Media and Public Relations -

How Units Can Help!

Marketing for School Night for Scouting is most effective when it creates a direct connection between the local leaders and the families of potential new Cub Scouts. In our School Night for Scouting plan this connection is facilitated by district and council leaders.  We ask families to trust us with their youngsters as well as to get involved personally. Our job is to turn strangers into friends and then friends into Scouts as quickly and directly as possible. 

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      Delivering our message directly to Cub Scout-age youth and their families while quickly connecting them with the local volunteer leaders is going to be the most effective. We need to convey that our activities are well organized, leaders are trained and that Scouting is the best game in town. Learning that the local leaders are their friends and neighbors is crucial.

       

      Fliers and boy talks are among our most effective marketing tools in reaching potential new members. It is important to reinforce that message through frequent reminders particularly when those reminders introduce a connection to the local leaders who will have direct contact with the new Scouts.  Another way to help get the word out about your Pack is through a direct invitation.  Postcards or cards work best.  

       

      Community newspapers are a growing segment of the newspaper business. Local newspapers are where people often look for community news. Our goal is to focus on promotion in local community papers in addition to the methods we have successfully used in the past.

       

      This fall we are providing marketing tools to help local units to promote their School Night for Scouting in their local newspapers. We are providing contact information for most, if not all community newspapers in the council area. We have developed a sample press release and letter to the editor that you can change and adapt to your local situation. This in addition to pack displays at elementary schools, announcements at PTO/PTA meetings and church bulletins, as well as lawn signs and posters are ways to make a personalized direct connection. Listing pack activities in the calendar section of your local paper on an ongoing basis is a great tool that may pay dividend over time.

Finally, Packs should take advantage of every opportunity to promote themselves.  Whether the opportunity is a school open-house, back-to-school night, or any school social activity, the exposure and chance to answer questions is invaluable. 

 

We need your help to make this happen.