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Units are equipped with information such as: who to call, camping information, training dates, an 18-month calendar and a display of businesses that support Scouting in the community.
Volunteers love the calendar because most of the information they need is at hand in one place. The vendors love the opportunity to reach more potential customers.
By utilizing different contacts at The Indianapolis Star, the largest print medium in Crossroads of America Council's boundaries, a positive story about a unique volunteer group in the council was brought to light. The story on the "Tuesday Crew," a cadre of retired Scouters who help out at a council camp each Tuesday, showed how Scouting helps not only young families with children in the program, but older, more "seasoned" volunteers as well.
Several years ago, the council's public relations committee, composed of Scouters from various media outlets, recommended that a substantial amount of effort be given to highlighting Scouting in smaller, community newspapers, as opposed to the large print publications in Indianapolis, such as The Indianapolis Star and The Indiana Business Journal. This idea helped individual Scout unit leaders to work with their own local media and the council planned several ways to help these unit leaders tell their own Scout stories.
However, many volunteers of the council still recognized the power of a large-scale article in The Indianapolis Star, and strongly suggested that the council continue to place timely feature articles in this publication.
Unlike other organizations, Crossroads of America Councils is blessed with so many positive stories that the challenge is trying to tell all of the stories to various mediums strategically.
Because The Indianapolis Star covers such a large geographic of central Indiana, the council routinely works with several columnists, writers, and photographers, in the hopes of covering Scouting's many activities. The council's public relations committee determined that there was value in seeking what type of coverage could be found in the new and vibrant advertising supplements that The Star had.
One such advertising supplement is called "Re: Generation" and is geared towards the active 50-plus reader. The council's public relations committee believed that through this, they had found the vehicle that could be used to recognize the Tuesday Crew and tell how their unique contribution to scouting benefits the council.
The main objectives for the project were as follows:
The Tuesday Crew is the unofficial fix-it group of the council. Each Tuesday, they show up, coffee cup in hand, to Camp Belzer, the council's primary Cub Scout day camp, situated in the heart of Indianapolis. This committee works at special projects all day, each Tuesday. As expected, they are especially busy at camp.
After meeting and discussing with the content editor for the Re: Generation section of The Star, a writer was assigned to this story. Phone interviews with the council staff, camp ranger, and the members themselves took place. Finally, a photo session at camp (on a Tuesday, or course!) was booked and the telling photos that were in the piece were shot.
The impact of this story has been significant for the council.
Upon realizing that so many people read these supplemental portions of The Star, relationships are currently forming with other sections as well. As a result, a strong story about a key district volunteer who is a real estate agent ran in the Sunday real estate advertising supplement, a highly read section. The council is continuing to investigate and build these types of non-traditional relationships.
Interest and awareness of the Tuesday Crew has grown both internally and externally. Several grass-roots level volunteers that did not know about the crew now recognize and appreciate their efforts. Many donors have indicated they assumed that our Camp Belzer housed a full-time maintenance department in addition to the ranger, and are pleased with the good stewardship of their donations.
Finally, the piece has been impactful, as it shows that there is a way for anyone to volunteer with the council. It doesn't need to be in a Scout unit, or on a district committee, but if there is a willing volunteer, the council will find a meaningful and significant volunteer experience for them.
The Tuesday Crew continues to work each Tuesday, rain or shine, but there are more members that are attending. Additionally, the crew members recognize how important their work is, and because of that, are actively working to recruit younger members (typically, brand-new retirees) into the group.
The members of the Tuesday Crew are available for autographs--they are thrilled with the recognition of their great work! These members are truly larger than life, and Crossroads of America Council is pleased to be able to share their story.
Hundreds of Scouts and family members turned out for the 10 Commandments Hike in Pittsburgh, Penn., on November 22, visiting 10 places of worship to learn how each religion applies the 10 Commandments in their doctrine.
The Ten Commandments Hike was planned by the Greater Pittsburgh Council's Jewish Committee on Scouting. Committee chairman C.W. Kreimer contacted the pastors of 10 denominations in the City of Pittsburgh: Jewish, Roman Catholic, Byzantine Catholic, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Baptist, Christian Scientist, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Unitarian, and Methodist. After they agreed to participate, a 3.5-mile hike was mapped out, and the event was publicized internally in district roundtables, on the council Web site and publications, and through the news media.
Good weather favored the more than 300 participants, who included a number of Girl Scouts and home-schooled students. At each place of worship, clergy members discussed a specific commandment, described the basic theological tenants of their religion, and pointed out interesting architectural and historical aspects of their church or synagogue.
