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LI Fueling Your Fleet www.landscapeirrigation.com Landscape and Irrigation March 2015 39 about the dangers of ethanol-blended fuel greater than 10 per- cent so that everyone can stay safe and have fun on the water," said Thom Dammrich, president of NMMA. "The 'Look Before You Pump' campaign is a smart, simple way to help others un- derstand how and why ethanol can be a problem in boat engines, and we thank OPEI for welcoming NMMA as we work together on this important consumer education effort." The campaign has received significant media coverage and taught millions of people the importance of proper fueling. The campaign has been mentioned or profiled by the Associated Press, Better Homes & Gardens, Bloomberg Businessweek, CNN, Consumer Reports, Firehouse magazine, Fox Business, The Huff- ington Post, The New York Times, and Reuters. As an industry, it is critically important that we educate con- sumers about proper fueling. Consumers who know how to properly fuel their outdoor power equipment will more likely be- come better satisfied customers for dealers, and will enjoy longer life from their power equipment. In an April 2014 survey with Scripps Howard of lifestyle en- thusiasts, slightly more than 72 percent said they were not aware that new fuels are available for certain automobiles on the market that are illegal for use in outdoor power equipment and all other non-automobile engine equipment. Slightly more than 28 percent of the survey respondents said they select the same gasoline for their outdoor power equipment as they do for their car or truck. More than 12 percent said they select fuel by price, while more than 43 percent select fuel as stated in their owner's manual. Nearly 35 percent of the survey respondents said they had experienced outdoor power equipment engine failure or perfor- mance issues. Twenty-nine percent said the engine failures/per- formance issues were determined to be the result of a fuel-related issue. Of those experiencing problems, more than half were not aware that most engine performance issues and engine failures in outdoor power equipment are fuel-related. Signage about the campaign is being carried in Lowe's and Walmart stores where outdoor power equipment is sold. Signage for the campaign is also being used online by retailers to edu- cate consumers about proper fueling. Other participating stores which have pledged to share information about the campaign with staff and consumers include: Do It Best, The Home Depot, Kmart, Sears, Tractor Supply Co., and True Value. Ads for the campaign are running in ZIP codes where blender pumps exist through the popular Gas Buddy app, which helps consumers find cheap gas. More than one million people have viewed the ads. Videos and radio public service announcements about the campaign are also being used by the media and online to educate consumers about proper fuel choices for their outdoor power equipment. OPEI's web portal offers a public relations toolkit and free downloadable items for the campaign (www.TinyURL.com/ EthanolEducation). In a survey of outdoor power equipment dealers who were using the web portal, 80 percent said that they were using the campaign materials to educate new customers buying new equipment. Nearly 60 percent of them downloaded the campaign logo, and 41 percent were using the counter posters for the campaign. Information hangtags for outdoor power equipment and infor- mation cards for the campaign were also popular, with a third of respondents downloading them. More than half of the respondents were also using the cam- paign materials to educate their employees about ethanol issues. More than half of the respondents said that they were using the materials to educate consumers bringing in equipment for re- pair. Nearly 40 percent said that they were using the materials to educate themselves. Nearly 27 percent said they wanted to stay abreast of ethanol issues. Many dealers taking the survey also indicated that they are increasingly using social media to communicate with customers. More than 41 percent of respondents reported that they used so- cial media to share information about ethanol. Eighty-eight per- cent had a Facebook page for their business, and 47 percent had a Twitter account. Forty-one percent had a YouTube channel, and nearly 28 percent were using LinkedIn. Kris Kiser is the president and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI), which is an international trade association representing 100 small-engine, utility vehicle and outdoor power equipment manufactur- ers and suppliers of consumer and commer- cial outdoor power equipment. Learn more at www.opei.org. You can follow the "Look Before You Pump" campaign through social media. Follow and re-tweet hashtag #LookB4UPump and "like" the OPEI Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/ Outdoor-Power-Equipment-Institute/179449385434673). This article originally appeared in Landscape and Irrigation's sister publication, OPE.