Recruiting Give-aways

[p475]

Our pack is involved in manning a booth at our charter organization's annual Italian street festival as well as other local events. We use these opportunities to put out Scout flyers for the general public & do some recruiting. Many groups offer give-aways at these events. So far we have only given out paper airplanes & paper boats with our contact info on them which does not cost us anything. We are now considering going more mainstream & buying personalized refrigerator magnets & personalized pencils, but that costs money which we do not have a lot of. So my question--before we go to this expense--is, has anyone tried personalized pencils, magnets, etc., with any success? I am thinking it might be good for general publicity, but maybe not so much for direct recruitment into our pack. In other words, we may not directly reap the benefits of this expense in terms of increased registration. What are other packs' experience & advice?

[dg98adams]

I have seen types of give-a-ways that are cheap.

 

Find your local Scout office and ask for camp brochures/flyers/etc or your local conservation office, & ask for brochures/magazines/etc, put a printing label with your unit info on it.

 

Get your unit to make leather woggles or a simple lace craft/key chain, with you unit info on a printing label stuck to it.

 

Cut 1" slices from a limb and stamp your unit logo on it (also use a printer label on the back).

 

A give-a-way that you make is likely cheaper than what you buy AND advertises your unit.

 

Sometimes you can get Leave-no-trace cards and tape gum/candy to it... in fact print them on card stock to make it cheap.(This message has been edited by dg98adams)

[shortridge]

I don't have data, but I thought about how I use those magnets, cardboard fans, pens, combs, nail files, keychains, etc., when I pick them up at the state fair and such. They usually go into the back of my dresser, never to be seen again. The magnets might get stuck up on my fridge, but as purely utilitarian items.

 

I really like the paper airplanes and camp flyers ideas. Simple, straightforward and they can be folded up in a pocket or purse to be easily carried while at the festival.

 

Call me a goody two-shoes, but I'm opposed to handing out candy. If the fair folk will let you, a couple bushels of apples or oranges might be cheap and would be very well-appreciated and send a good, healthy message. If you're at an event during the summer, some large coolers of water & disposable paper cups (collected to later be dried out and recycled into firestarters!) would make you guys the hit of the fair.

[ScoutNut]

Check with your council. Often DE's will have access to give-aways that they use for Boy Talks at the schools. At the very least you should be able to get a case of those mini Boy's Life magazines. You can put a label on each one with your Pack info, and when you are holding your registration. Our council also has paper bookmarks with the council info on it.

 

Pencils from Oriental Trading are pretty cheap, and can be used for various recruiting activities. You can get 72 pencils, personalized with 30 characters/spaces, for $15.

 

http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/browse/processRequest.do?demandPrefix=12&sku=47/362&prodCatId=388898&mode=Browsing&erec=32&No=0&Ne=17&sp=true&Ntk=all&Ntx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&Ns=PRICE_prop|0&N=388898%2018&tabId=3&requestURI=processProductsCatalog&sd=Personalized+Mega+Pencil+Assortment

 

Add a mini Boy's Life, and bookmark, and you should be in great shape for little cost.

 

 

 

[ScoutNut]

Instead of just a give-away table, can you have enough room to let the kids sit down and actually make, and take, something?

 

You can have paper and directions on how to make a few different types of airplanes.

 

http://www.paperairplanes.co.uk/planes.php

 

The helicopter and the blimp are very easy to make, even for little ones, and lots of fun to fly!

 

Have label stickers to put on every boy's shirt with your Pack info.

 

 

 

 

[ntrog8r]

We tried magnets when I was with a Pack. We gave out nearly 200 magnets and received less than 10 call backs and zero recruitments from people that did not give us their contact info when we gave them the magnet.

 

The following year, the Council gave out magnets and declared it a success; I have no idea what their numbers/responses were.

 

Later we made magnets with key contact info for the Troop to the Boy Scouts' families. Parents loved them and used them. So, good for those that joined (in Boy Scouts) but no luck as a recruitment item in Cubs.

[SSScout]

Magnets are useless for Cub Scout recruiting. You need to convince the boy it's fun and the parent it's good for the boy.

 

I like the idea of a craft to make, and take home, even if only a paper airplane race.

 

Local Cub Pack makes up stickers with contact info on them and then gives away popcorn (popped!) at the local school fair. Stickers stuck to Popcorn bags. Cubs in uni and or Tshirts. Flags, photo board of activities, folks to answer questions. Cub books to look at.

[Crew21_Adv]

p475,

 

Greetings!

 

You've receive some excellent advice.

 

Here is what I would recommend as a recruiting give-away. In some of the older Cub Scout handbooks (I believe it was the Cub Scout Leader How-To Book), there is a Yoke Puzzle. http://www.scouting.org/filestore/hispanic/english/33832_WEB.pdf

 

The Yoke Puzzle attract attention, cheap, and easy to make. Craft sticks, plastic craft lacing, and small washers.

 

First allow them to make it themselves. Though, if the young boys just cannot manipulate the puzzle or tie off the ends of the lacing, and Scout Leader can quickly set it up.

 

Predrill the craft sticks, and write your Pack webpage, pack email, or phone number.

 

Probably have a few dozen puzzles ready to hand out to the Tiger cub age, those that just cannot manipulate the equipment to build the puzzle.

 

Make sure your Den Leaders and most of your Scouts know how to solve the puzzle. So that the can teach customers the solution, after a few minutes of challenge.

 

 

Scouting Forever and Venture On!

Crew21 Adv