Best Marketing Campaign

Hiawatha Seaway Council

2004 Boypower Dinner
Council Classification: 600
Contact: Ray Sander

Materials Include

Announcement brochure, ticket, invitation, and dinner program

Assignment

Develop a comprehensive marketing campaign to promote the Boypower 2004 Dinner event.

Clearly communicate that contributing (buying tickets) to the Boypower Dinner is vital to the success of the programs the council provides to the youth in the community.

The Boypower Dinner remains the community's largest fund-raising event (and one of the largest Boy Scout fund-raisers in the country) and is crucial to the year-round operations of the Hiawatha Seaway Council.

The 2004 event marked the 35th Annual Boypower Dinner.

It's the youth of the community that will benefit from contributions and attendance at this event. Without that support, the camps, programs and services the council provides to the community could suffer. Twenty-six percent of the council's annual funding comes from Boypower Dinner ticket sales.

Audience

Our target audience is past contributors/supporters, plus potential new contributors.

Reaction

Convince the potential contributor that the Boypower Dinner will be a most exciting evening and worthy of their support.

Concept

Our creative goal was for all pieces in the campaign to:

1. Provide synergy. A consistent message and look for all pieces strengthens the branding of the event.
2. Create a unique look that ties in with the featured speaker, baseball legend Yogi Berra.

The announcement brochure, ticket, and invitation were all printed to be presented/

distributed at the table coordinators kickoff event. Table coordinators then used these materials to meet with potential contributors to sell tickets.

Our goal for the event was $586,000. We raised $594,560.

As we prepare for future Boypower Dinner communications, we are already looking for new ways to promote the sale of tickets and raise funds for the Hiawatha Seaway Council. A "Consumer Survival BSA Coupon Handbook" was developed and handed out at the event, which featured Scouting information, recipes, money-saving coupons from local businesses, and a safety guide. A silent auction held at the dinner event is another strategy we are incorporating. We will continue to utilize our sponsorship programs to help in the fund-raising efforts.

Concept and Design: Eric Mower and Associates, Syracuse, New York.

The Merits of Marketing (marketing.scouting.org) is a resource for local councils, developed by the Marketing & Communications Division of the National Council, Boy Scouts of America.