The hike was well attended and enthusiastically received by the participants and the pastors, as well as the news media. In addition to preview stories in the Pittsburgh Catholic and Jewish Chronicle, photographers and camera crews from the Pittsburgh Catholic, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and WTAE-TV were on hand to chronicle the event. Also KQV Newsradio broadcast live reports.
A number of hikers took the time later to thank the organizers and the clergy, and said they would help publicize the 2007 event. Two members of the news media praised the concept of the hike and said they looked forward to covering it again. The committee provided a summary for the council board of directors. More events are planned for the upcoming year.
In a society that often stresses political correctness while ignoring the important role of organized religion, the hike showed there is a strong interest in an event that reflects the BSA's core values and beliefs. We also were reminded that the news media always likes to cover a good news story.
Our primary objective was to show that Scout training and experiences prepare young people to handle real-life situations, even dangerous ones, through major media exposure.
Our goal was to receive coverage on at two of the major television news broadcasts and to receive print coverage in at least one of our two major daily papers.
As an important secondary objective, we wanted the presence of local broadcast media, reporters and camera crews, to add credibility and excitement for participants attending the leadership reception as part of our "Million Dollar Day for Scouting" as well as to increase the event's visibility.
Competition for major media attention in our Twin Cities Market is fierce. The council's marketing and communications committee volunteers are constantly on the lookout for possible Scouting stories that rise above the ordinary and have a good chance for coverage. Sometimes these stories can be found as part of a major council event; this was the case for this public relations effort that took place as part of the council's second annual Million Dollar Day for Scouting--the kick-off for our 2007 Friends of Scouting campaign on December 6.
Although such events, event those attempting to raise $1 million in a single day, are generally not covered by our area's major media, we believed this event had an angle that would attract attention. Our efforts focused on a special council award being presented to a Scout for his quick thinking and actions during a school bus accident. Of all the awards and speakers, this was identified as the best opportunity for several reasons:
Working with our committee's media relations volunteers from Carmichael Lynch Spong, a leading Twin Cities based public relations firm, we confirmed that this was a story worth pursuing and discussed next steps. Before proceeding, we spoke to the Scout's mother to tell her of our plans and to secure her permission and to ensure that Luke would be willing to cooperate with this possible media attention.
We then developed a short e-mail pitch letter, customized for each of the four major television stations and both daily papers. The letter simply stated that an award was being presented to a Scout for bravery, giving a three-sentence summary of the incident and listing what the award would be, when and where it was being presented, and the contact information for the council's Communications Director and for our media relations volunteer.
The print pitches were sent on December 4 and the broadcast pitches were sent on December 5. Two television stations expressed interest immediately, with one wanting to conduct an interview on the afternoon of the event, requesting that a council spokesperson also be present. We confirmed the necessary details and our broadcast media relations volunteer, Erin Mathe, worked by phone with both our council spokesperson, Kent York, and Scout Luke on the event of December 5 to help them prepare for the interviews. Erin also followed up by phone with the other stations and print media who had not responded.
The quick-thinking scout story achieved all our objectives, receiving tremendous coverage. Luke's story was covered by the Twin cities' largest three news stations, appearing on seven broadcasts over two days, including the two top-rated 10 P.M. and top rated 6 P.M. news, totaling over 625,000 impressions, with an estimated publicity value of over $28,000. The detailed list of impressions from Bacon's Multivision, who tracked the story for us, is included with our materials. Not only did the stories appear, but they also were included in the teaser promotions asking views to stay tuned for the story of a heroic Scout.
The excitement generated by the presence of the Twin Cities' three largest television stations at the event was credited with helping to increase the giving levels by the 250 participants. All three stations covered the ceremony, with two doing extensive interviews with Luke and his family prior to the program. One station even visited Luke at school in order to have the story in time for the 6 P.M. broadcast.
Visibility was further increased because the story was rebroadcast the following day on several stations and was posted on two of the station's Web sites. We included a link to these specific stories from our council Web site as well.
We also reached print media, with the Minneapolis Star Tribune, circulation of 362,964, including a brief story on the presentation in their December 7 edition, which further increased the number of impressions.
We learned to be alert for Scouting stories that would hit media hot buttons. The timing around the holidays and the nature of the story (one that had been covered at the time of the accident) made it very attractive.
Securing cooperation of the family and the briefing by our PR media professional helped not only to get our story covered, but also to get a very positive message across.
