Marketing

Adopt a Duck?
As I was tooling around the internet, taking a look at what other Kiwanis clubs were up to, I ran across a very interesting video. The video, made by the Glendale Kiwanis Club in California, which you can see on YouTube, titled "Why support the Glendale Kiwanis Duck Race" was a shining example of strong marketing. There I viewed, Rachel, a little, very well spoken young lady. She seems to suffer from a malady which was unidentified and evidenced by the fact that she was a "Fulfill-A-Dream" recipient. I found her to be captivating, especially given her young age. I also found it to be an excellent example of the club's effort to reach out to the community using public relations to market the duck race.
When I reached deeper, checking out Glendale Kiwanis itself by visiting its website, I found that the fine marketing did not stop with the YouTube video. Nested in their website (http://www.glendalekiwanis.info) was another website with a video promoting this year's duck race. I thought to myself that this club really has public relations on the brain!
Now, while we all cannot be expert videographers or website developers, public relations and other marketing activities lie within our reach. This year Gov. Joe Aiello has laid down a great challenge before us - grow by 1,000 district members. It can be done but only if we utilize every tool at our disposal. A stronger public relations and marketing effort than ever mounted before, from every club in the Kiwanis New York District, must be part of the 1,000 member growth equation.
Public relations and marketing is based on its collective impact. In other words, you have to have multiple, frequent and regular programs in hopes of getting the desired results. Ever notice a magazine or television commercial repeats many times? That is because people do not listen to the message the first time, or maybe even the tenth, but eventually they do. Or, that the same marketing message is delivered in multiple ways? Sometimes you will see it in print, then on television, mail and through an email campaign. All the same message, delivered in different ways to try and exhaust all the possibilities to get to the right audience. Those same techniques will be key for us to reach Governor Joe's membership goal and challenge.
The New York District will be placing heavy emphasis on club's public relations and marketing efforts. They will also back it up with support. You do not need to be a marketing genius to have a fundamental club marketing program. For the time being, start by getting the word out there. Some starting points:
    1) If you do not have a website you can get one economically at http://www.kiwanisone.org (search under "web hosting") or if you do have one, update it and keep it fresh.
    2) Ask one of your sponsored youth to help you create a Facebook page.
    3) Call your local newspaper and tell them about an upcoming event.
    4) Check out http://www.kiwanisone.org (search under "marketing and PR") to find a host of other great tools you can use to get the word out about your great club.
The district stands ready to help. Feel free to contact me at james.n.mancuso@gmail for guidance and assistance.

Column Posted on Web Site December 29, 2013