Publicity and how to gain it

[Bob White]

Het if works great! But if it is not what you want it to be or if others have had great success doing it another way lets not have this knee jerk reaction of "oh, that would never work here".

 

The District has specific responsibilities to help support units and PR is one of these.

 

The thought that one's commumity is unlike any other in the nation and so what we do won't work in another community, when it hasn't even ben attempted is a defeatist attitude.

[Proud Eagle]

Bob,

 

I am sorry if I came off as defeatist, or as being against your idea.

 

I think you are probably right, but that in this case that makes very little difference to any of us.

 

Let me explain why. Most of us here are unit level volunteers with only minimal if any involvement with the organization and operation of the district and council.

 

Therefore, I think it would be great if the district and council started doing some PR work. However, being a unit level volunteer, there really isn't anything I can do to make that happen, especially since I an not a PR expert.

 

However, what I can do, is make certain my unit makes good use of the PR options available to it. Now if the district comes up with a PR coordinator and asks us to work with them, fine I will be glad to play along. At the moment though, there is no such person or if there is they haven't bothered to tell the units.

 

Sometimes I do have a poor outlook on the ability of the district or council to do anything, particularly if it is something more than they are currently doing. This likely has something to do with the very poor performance of the district and council in certain areas visible to the unit, and in some other areas I happen to know about for various reasons.

 

I guess if I thought I had anything to offer to the district or council I could probably get a volunteer position at that level. Unfortunately, I don't really see there being much of a way for me to help, though they probably need whatever help they can get. (Our Lodge Staff Adviser thought I would make a decent Lodge Adviser if our current one has to be replaced, I happen to think he wasn't thinking clearly when he commented on that.)

 

So, I am sorry if I seem like a defeatist. Its just I see so many problems with Scouting around here, and it seems like no one knows how to fix them. I know I certainly don't. Oh, sure I am good at finding what is going wrong, but figuring out how to fix it is something else entirely. I wish I were more of an optimist, but reality makes being an optimist hard, at least for me.

[Bob White]

"Most of us here are unit level volunteers with only minimal if any involvement with the organization and operation of the district and council."

 

And you can't make a phone call?

 

"At the moment though, there is no such person or if there is they haven't bothered to tell the units."

 

Communications is a two-way street. Have you asked?

 

"However, what I can do, is make certain my unit makes good use of the PR options available to it."

 

What does your unit gain from PR? How does it improve your program?

 

 

Let's remember when refering to the district and council committes as the distant "They", that they are volunteers just like you. Volunteers make up the district and council. Volunteers who are willing to work not just for their own kids or just the kids in one unit but all the kids and for ALL the units in YOUR community. And for the most part, their payback is attitudes like yours. Imagine what could be accomplished with a more teamlike approach then your "them and us, and them aren't doin much" approach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cubmaster-Fred]

BW,

 

I also do not think that this is having a defeatest attitude. Like my wife, Cubbing Carol, stated, we utilize the resourses we have in his area. The newspaper and the radio station. We have good success because it is about local happenings and the people of this town enjoy reading about thier boys.

 

If council were to get involved then the items would not be fresh and probably wouldn't make it into the local paper. All the small towns in the area have thier own paper and I don't think council would be willing to contact all of the papers on a regular basis. Heck we can't even get them to produce scouting for food flyers for us. They stated they would have no problem doing the flyers if we were from Amarillo. This seems to be thier big concern, the immediate area around the council HQ.

 

With our PR the boys get not only pictures of thier service projects in the paper, but also when they atain rank and most other events the Pack does. I feel that the grass roots PR is the way to go.

 

If Council were to help us in the same way, or even have a PR person, I too would give it a go. So don't call it defeatest if all of us in the smaller communities utlize what we have and don't pressure people above us to change what they are doing.

 

Like you stated they are there for us and if they cannot help me then I shall help myself.

 

YIS

CMF

[Bob White]

Fred, you have provided an excellent exmple.

 

"If council were to get involved"

 

First who said coucil? What about the district? Why couldn't it be done at that level?

 

"then the items would not be fresh and probably wouldn't make it into the local paper."

 

You are surrendering to a problem that hasn't happened anywhere but in your own imagination.

How do you it will not be fresh, what plan have you imagined that would cause that. What if you imagined it differently. Is there a way to process the information professionally and quickly? I'll bet there is because the business community does it all the time. Thats why I suggest getting people who are trained in the skill.

 

Why can't a PR person get it into local media? Is the where abouts of your local paper or radio station a secret known only to a few local scouters?

 

You have not only created problems that yet to exist but once you imagined the problem you never stopped to imagine their solutions.