The pitch e-mail can be quite simple to be effective and phone follow-up is an important step.
It helped to include with the pitch the cellular number of a person who will be available for the media to contact at any time. We learned less than an hour before the interview that WCCO had changed plans and was going to interview Luke over lunch at his school rather than at home after school and wanted a BSA representative present.
We also followed the be-prepared motto concerning the visual image. We had extra red BSA polo shirts available so that on short notice we were able to provide Luke with a degree of Scout uniforming at school for the interview.
Our main objective in all of our media relations efforts is to provide the public with a picture of Scouting not normally seen. Within this objective, we also try to look for and push stories showing the outstanding community service that Scouting provides--especially in instances where the service is done on behalf of those who might never have been involved in Scouting. We believe that stories like these can provide a "Scouting is everywhere" mind set that may potentially influence prospective new members, donors, and advocates.
Our Venturing Crew 911 is only a few years old, but has become well-known and respected within the emergency services community in greater Austin. Venturers in the crew have become incredibly proficient in the application of moulage makeup used in disaster drills and EMS training to realistically simulate injuries and serious trauma. Because of its skill, the crew has evolved into an important resource for local fire and EMS units, as well as the Texas Department of Public Safety, Austin Police Department, and Travis County Sheriff's Department. The trouble is, no one outside of the emergency services community knew about this important service that Crew 911 was providing to the community. However, when a volunteer with Crew 911 tipped the council about how their members saved the production of a school violence training film, we jumped into action.
The live shot and story during KVUE's 10 P.M. news on March 27 showcased Scouting's community service and, for some viewers, provided the first glimpse at the Venturing program. The council received several phone calls and e-mail messages expressing gratitude for this service. Ultimately, the greatest impact on the council will be the pride in knowing that the film, When Seconds Count, has been distributed to school districts across the state of Texas and others across the nation. The film will have a direct impact on law enforcement and emergency services agencies as they train to deal with the nightmare of an armed intrusion on a school campus. This service will benefit generations of children--regardless of whether or not they are in Scouting--because emergency personnel will be better prepared to save lives in one of the most difficult and emotional situations for first responders.
The lessons learned here were not terribly new, but were an excellent reminder of the need to continue developing the network of intercommunication between the council office and volunteers. Without the tip from the grassroots level, the council would not have been in the position to take advantage of our media contacts and bring this story to the public. This experience also provided the inspiration for an incentive program to get more Scout units to work with their community newspapers to get these stories to the public. This program just kicked off in January 2007 and we look forward to its resulting in an increased media presence for Scouting in the coming year.
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The district director (a Latino) cultivated the media relationship. We sent a direct invitation to La Tribuna staff by both Scouting and school officials. Tournament planning made the event accessible to press. Field director assured good PR shots and story.
Very positive reaction in the Hispanic communities, some of whom did not realize Scouting was even interested in them. Community leaders very happy, more stories are in the works for 2007.
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To identify as many Eagle Scouts as possible who reside in the Houston area and to generate a desire for these men to become involved in the Scouting program. Once the Eagle Scouts were identified, invited them to a ceremony to officially dedicate the Eagle Wall and recognize the 2005 Eagle Class at the council office which has the names of over 21,000 Eagle Scouts beginning in 1016. Share the positive stories of several of the thousands of Eagle Scouts throughout the Houston area to promote the Scouting program.
We wanted to begin by identifying a prominent Eagle Scout to help us spread the message of our outreach program. Larry Kellner, the CEO of Continental Airlines, agreed to publish the outreach in his in-flight magazine and invited other companies in the Houston area to do the same. The Eagle Scouts were asked to submit an entry on our Web site with their personal information. Once we identified 700-plus Eagle Scouts, they were invited to join our Eagle Wall dedication ceremony on October 1, and hear from Larry Kellner and from distinguished Eagle Scout and Astronaut Mike Fossum. We invited the Houston media to this special event and offered an opportunity to interview Mike Fossum as well as Eagle Scouts from each community, and Eagle Scouts who earned their rank in the 1930s.
Over 2,000 people attended the Eagle Wall dedication ceremony, many of them seeing the wall for the first time. Several stories ran in Houston's largest newspaper, the Chronicle, along with articles in other Houston media outlets. The story also ran on Fox Channel 2 the evening of the event. Because of the media attention, we have identified many Eagle Scouts in the Houston area whom we may have not known about.
