BinTharDunThat

Its important to recognize what we are selling and to whom. Your parents may be more willing to allocate resources to Scouting than ours. For us, when selling BSA to parents -who can put their kids in year-round sports or academic camps and who want their kid to get into college and be successful thereafter - we differentiate BSA from those activities because only BSA is experiential leadership where the program provides each Scout exposure to potential future vocations (Engineering MB, Law MB, Art MB) and potential hobbies (Chess MB, as an example, not intending to denigrate Chess), i.e. "fun with a purpose." Parents often push back on concepts of character-building ("We do that at home") or simply experiencing activities ("We can do that when we send our kid to summer camp"). We sell ISLT, NYLT and NAYLE to the parents. We sell to parents the concept of their kids taking on more responsibility as leadership training, recognizing this means even more obligation for the parents, because we get buy-in. We push the parents to engage with the Scouts on the program activities because that shows kids the value the kids put on the program. (I think BSA has recognized this for a while. The Jim Lovell-BSA commercial - mid 1980s? - keys to "survival skills and leadership instinct") When we skill BSA to kids, its about youth-led fun activities. If we can't sell the program to adults with sufficient import as a reason to drive your kid to a weekly meeting, to potentially help with the Troop Committee or ASM Corps, or to otherwise allocate parent time to BSA, we seem to lose both the kids and the parents.

I do wish folks would be accurate regarding the name. The Boy Scouts of America did not change its name. The Boy Scouts of America adopted an assumed name, a DBA, of Scouting America. The entity is, and will absent an act of Congress signed by the President, remain - legally - the Boy Scouts of America. Its a federally-chartered corporation. If such a law passes, so be it. I'm happy to use the non-abbreviated Scouting America for so long as BSA wants, but let's at least be as accurate as Scouts who take Law Merit Badge and address the IP element for discussion of trademarks. (Even Carrot-Top knows this as shown in its flag sales - https://www.carrot-top.com/custom-cub-scout-pack-fringed-flag-3-x-5-nylon - "Scouting America®, the Universal Emblem, Cub Scouts®, Exploring®, Sea Scouting®, and Venturing® are trademarks of Boy Scouts of America d/b/a Scouting America in the United States and/or other countries. Manufactured under license from the Boy Scouts of America d/b/a Scouting America. All rights reserved.") More power to her on the balance.

This is one of the best ideas for a fundraiser associated with the BSA that I have seen. Its not selling a product and particularly not a product which has no clear association with the program. This fundraiser ties directly into so many elements of Scouting, is not limited to those in our Scouting bubble (so real money can be captured), has a clear connection to the program, particularly Personal Fitness and Cycling MBs, and is a recruiting tool as promotion of the fundraiser can be directed both to Scouting personnel and to those not currently associated with the program, and any leave behinds speak to Scouting. Man. This is the way.

Well, now I can’t find it. I’d posted first looking for the doc, cause it could be relevant. Then found (or thought I had) and updated my post. Now I can’t find anywhere.

New MOU @ https://nccs-bsa.org

Agreed. It’s frustrating that BSA did not have a plan sufficient to secure approval and a signature well in advance of Jan 20, recognizing the Electoral College, or Election Day, or the party conventions. Seems unlikely every prior 4 years has been perfect. We just taught the Scouts the leadership skill of planning at ILST. Wish National had this skill set as it delays cards etc for new Eagles. Our current challenge.

Methinks I may not be overthinking this. It’s a brand new world out there. Having the signature of a Honorary leader is slowing down recognitions. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna200141

One must wonder if, in addition to the other areas of focus, there is a perception within the Administration that a name change in the name of inclusiveness, as manifested on the new certificates and the new patch, is indicative of DEI/woke paradigms and slowing any assistance is a method to create angst before leveraging abandonment of such updates.

Agree with you. The ads were television, and may have been only major market. They were a running discussion for our city. Still, four months after a rollout at NAM, a third of a year, we’re largely waiting for that high-profile brand relaunch. Using Scouting America without a heavy brand awareness campaign introduces large uncertainty to an unaware public, who might as well wonder if this is a BSA competitor like Trail Life. Just telling Councils and Units to start using a new logo is not a brand rollout of any significance. Part of that nationwide, substantive brand awareness campaign, when finally provided (if ever) must be that this is not the BSA of 1924, it’s the BSA of 2024. Every opportunity to inform the public and create goodwill should be sized. For example, why was it not included on popcorn packaging sold in August, September, and October? They may have drafted a great plan, but where’s the execution?