 

Look if what you are doing works fine. But I was answering Hops question. He says scouts don't get enough publicity and wanted suggestions. My suggestion is if you want it done better then you need to do two things. Do it differently than you do it now, and use people who are trained to do it.

 

To say that "that can't work in my community because my community is different" is surrendering before you have even tried.

 

 

 

[acco40]

Johnny just saved the free world from disaster by going back home and shutting off his mother's iron.

 

Now, as his Scoutmaster, I want the free world to know all about his heroics! Where do I begin? I've never called a radio station, newspaper, etc. Have no fear! My friendly Council volunteers have provided the answer!!

 

Check out: http://cvc-bsa.org/aboutcvc/presskit.htm

 

Seriously - Yes, communication is a two way street. But like most volunteer organizations, some of us are experts in certain fields where others are clueless. Sometimes, a unit alone does not have the resources and the help of a district or council volunteer helps wonders.

[Proud Eagle]

Bob,

 

Perhaps I am not seeing the benefit of your plan because I don't really understand how it would work.

 

If you could provide an example, or an outline of the process as you see it, then perhaps I would see the benefit in it.

[Bob White]

The plan is simple.

 

Talk to your local district chairperson. See if they have a person or persons on the committee who are skilled at PR ask how the district can help units improve their odds of getting media coverage through things like contact lists, media kits, press realeases, PSA formats. etc.

 

But first have a goal. A question that has yet to be answered is what does PR on a unit level do for the unit? What does it add to your unit program or activities. If it doesn't benefit your delivery of the scouting program to the boys then why are you doing it?

 

What methods of scouting do you employ and what aims of scouting does it achieve?

 

The purpose of the district/council is different from the purpose of the unit. I can see how PR benefits the goals of the district/council but how does it help a specific unit?

 

 

 

 

[Proud Eagle]

OK, I think I see what you are saying now. I had the totally wrong idea before. I thought you were saying units shouldn't do PR and should leave it to the council and district. What you are saying now makes sense. I agree it would be a good idea for districts or the council to make such info available in a ready to use form, with perhaps some nice guidelines on when to make a press release or contact the media, and when not to do so.

 

As for why a unit needs to do PR, there is one rather obvious answer.

 

Advertising for fund raisers. Our troop, as previsouly mentioned, does a Christmas tree sale. We have a real need to get the word out in the community about this, otherwise we can't raise money. If we can't raise money, we would have to severly cut back on the type of outings we do, or make major increases in the cost of events.

 

So, we usually have someone type up a press release and send it to all the local media outlets. Out of this we usually are able to get a write up in the paper in the section dedicated to community organizations, pluss at least one real news piece talking about our tree sales, and all the things that sale supports, complete with pictures of Scouts moving big green pine trees around etc. We also usually get at least one television news program to cover it. Once we even got a live feed. Also, the local cable public access channel runs text information on things and we use it. Finally, the local radio station (which is run by our town mayor, often with him behind the microphone himself) gives us some exposure.

 

This added public awarness helps us with selling those trees, which pays for insuring and maintaing the van and trailer, new equipment, registration fees, activities fees for required adult leaders, most of the activities fees for youth, and assistance to needy families that couldn't pay those costs that are passed on to the families of the boys.

 

That is one reason.

 

Another obvious one would be that improving the image of Scouting in the community improves the level of cooperation we get from members of the community in doing things like recruitment, fund raising, finding volunteers, finding places to hold activities, in getting materials for service projects, including Eagle Scout leadership projects, and getting Scouting for food donations. Those benefits extend to the whole local Scouting community, and in some cases back to the community at large, even when a story only talks about one unit.

 

Further, I would think it certainly wouldn't make it any harder to get FOS donations if there has been a good deal of information in the press showing all the activities local Scouts are doing. I would imagine if someone goes to some corporate donor and he mentions the article he just read about the great time the local Scout troop had at camp, that person would be thinking they aren't going to have as much difficulty getting that FOS donation they are seeking.(This message has been edited by Proud Eagle)

[Bob White]

The first reason you list is not PR it is advertising and there is a difference. The second reason you list is indeed PR and are all District and Council level operations and not activities that individual units should expend their resources on.

 

Which has been the main point I have tried to get you to see.

 

BW(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[Cubmaster-Fred]

BW,

 

I still cannot believe that you are dead set in your mind that the units cannot promote scouting themselves. This is the main way we get support from the community and recruiting new boys. Whether it is the paper, radio or just plain getting out there in uniform.

 

I can't figure out what resources we would be wasting on this? You need to elaborate. I feel that a few minutes of my time to drop off some pictures to the newspaper is not a waste of resources. Or a few minutes to ask the owner of the radio station for some air time, or the principal to pass out flyers for recruiting, or asking the paper to place an ad for the unit, etc.....

