Eamonn 61 Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 This is totally hypothetical!! What ever it is they say after each episode of Law And Order about no real person and all that good stuff! Applies here. A very nice kind person with tons of money has said he will pick up the tab for the BSA to have an all out marketing campaign. Someone from somewhere? Maybe the National Office? is sent to meet with the top advertising agency in the world. The first things the advertising agency wants to know is: What are you selling? Who are you selling it to? If you were this someone from somewhere? Maybe the National Office of the BSA? What would your reply be? Ea. Link to post Share on other sites
local1400 10 Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 E, not sure what you are selling here, but I'll buy. I grew up in North-Central Maine in the 70s and 80s. One of our 6 T.V. stations (with cable!) was a kid-oriented station out of Boston, MA. Bozo the clown was on a lot. But I remember BSA commercials often (some catchy jingle like "Be Prepared, are you ready to take the lead...") and gave one of the Mass local council numbers. Now the muttonchops and red berets did not capture my interest but the activities that were demonstrated sure did and I could not wait to be a Scout. That commercial sold me on the product. Certainly a commercial today that is directed at kid-oriented programming could pique the interest of a few more kids. Link to post Share on other sites
LongHaul 10 Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 I remember a 30 second clip on Saturday morning not long ago (remember I'm 58 so 10 years is not that long ago) anyway it was a shot of a group of scouts walking along and they come upon an elderly lady. She is standing looking side to side and then into the distance. The shot lets you see her but not her surroundings. One of the scouts walks up and asks if she would like them to help her across. She timidly shakes her head yes and the camera zooms back as she, attached to a zip line goes shooting across a chasm. The tag line is Scouting is an Adventure. In the early 70's we had a few clips made locally that ran on our independent channel 9 WGN in Chicago. One I remember vividly was a shot of our SE, possibly in his office, at a desk. He identified himself and said something about the "kids today". (This was the Viet Nam protest days, the SDS, and the Black Panthers. This clip was aired later in the day and early evening and aimed at the parents.) The SE went on to deliver this line,(possibly not a direct quote but really close) "I can't guarantee that one of our scouts won't drop out of school, do drugs, or stick up a liquor store.......but I'll give you odds on it......and I'll win." LH Link to post Share on other sites
Eamonn 61 Posted December 8, 2007 Author Share Posted December 8, 2007 If I have this right? In Maine the product was " the activities that were demonstrated " Aimed a youth members? In Chicago the product was values aimed at parents? Ea. Link to post Share on other sites
local1400 10 Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 I would say the ads ran around 78 to 80 on account of my age and the green uniforms. Not sure when muttonchops were all the rage. Link to post Share on other sites
GernBlansten 10 Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 The commercial should be all about product differentiation. What can scouting provide that all other youth programs can't? ADVENTURE!!! Link to post Share on other sites
moxieman 11 Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 To clarify local1400's responses as I also grew up in the "Maine Wilderness" in the 70's. The Waterville area to be exact. Waterville was half-way between Maine's two television markets: Bangor and Portland. As such, you get squat with an antenna on your television. You were totally dependent on early cable. Back then, cable supplied your local stations out of Bangor and Portland, the Sherbrook, Quebec affiliate of the Canadian Broadcasting Company (in French as this area was heavily settled by the Quebecois in the mid-to-late 1800's to work in our mills) and two Boston stations: WSBK Channel 38 and WKGB (call letters were changed in '74 to WLVI) Channel 56. Both had a strong children's program. It was 56 that had Bozo the Clown and all the action-based scouting commercials for the (then) Greater Boston Council. Link to post Share on other sites
Stosh 3452 Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 Having fun? Adventure? Outdoors? My church group does all of these plus those things that make a church group. What does scouting do besides these? LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT Why do you think the military notices whether or not a person was in scouts, especially if they have reached the rank of Eagle? Because he can camp? Canoe? make a fire? I don't think so. Adult led troops have a ton of fun, go on great trips, do all kinds of adventures. Church group, Boys & Girls clubs do the same thing, the YMCA/YWCA do it too as well as the local schools. All these are basically adult lead organizations and the kids go along for the ride and have fun and adventure. If left alone the scouts would be going to theme parks, arcades, and a dozen other things that are nothing more than repeats of what others are doing. If scouting is going to stand out and be different, they are going to have to emphasize the leadership aspects of the program and show that these scouts are different than the run-of-the-mill, just like everyone else, kind of programs. Having fun is part of the process, not the goal. Going on great trips is a means and a method, not a goal. Unless Scouting emphasizes that which it does best, it will be just like all the rest. Stosh Link to post Share on other sites
LongHaul 10 Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 I don't know that all the advertisements in Chicago in the early 70's were aimed at the parents but the one I mentioned certainly was. There were other commercials I just don't remember those, then again I turned 21 in 1970 so I not watching Saturday morning cartoons, Bozo at noon and the like. LH Link to post Share on other sites
John-in-KC 311 Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 I'd get a PR guy who understand the news cycle into every Council. I'd have him look for every Scouting For Food day, Eagle Project day, camporee and OA induction possible. Invite the newsies to youth making a difference. Invite a fit newsie to share a Philmont trek with a troop. We don't do the best job of publicizing ourselves in our daily lives. There are lots of things which can and should make the local section of the paper. Then spend on TV, radio, internet,... Link to post Share on other sites
Eamonn 61 Posted December 8, 2007 Author Share Posted December 8, 2007 John-in-KC, Sign of the times? Less and less people are reading the newspaper!! How many young boys read the newspaper? Ea. Link to post Share on other sites
John-in-KC 311 Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 E, Any form of media then. Internet news, TV news (which is also going south), radio news, whatever will grab. If we are invisible, then we will be forgotten. Link to post Share on other sites
local1400 10 Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 But how many times has the media been invited to a Scouting event that they didn't show up because a good thing is not newsworthy? Link to post Share on other sites
HiLo 10 Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 Yes, we must sell, sell, sell. We have a great product, but we must not keep that product a secret. And as for what that product is, I'll go along with the package of outdoor adventure and fun, plus leadership development, and I would add independence. A good Scout can lead others effectively, but can also achieve more than others on his own, particularly when the going gets tough. Link to post Share on other sites
Eagledad 2777 Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 >>What are you selling?>Who are you selling it to? Link to post Share on other sites
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