We learned that we have thousands of unidentified alumni in the Houston area and events like this will continue to draw them into our network. This was our first big event with our new marketing director and we were able to make many new contacts with the Houston media outlets. Also, we realized the importance of an Eagle Scout Association and are currently planning for the organization of a local association.
The objectives of this process were to:
On Saturday, August 19, 2006, Boy Scout Christian Nansen, 11, and Webelos Scout John Fitzgerald, 9, were on a camping trip with Troop 100, chartered to St. Cecilia's Cathedral in Omaha, Nebraska. The campsite was near the Platte River, approximately 20 miles west of Omaha. The boys, along with their Scout leaders and other members of their troop, rescued a toddler floating face down in the river. The girl had wandered away from her family when Christian and John saw her. The boys rescued the girl form the water, and the other Scouts were instrumental in getting additional help, contacting emergency services and staying calm throughout the ordeal. The toddler was admitted to an Omaha hospital and released two days later.
One Omaha television station mentioned the rescue on its late news broadcast on Saturday, August 19. However, the following Monday, media from all over the United States started to call the Mid-America Council office. I contacted the parents of the two Scouts, who said they had been bombarded with calls from the media. One father said both families had dual-working parents, who couldn't handle the onslaught of calls day and night. As the marketing director for the Mid-America Council, I advised that both families could choose to either not take or return calls, or change their home answering machine messages to refer callers to the Mid-America Council office.
Both families requested the Council's assistance in coordinating the media inquiries. For the next two-plus weeks, I fielded dozens of calls from media outlets throughout the country.
Producers from national news shows and talk shows called the Scout office, to arrange interviews with the boys and their families.
A "challenge" arose when the producers of the yet-to-begin new talk show for Chef Rachael Ray wanted a contract with exclusivity of the story, which meant no other major programs could be arranged until the program aired. With assistance from the National Council we were able to negotiate an "out" date, noting a date that if the show had not aired yet, we were open to working with other programs for interviews.
A good step in this process was sharing information with the Mid-America Council's senior management, the district executive whose district the boys belong to and the national BSA office, on a regular basis. To keep everyone informed, we sent out an e-mail on a daily (or as needed) schedule. This included contract negotiations, additional media calls and working directly with the Nansen and Fitzgerald families.
This rescue occurred at the beginning of our fall recruitment period. We could not have paid for all of the positive publicity we received from this story. It was a great way to let the public know how Scouting is still alive and well in our community, and helped demonstrate how Scouts put their skills to good use. We were also able to get permission from the Rachael Ray Show producers to use footage of the program in our own marketing programs for this year.
We learned that for a positive outcome we should:
In 2006 the marketing committee worked together to produce a billboard to promote Cub Day camp. The billboard was placed in a high traffic area close to historic Camp Miakonda. As a result, volunteers as well as the general public were made more aware of a valuable summer program in the community for youth. The picture of boys hanging out had a positive effect on the community and produced inquiries about Scouting from families not previously registered or participating.
The increased media coverage, both in print and television/radio, had a very positive effect on volunteer relationships. Volunteers and youth were featured as role models and because of the feature articles in the Toledo Blade and TV coverage of day camp, Good Turn for America and Scouting for Food, the council was seen as very supportive of the program, volunteers, and youth. The council celebrated in the leadership of its members. The smaller community papers also carried several articles throughout the year reaching the neighborhoods where Scouting is very active, but not always recognized.
Increased volunteer enthusiasm has been another result of the positive public relations efforts of ESC. Volunteerism has increased and events/programs offered for youth have had higher attendance.
The upcoming 90th Anniversary of Camp Miakonda will be the focal point of the marketing committee in 2007. Plans for the celebration began early in 2006 and a commitment from the Toledo Blade to run features, ads and provide financial support is being followed by other local businesses throughout the council. A commitment from the local home builders association to help with camp improvements in preparation for the 90th celebration is another result of the increased attention Scouting has gained through public relations efforts in ESC.
Increased marketing and promotion of Scouting makes the professional's jobs easier. Programs are better attended, financial support increases, and volunteers experience renewed enthusiasm.
When the community is aware of Scouting's positive impacts, then recruiting of new youth and adult volunteers becomes easier. Families need brand and name recognition in a time when there are many youth programs competing for their time.
Another lesson learned was that educating the local media as well as the members of the marketing committee to the goals of our council allows them an insider's view to the Scouting world. A question often asked by local media in the beginning of 2006 was "Why should we care?" By directly involving them in our programs, events and exposing them to Scouting has allowed them to better understand and thus better promote our council.
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.