 

Is it not better for the community to see the faces associated with the local unit asking for things rather than someone who has no connection with the town whom they might only see when something is needed. PR is not only media coverage, it is also when people recognize you for being involved with scouting. It is when parents can thank local businesses for their support. Just people talking about scouting is getting the word out.

 

So I say again, PR is not a function that is solely a district or council function. They promote scouting as a whole, each unit promotes themselves in their community. Yes I agree that each area is a different situation, but in most ways it is the same.

[Bob White]

"I still cannot believe that you are dead set in your mind that the units cannot promote scouting themselves. This is the main way we get support from the community and recruiting new boys."

 

No its not. How can it be when everyone seems to agree that scouting doesn't get enough press? The main way we get support from the community is from the reputaion of the 94 years of scouting from the over 110 million people who have been in the program. The best thing ANY unit can do for public relations is to have a good program not a good press release. How does a PR person improve the quality of the program you deliver?

 

The best recruiting tool you have is the quality of your last meeting.

 

"Is it not better for the community to see the faces associated with the local unit asking for things rather than someone who has no connection with the town whom they might only see when something is needed."

 

What person might that be. Every member of our district and council committee lives in the district and council they serve. Do you have people on your district committee who do not live in your district?

 

Sending in a list of advancements given out at the last pack meeting is not PR. Advertising your pancake breakfast is not PR. If you want to do those things go ahead. PR is a little more involved than that.

 

Let's get back to the premise of the thread.

"In the Sports over Camping thread, we've found that Scouts dont get much publicity.

 

How will continuing to do what you have always done get you more publicity?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Zahnada]

We've gotten stuck in a battle over terms and words. First of all, PR is very complicated. People spend years trying to learn this field (and they get paid good money for it too). It combines communication, psychology, sociology and probably a few other areas. They are professionals.

 

But there's also a flip side to PR that's apparent from just looking at the term. Public Relations involves relating to the public. Every idea generated on this thread demonstrates the troop trying to relate back to the public whether it be by being active and just following the program, to getting the names and pictures of the latest Eagles into the paper.

 

These troop level methods of relating back to the public I feel are powerful in keeping the Boy Scout image alive in the community. It also helps the troop because I've seen the motivational power that seeing an Eagle in the paper can have on the younger scouts.

 

However, PR done at the troop level should not extend beyond the troop level. What I mean by this is that councils and districts have people responsible for issuing press releases, designing public service announcements, giving stories to the media, etc.

 

This past summer, the television station I work for had me produce a PSA for the local council. I met with several members of their PR department and learned exactly what kind of message they wanted to send out to the public. If I had gone on my own, it would have had a very different focus and probably wouldn't have been as effective because I didn't have the luxury of access to their market research.

 

So the point is, use your friends at the district and council when you can.

[Cubmaster-Fred]

BW,

 

The faces I refer to are the faces of the parents, boys and leaders of our Pack. The community will help the local unit more if they know who is involved. It is in this way that we get the help we need to give our boys the type of program they deserve.

 

EXAMPLE: By putting the picture of our boys placing flags on the graves of veterans in the local cemetery, we are letting the community know we are here, what we are doing and that we are also about community service. Yes the boys get to see thier picture in the paper but it helps the unit in that more people and organizations know that we are active in the community. It is because of PR like this that the local American Legion, VFW and city have helped us in more ways than I can count. The community relates scouting stories to the leaders and boys when they recognize them, which more often than not is from the pictures. I feel proud when people recognize me for being involved in scouting and let me know that they think we are doing a good thing.

 

The publicity also helps in recruiting the local boys and families into the world of scouting. The parents and boys, who are not yet into scouting, get to see what we are doing and how we help the community. Yes the council and the district can do the grand scale PR for the BSA, but we have to do the PR for our indiviual units.

 

You also keep referring to the district, get off it I am not talking about the district I am talking about my community and the people who live here. No council or district leaders live in our community.

 

You also need to quit stating that we need to concentrate on the quality of the program. I do this, I have a great program, both on the den and pack levels. Me and the other leaders giving time up to let the community know what we are doing does not now nor will it ever take from the program.

 

BW you need to quit trying to tear everyone down and live with the fact that the scouting program does not function everywhere in the world under the BW rules!

 

CMF

 

[Bob White]

Fred

 

What makes you believe that the district is not capable of putting local faces into local newspapers? What hurdle could possibly exist that would prevent that?

 

"BW you need to quit trying to tear everyone down and live with the fact that the scouting program does not function everywhere in the world under the BW rules! "

 

Nowhere have I set any personal rules. Nowhere did I say you must do this. If you are unable to defend your position just say so, but to turn your attack on me personally because you have run out of things to say is not a worthwhile tactic.

 

(This message has been edited by Bob White)