Use." Volunteers also helped SSSA organize and develop content for each month, taking some of the burden off the association's staff.

In addition, SSSA worked with nine other supporting organizations, including the American Society of Agronomy and the American Geosciences Institute. Doing so required developing unified messaging and other collateral that could be used all over the world.

But, according to Chapman, timing became the toughest challenge. Unexpectedly, the United Nations decided to celebrate Soil Day on December 5, 2014. As a result, SSSA's perfectly choreographed plan was bumped up by a month, but Chapman and Fisk knew they couldn't miss out on the opportunity. The team rose to the challenge and made their part happen. "It was very cool to be inside the U.N. for that event," Chapman says.

The campaign's results impressed all the organizations involved and exceeded expectations. SSSA's website views jumped from about 80,000 in 2014 to more than 200,000 in 2015. Even better, that increase continued throughout 2016. SSSA also added more than 2,000 Facebook and Twitter followers, and its blog readership jumped 500 percent in 2015. In addition, the success resulted in a 2016 ASAE Gold Circle Award in the "Media/Public Relations/Advocacy Campaign" category.

The campaign's legacy continues to sustain public visibility about one of the world's most important and overlooked resources, Fisk says. SSSA's IYS campaign shows that when an association sees an opportunity and goes for it, the reward often far exceeds the risk.