Marketing Scout Programs

[SeattlePioneer]

Hello Lisabob,

 

 

>

 

As a Cub Scout Roundtable Commissioner: ouch!

 

Can board contributors give examples of program marketing that are done well or poorly?

 

 

I'm promoting our March Cub Scout Roundtables to pack leaders by e-mail titled "Enjoy Cub Scout Rocketry With Your Cub Scout!"

 

It goes on inside to disclose that this is planned as a model of how a recruting night can be conducted, beginning with a fun event that parents and Cub Scouts can do together --- making model rockets.

 

A good deal of Scout training aims to place leaders in the position of Scouts so they can get the emotional experience boys get when participating in the program.

 

I've done previous membership kickoffs where few leaders turned out and were a waste of time and energy. My hope is that this method will inspire pack leaders to turn out with their Cub Scout sons and get some ideas they can use in their spring recruiting programs.

 

I'm planning somethin similar in August, devoting the Roundtable to bringing in the pack leaders with the best sales records and the Scouts with the best sales records to discuss the practices they use which other packs might want to consider adopting.

 

My aim is not to tell people WHAT to do but to show them the things succesful packs do which they can consider adopting in their own program. Leaders tend to be buried in their own units and with a limited idea of what other packs do, in my experience.

 

I'm hoping these efforts would not be considered bad marketing programs.

 

 

[clemlaw]

I hate to nitpick, because it was a great event, thanks to the scouters who helped organize it, and the staff and volunteers from the Sheriff's department who put it on. Obviously a lot of work went into this event, but you wouldn't tell it from the "marketing". I respectfully submit the following example of a poor flyer:

 

http://northwest.nsbsa.org/ramsey-co-safety-day-2011.pdf

 

First of all, it doesn't say exactly what the event was. I assumed (correctly) that this would qualify for the Tiger Cub police station visit. In fact, it was perfect for that. I saw a few other Tiger dens, but not very many. If they had mentioned this on the flyer, it probably would have been very helpful for Tiger leaders.

 

Before we went, I assumed (incorrectly) that we would spend a lot of time outside looking at various police vehicles in the parking lot, seeing different demonstrations, etc. It turns out everything was inside. So it would have been helpful if they had included enough description so that we would know how to dress. (We erred on the side of caution and dressed as if we were going to be outside all morning, but it meant lugging around a lot of un-needed hats, gloves, etc.)

 

And I assumed (correctly) that it was mostly a Cub Scout event, but the flyer doesn't say so. I suppose if a group of Boy Scouts had shown up, maybe they would have tweaked the program to fit their needs, but I'm really not positive. But the flyer merely states that "advancement opportunities abound" (and they did, for Tigers).

 

Finally, the map was inadequate. In fact, it would have been better if they had left the map off entirely, which would have forced me to get directions myself. I had to turn around once because the name of the cross street was cut off. (If you look closely, you can see that it starts with "H", which was enough for me to eventually figure it out. If someone had sketched a map by hand, it would have been a lot better.

 

Again, I don't mean to nitpick, because it was a great event, and the person who made the flyer didn't get paid to do so. But a little more thought would have made it a much more successful advertisement.

[shortridge]

There's good marketing and then there's basic marketing. We're not trained salespeople here, but we should at least have the basic training and guidance to do the basics.

 

In my experience, good flyers/ promotions/ presentations/ pitches/ websites answer the same questions that journalists try to answer:

 

Who: Who's this program or event for? Who can attend? Who's in charge, and how can I contact them with questions?

What: What exactly is going to happen?

When: Date and time of event; deadlines for registration

Where: Location - address and detailed directions from multiple points of the compass

Why: Why is this event or program valuable?

How: How do I register - online, in person, by mail?

Cost: How much does it cost?

So What: What's the big deal? Why should I attend this event or program over the many other things competing for my attention?

[John-in-KC]

Lisa has a point.

 

MARKETING is impressing people enough times to get them to do "something". Our Professionals are actually learning marketing. My DD has told me it takes 7 favorable impressions for a person to decide to do something.

