This is meant to provide you with a few ideas about promoting your unit. It covers Working With the Press, Council & BSA Promotions, District Website Promotions, and some Other Ideas. One thing that would help with unit promotions is for you to obtain a Publicity Coordinator for your unit. We don't include the job description for this person because we feel the title says it all.

• Find out what reporters, photographers, and other news professionals need to put a story together, and what the Boy Scouts of America can do to make that task easier.

• Examine the media in your area regularly to determine what types of stories and photos are used.

• Before sending a news release, check with local media for lead times.

• There's more than just the normal news article where unit promotions can appear. Many newspapers also have a "Community News' section, "People in Our Community", "Seniors News" and other. Check with your local paper to become aware of all the possibilities.

• Remember, all newspapers means all newspapers. Even the free local papers are available for your article. Some of the "free" newspapers are more willing to run certain articles that would be ignored by a larger newspaper.

• Invite local reporters to Scouting activities to experience Scouting firsthand. Remember to brief youth, so they can answer a reporter’s questions with confidence.

• Ensure that media correspondents or contacts know how to reach you. Be sure to respond promptly to reporters’ inquiries.

• Don't be afraid to thank or compliment a reporter on a well-written story. You may want to mail holiday thank-you messages to all media outlets that have written about or visited your council, or have a youth or unit send a note. You may also want to consider giving awards to reporters and news outlets that go above and beyond the average in their coverage of Boy Scouts of America events and activities.

• Don't forget to send news releases to nontraditional media outlets such as religious institutions or educational, community, or corporate newsletters.

• Follow these pointers when working with your local newspaper:
  • Inform the media of your story through a news release. Submit a story about a scheduled event about one to two weeks before the event.
  • Get the reporter’s attention. Begin with the realization that you might be only one of dozens of publicists trying to reach a reporter that day. Be creative. Be concise. Be informative. If you send creative material to prime the media contact, your call stands a better chance of being well-received.
  • Keep selling the story. Newcomers sometimes become so flustered when a reporter listens to them, they forget to sell the story. Once you have the reporter’s attention, sell. Run through a list of different possible story angles when you are on the phone, or use bullets to highlight different angles in your story.
  • Get a commitment for the next step. If you get a “maybe” because the reporter doesn’t know enough, keep pitching. If you get a “maybe” because your contact doesn't want to schedule the story yet, make a note to call back. If a reporter asks for more information, take it as an expression of interest and get the information to him or her right away.
  • Work the local angle. Look for a local angle, or “hook,” in every story and make sure the appropriate bureau knows about it.
  • Think photos. An interesting photo takes planning, or luck. You can’t count on luck, so you must plan. If you’re pitching an event, be sure to pitch the photo desk, as well as the reporter.
  • If you are calling the managing editor or reporter assigned to your story, Monday mornings usually are the best and most efficient time to reach him or her. When you become familiar with the reporter's deadlines, be careful not to call during that busy time. Remember that you are not the only person pitching a story idea to the reporter. Other callers are trying to sell their story idea also.
  • Avoid fax pollution. Fax only important messages.
  • “"No” means “no.” Don’t persist; be polite. Don’t take it personally if a reporter may be too busy to do your story right away. Follow-up by sending your own photos and news release. Save your energy for the next time you have a story to pitch.
  • Thank the reporter. Send a personal note after the story runs. Don’t say “thank you” as if the reporter did you a favor. Acknowledge the reporter for doing a good job in covering the topic.

Send copies of news releases, clippings, and photos to your local council’s public relations director. They may not use it in the Council's Leader's Digest but it may be used in other forms of communications.

• Marketing & promotional brochures & literature.
• What Scouting is doing material
• other ways that you may never see but it will help the Scouting program.
• and because of the number of items received, include your email if you want an acknowledgement that it was received.

In the case of the District website, you are asked to write the article and provide the pictures in a digital format. The District site is not intended to be a place where a unit would have event information, unit calendar, etc. Those are more appropriate on your unit site. If you have questions as to whether or not certain information should go on the District site, contact the District Website Coordinator.

• Letter to the editor. A simple, straightforward statement, written to the editor of your local newspaper.

• Op-ed page: “Opposite the editorial page.” Some newspapers use this page to print reader opinions and articles by columnists.

• Send news releases to local business newsletters and community bulletin boards.

• Speak formally at your chartered organization, as well as informally with parents, friends, and co-workers on behalf of your council.

• Decorate a float for Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts, Webelos Scouts, Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts, or Venturers to ride on in your local parade.

• Set up booths at trade shows or fairs. Provide information that visitors can take home with them.

• Hang posters and fliers in places where boys and parents will see them.

• Deliver pancakes to local radio personalities on a chosen day. The radio personalities could talk about Scouting. Give the personalities a flier listing details of the recruiting program or an upcoming event.

• Word of mouth can be your best marketing tool. It is a free and effective method of spreading positive messages. So, how do you do it?
  • The best place to start word-of-mouth marketing is inside the unit. Sparkle originates internally; enthusiasm starts in your unit.
  • Enthusiastic volunteers attract and sustain positive attention at civic, social, and industry functions. Create positive energy, and people inside and outside the organization will feel it. Enthusiasm is a powerful persuasion tool.
  • Share your excitement with people. They will want to know what you are so excited about and will want to learn more.
  • Encourage everyone associated with the Scouts to be informed, enthusiastic, and anxious to tell everyone about the fun and benefits of Scouting. Maybe ask the following question at a unit meeting: “Who have you told about Scouting this week?”

• Ask everyone you know to pass along a good word about Scouting.

Get Your Unit's Anniversary Published in Scouting Magazine

Anniversaries of 50 years or more (in multiples of five years) will be posted within 30 days following the publication of each issue of Scouting magazine, if received by the first day of the month of the issue's publication (i.e., March. 1 for the September issue). Mail your announcements (including name and address or phone number of a person to contact) to Unit Anniversaries, Scouting Magazine, S204, P.O. Box 152079, Irving, TX 75015-2079.

Announcement sample:

Troop 72 - Anytown, MI
50th anniversary in March, 2003. Boy Scout Troop 72 is looking for all former members to celebrate the 50th anniversary year of Troop 72's charter. We'd like to hear from former Scouts or leaders who were part of the Presbyterian Church of Anytown Boy Scout Troop 72. Contact Dan Kramer, (992) 655-8181 dan.kramer@verizon.net