Good Afternoon Pee Dee Area Council Units!
Just a follow up reminder to an email sent by our Council President, Phil Bethune on May 17th regarding a grass-root membership drive. The Council Board has approved $100 for each unit to use towards marketing for recruitment purposes.
Each unit will be required to submit a marking plan to be approved by both Adam Riedel (DDG Social Media Coordinator and Chicora Scouts BSA RT Commissioner) and Michelle Malcolm (Chicora District Commissioner).
Your marketing plan must include the following:
Summary of Unit Recruiting Goal
List of activities, dates, and locations marketing dollars will be used to benefit your unit as well as how the money will be spent.
A brief summary of what each activity will include?
Who you are relying on to help carry out the event
Where are you advertising?
How much are you allocating per event?
What your goals and expectations are for each event
Who you are targeting
How the information is going to be distributed.
What materials you need.
Information that can be shared to the council social media pages.
Contact strategy for leads
Before
During
After for follow ups
Current unit enrollment vs expected growth for the 2022-23 scouting year.
What help does your unit need to execute your plan and achieve your goals?
When complete, please send your marketing plan to [email protected] NO LATER THAN JULY 15th. Once your marketing plan has been approved, $100 will be placed into your unit’s Sundry account at Council.
Below are some ideas from our Cub Scout (Lori) and Scouts BSA (Adam) Roundtable Commissioners that your unit can use to help recruit new scouts. Recruitment and marketing is a year-round venture and applies to ALL levels of scouting!
Recruitment/Marketing Ideas:
Create unit sticker- possibly with QR code to unit website/FB page
Create invitations with unit information and contact information
Make a video of scout activities & ask to put it on school news or school social media
Do quick presentations in classrooms or after-school presentations (we are hopeful to be allowed into classrooms again soon!)
Geofencing near schools or high traffic areas
Put a pin on Google maps
“Scouting is more fun with a friend”- invite a friend day
NFA - Normal Friend Activity (invite a friend to a unit activity like bowling or a unit cookout where scouts are not in formal uniform)
Host an open house night at one of your unit’s meetings
Have a scout “joining night” at a local park & include a variety of activities
Create flyers with information about your unit and distribute them to local schools/libraries/grocery stores/businesses - anywhere youth would be present
Have scouts wear a unit T-shirts to school & hand out an invitation to a friend (include QR code)
Share unit information with local schools to put in their newsletter
Purchase fun items (with unit information) to give away at a signup event
Set up table or booth at local festival or event (showcase scouts in action; provide an activity)
Advertise in local/community newspapers or magazines
Advertise in HOA newsletters (if allowed)
Create bookmarks with unit information and distribute to local and/or school library
Set up a booth at local sports activities
Yard signs with unit contact or location/meeting time information
Use peer-to-peer scout cards to distribute (with information of meeting time and location on it)
Create postcards with unit information on it
Create door hangers with unit information on it
Set up for “back to school nights” - forget the uniforms, wear unit shirts instead ( less intimidating)
Host a fishing derby- ask a local business to partner to donate tackle/ bait. See if a restaurant will provide lunch.
Ask parents to hand out cards/invitations when they pass out Halloween candy
Pass out invitations/cards etc at local parades
Network, network, network! Try to meet with school principals, local pastors, librarians, or community groups that will help support our cause.
Also, check out the BSA Brand Center website. There are many many flyers, postcards, photos, posters, and social media images/videos that are free for use by anyone. Check it out here: https://scouting.webdamdb.com/bp/#/
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
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Michelle Malcolm
Chicora District Commissioner
Troop 899 Committee Chair
Pack 899 Committee Member
