Trailer Safety Week Champions Drive the Movement

The National Association of Trailer Manufacturers’ (NATM) annual Trailer Safety Week (TSW) saw another year of mounting success. Congressman Rudy Yakym of Indiana introduced a House resolution designating June 2-8, 2024, as National Trailer Safety Week in the United States. Representatives John Garamendi of California and Tim Burchett of Tennessee also supported the resolution. TSW content reached thousands online with a reach of over 95,000 individuals alone on social media. 

NATM does as much outreach as it can, but the real magic happens when association members and other organizations pitch in. The movement wouldn’t get the attention it does without the TSW Allies, Champions, and Partners. 

Allies sign up on TrailerSafetyWeek.com to show they support the TSW mission. That’s it! To go a step further, there are five easy steps to be promoted from an Ally to a Champion. 

1. Sign up as a Trailer Safety Week Ally

2. Include the Trailer Safety Week logo on their company website 

3. Share daily Trailer Safety Week content via social media channels 

4. Send one email communication piece promoting Trailer Safety Week

5. Fill out the official TSW Champion Reach Report and send it back to the TSW Team

The NATM Marketing Team puts together the official Trailer Safety Communications Kit that is released and sent to TSW Allies each Spring. . The kit includes pre-crafted social media posts, downloadable TSW graphics, a blog post, and more. The assets are updated every year and are customizable so they mesh with each company’s branding with minimal work. 

Maine Trailer has been a TSW Champion for multiple years. Maine Trailer’s Marketing Manager Chris Brady says the Trailer Safety Communications Kit made it easy.

“I don't know why more people don't do it, because the stuff is there verbatim. All you have to do is schedule it out,” Brady said. “You guys do a good job of getting that information out. It makes my job super easy.”

Felling Trailers has been a long-time supporter of TSW since the program was launched eight years ago and has earned TSW Champion status since the supporter program was created. Senior Marketing Coordinator Rebecca Gerads has been with Felling for 20 years. She says she appreciates how the kit is updated every year so companies have fresh social media content year after year. 

“Kudos to the NATM team for continuing to expand on the tools and the assets that are provided leading up to Trailer Safety Week,” Gerads said. “It makes it super easy to get things set up and scheduled and promote it as strongly as possible.”

As for which social media is best, it’s going to vary from company to company. Brady says Maine Trailer utilizes Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and Google Business. For them, Facebook has the biggest reach. 

“Facebook is huge. It says we've reached 72.45 thousand, “ Brady said. 

Companies may be intimidated by a social media campaign. Both marketing professionals expressed that you don’t have to be a social media guru to have a successful and effective Trailer Safety Week reach. Gerads says she uses calendar reminders for remembering when to post and spends probably 4-5 hours prepping in the weeks leading up to TSW. 

“We'll take a look at any of the assets that the NATM Team has put together for us, which over the years the materials that they've made available have been great, and they continue adding more and more assets, whether it's for social media use or templates for text content, making it very user friendly to just grab it, make your own spin on it, and get it out there,” Gerads said. “Once we have those materials, we take a look at what we currently have going on, whether it's for social media, our website, dealer communications, anything like that, and see what pieces we can work into it to get the awareness out there.”

Brady says a benefit for him is using the Trailer Safety Communications Kit how he thinks works best. There are no strict guidelines on when and what to post throughout the week. He’s able to take the content he wants to use and post it when it works best for his company. 

“We’re able to just pick and choose. We're going to post this on this day and schedule it out. A lot of those platforms now have their own scheduling, so I think anyone could do it. They don't have to buy a special program,” Brady said. “I try to vary the post as well, so that way we talk about towing one time. We talk about strapping another time. We just talk about the general Trailer Safety Week, why it's important, and why we want to make sure we get the word out there, because the average Joe Schmo driving down in his boat that he takes out once a year might not do it the right way, and that could be a life or death situation for someone.”

Safety is in the name. Gerads and Brady say participating in Trailer Safety Week and becoming a Champion shows their customers that they are offering quality and integrity that other companies don’t. 

“There's a lot of trust and security that can be taken in knowing that NATM stands behind your brand because you do follow all of the necessary safety guidelines,” Gerads said. “We participate to continue to get the message out there that not all manufacturers necessarily follow all those guidelines that the NATM certification is based upon, and that is so important. Even when you're traveling down the interstate, you see, unfortunately, some trailer brands that you know aren't built to those standards and aren't probably the safest ones you want to travel next to.”

“It would be stupid for us not to partake in this because we want to get the word out that we take safety very seriously,” Brady said. “We’re happy to be an Ally and love that we're a Champion. It was cool to see we’re one of seven trailer companies nationwide as a Champion.”

To further the movement and its’ reach, it’s important for public safety officials to join. Apopka Police Department, of Apopka, Florida, joined as TSW Allies for the first time in 2024. Sergeant Mark Creaser says the department wanted to participate for its community as well as its officers. 

“The proper handling of a trailer is crucial to the operational safety of every officer who uses one,” Creaser said. “Trailer safety can also prevent accidents within the community and relieve officers of having to take traffic accident reports.”

Joining the movement and spreading the word is the best way to raise awareness of trailer safety practices and prevent trailer-related accidents in your community. Becoming an Ally is as easy as filling out a form. Being upgraded to a Champion takes more work, but the safety of your community is worth it. 

Trailer Safety Week 2025 will take place June 1-7, 2025. Don’t wait - join the movement! Visit TrailerSafetyWeek.com to get involved today.