 

No, we're not day job marketers. We're doctors, lawyers, soldiers, carpenters, mechanics, general contractors, jewelers, professors (hi, Lisa!), and on and on.

 

An announcement, such as the sheriff day flyer, is information. The object of the exercise is to generate BUZZ and DESIRE.

 

One thing I've learned is the concept of "Napoleon's Corporal." Take any piece of paper (or it's digits), and hand it to someone unfamiliar. Find out what they take away from it. If their take-away is not what you intended, the message isn't being sent right.

 

Communications matter...

[dewASM]

My frustration is more often that Scout events promise something and then don't deliver. Then it is hard to get the boys excited about the next event.

 

for example, last October at a big Centennial event, they promoted heavily a certain band. When we arrived, the band was not playing, instead there was a comedian. They had also promised areas to work on the Centennial merit badges but no one could find them either.

 

This year we did an event at Howes Cavern that was advertised to include booths to work on the geology merit badge. When we got there is was one woman sitting on the floor talking about some of the requirements. Interestingly, in the past, we have done a geology merit badge day at Herkimer Diamond Mine which was fabulous. Teachers and professionals in the field talking about rocks, the chance to dig, small groups. The boys loved it.

 

Don't promise what you can't deliver. As a salesman, I know this is the worst thing you can do. Better to keep their expectations low and surprise them but not so low that you do not interest them in coming. Be excited about an event, be positive, tell them what they will get from it but don't say it and not do it.

 

 

 

 

[Eamonn]

A few thoughts, not in any real order.

1/Who are we aiming at?

Sure it's for the boys, but most times the "Notice" be it a letter, email or whatever is sent to the adult leader, if he or she doesn't buy into it then we are lost before we start.

2/ It's hard to keep selling the same old same old.

A co-worker went to see his nephew be tapped out at summer camp this past summer. His comment was "Camp Conestoga hasn't changed a bit since I went up there as a Scout"

It's hard to sell something that doesn't change.

Maybe that's why there isn't a lot of ads for boot polish?

3/ All to often we are afraid to spend money or the money just isn't there.

In an effort to recruit Tiger Cubs I thought that a kite day would be a good idea. The kites cost about $3.50 for each kit.

I requested $100.00 from the Council to buy kites. When they finished laughing they said that I should find someone to donate the kites or the money to buy the kites or have the parents buy the kit. Being as I was going to hit the parents for the membership fee and give details about uniforms. Adding yet another cost just didn't seem right. In the end the District Chairman and I went 50/50 and bought the kites.

3/ We need to take a look at what works and what doesn't.

Each year our District holds a Klondike Derby. Most years there isn't any snow, just lots of mud. The events never seem to change: Make a stretcher from a blanket, light a fire to burn through a string.

I think we re-cycle these same old same olds because they are easy and require little imagination and even less preparation.

But no one can ever say that we aren't delivering what we promised!

I wonder if at times we are afraid that new ideas or thinking out of the box will somehow make us seem a little "Scouty" ?

Maybe what I'm trying to get at is that while the 3 "W's" are important when it comes to marketing the most important is the What and maybe if the What just isn't good enough, we might be better off not trying to sell it?

4/ One sure way to get Scouts at an event is to have their leaders actively involved in the event. This is never going to happen if we keep falling back on the same people who do everything all the time.

5/ Districts and Councils need to take care that they are not over doing events and need to leave times for units to do things as units.

Ea.

 

[SeattlePioneer]

On the bright side, I REALLY like the format of having a flyer as a PDF or other file that can be e-mailed and easily accessed (No Word Documents please).

 

As a district leader, a PDF flyer can be easily e-mailed to unit leaders who can then include them as attachments, perhaps several time when doing e-mails to parents.

 

By contrast, the paper flyer at Roundtable will probably not find it's way to a lot of unit leaders and a lot fewer parents.

[clemlaw]

Yes, while I was busy nitpicking about things that they did wrong, I neglected to mention all of the things they did right.

 

I got a paper copy of that flyer at roundtable, which, of course, I promptly lost. But I did e-mail the link to the PDF to everyone in the den, and apparently most of them managed to find the place without getting lost like I did.