Thanks. These are helpful and worrisome. Revitalize Our Brand and Broaden Our Appeal Says only 3 respondents were aware of abuse claims or bankruptcy. That raises questions of the value of the action plan. We couldn’t watch television without hearing “were you abused in Scouting?” The data seems unbelievable. I get the value of DEI, but that term seems to have become radioactive. Is BSA behind the curve on how it characterizes increasing membership across all demographics? Still, wholly agree that “If you don’t give the market the story to talk about, they’ll define your brand’s story for you.” I haven’t seen much of the BSA story pushed into the market in the last 3 months (1 good, long video). Have I missed something?

I’ve seen this advertisement. It’s better than what I’ve seen previously, but my encounters with it have been on BSA-affiliated sites as posts, i.e., not pushed out by Council or by National as advertising and not where new families can encounter absent a unit pushing out. Hoping to see this pushed out as ad copy. I do wish there was more brand usage/penetration. The first 45 seconds (eternity in today’s screen time) are silent on the BSA logo, the word Scouting, or a uniform. The second half, if the viewer remains that long, does a good job of connecting to the brand.

To be clear, the concept that BSA is "changing the name" is inaccurate. Because its a federally-chartered, a name change truly requires "an act of Congress" as any such change must pass through the House, and pass through the Senate, and be signed by the President of the United States. Instead of a name change, the BSA plans to (has not yet) adopt an assumed name, a doing business as (DBA), of Scouting America. I assume, given the current use, the existing trademark registration, and the ill will that would be associated with a further rebrand of the "older youth program" that Scouts BSA will continue to be the name of the program. The settlement agreement could also figure into that. Section 4 of the Settlement Agreement and Release between GSUSA and the Boy Scouts of America provides that "The BSA will continue to use the name 'Scouts BSA' for its older youth program and neither the BSA not the GSUSA will change their respective names to just "Scouts" for 10 years." (Public document)

Concur. Can’t wait. My Eagle Scout spent the day before Jr yr started as the Cub recruiter for his old pack at his elementary school with videos and a trifold. Gotta keep the Pack going to keep the Troop going.

It’s great that your Pack is developing and deploying marketing which works for you. It often seems Council relies too heavily on unit-developed marketing or unit deployment of national print and video materials. Many successful national franchises (BSA is effectively a franchise) run market-wide market-specific adverting to benefit all franchisees (units). I wish Council would do the same, leveraging beascout.org. It used to be a thing (see,e.g.,

Thanks for the feedback, Yes. We use those communication tools and more, but realized our communications are either looking to future events or recapping past events in a social media stream. None of these are big picture, are often a blink-and-you-missed-it, and are of limited benefit for recruiting/retention/fundraising. We considered expanding the monthly newsletter (intended for “on the frig” display), but it wouldn’t have a big picture spread and would require accessing several to cover events past and present. And it would frustrate brevity for “on the frig” display (we limit to 1 sheet) social media doesn’t get us there. Can’t flip between various subjects and single post gets buried rather than viewed and reviewed. Our weekly e-blasts are limited to upcoming calendar events and RSVPs, not celebration of Court of Honor, Service projects, patrol reports, OA, high adventure, NYLT, fundraising, and FOS. Our website has calendars, and documents, and photo galleries. But this requires navigation and isn’t much of a put down and come back to device. So, a Troop magazine 2-3 times a year, with all this, as electronic and physical leave-behind meets the goal. These we can distribute at Trail to Troop, Roundtable of Meet the Troops, at recruiting events and share to Cub families. These can be sent to grandparents and alumni and, because of the limited publishing schedule, don’t become annoying spam from the troop. A larger newsletter, with a mailchimp campaign, on a monthly basis might work, but that conversely would require more work than one every 4-6 months. The mailchimp might work, but a printable format would be needed so we could combine for the hard copy version. It’s a good thought. Yes, we recognize this will be work. But it’s something more and a viable solution. It would be nice to use an existing template rather than creating one. Any resources appreciated.