Marketing the American Legion Boys State of Kansas

Marketing the American Legion Boys State of Kansas From Good to Great!

Presenters • Scott Bley – Executive Director • Thane Chastain – Director of Development

Inflection point od o G at e r to G Good, not great What made the difference The Director’s Conference ought to be the place (the inflection point) where many programs can take away concepts other states have used to make their programs great; more than just good. This conference is about change, not about staying the same.

“A great organization is one that delivers superior performance and makes a distinctive impact over a long period of time. ” - page 5

• Superior Performance • Distinctive Impact • Lasting Endurance

• Level 5 leadership –they work, not for themselves, but for the greater good. –they have the will to do whatever it takes to make good on that ambition –make sure the right decisions happen for the long term greater good of the institution and the achievement of its mission, independent of consensus or popularity

• Confront the brutal facts • skyrocketing opportunities for Juniors during this week • Legion showing general decline in membership • we remain an unknown to most people • turnover in school counselor connections

• Get the right people ‘on the bus’ –compulsively driven people to make whatever they touch the best in can be. –an almost neurotic need to improve. -page 13

• Who gets on • Who gets off • Who is sitting in the right seat

• First – make the process selective • This leads to credibility

• Second – –social sectors • desperate craving for meaning in our lives. This has the power to ignite passion and commitment.

• Third – enough of the right people willing to commit themselves to the mission.

• 1. What are you deeply passionate about • 2. What can you be the best in the world at • 3. What best drives your economic engine

• Are you a fox or a hedgehog? Foxes pursue many ends at the same time and see the world in all its complexity. They are “scattered or diffused, moving on many levels, ” says Berlin, never integrating their thinking into one overall concept or unifying vision. Hedgehogs, on the other hand, simplify a complex world into a single organizing idea, a basic principle or concept that unifies and guides everything. It doesn’t matter how complex the world, a hedgehog reduces all challenges and dilemmas to simple—indeed almost simplistic—hedgehog ideas. For a hedgehog, anything that does not somehow relate to the hedgehog idea holds no relevance.

• Hedgehog Concept attain ‘piercing’ clarity about how to produce the best long-term results

What are you deeply passionate about What you can be the best in the world at What drives your resource engine

What are you deeply passionate Staff about What you can be the best in Curriculum the world at What drives your resource Sponsors engine

The Point: They are not in the same direction.

Inflection point od o G at e r to G Good, not great What made the difference

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Winston Churchill • If you are going through hell, keep going.

Redefining Great: When more is not better • Determine Optimum Enrollment • Working Within Current Enrollment • Working Toward Optimum Enrollment

Determining Your Optimum Enrollment 1. List all of the governing bodies and positions available 2. Determine the ideal size of each governing body 3. Additional constraints: – Facilities, housing – Staff 4. What is your optimum enrollment?

Working Within Your Current Enrollment 1. Adjust governing bodies and positions based on current enrollment 2. Determine number of staff based on enrollment and budget 3. Determine where to position your staff for a good stater to staff ratio.

Working Toward Your Optimum Enrollment 1. Focus on a successful program – Curriculum and Activities – Staff Placement and Training 2. Develop a recruiting plan 1. Divide up the state into regions 2. Setting regional goals 3. Focus on schools that produce 3. Develop a marketing plan

Short History of Marketing Project

Competitive Advantage • Unique, Enjoyable Opportunity to Learn About Civic Government • As the Legion promotes, Boys State is specifically designed to help young men learn about how government works. Seven of the schools interviewed as part of this marketing research said they understand this primary purpose and tell their students that “Boys State is an opportunity to learn about leadership and government. ”

Competitive Advantage • Opportunity to Spend a Week on a College Campus • The students who participate in Boys State are boys who have plans to attend a traditional college or university. The experience of being on a college campus just a year prior to enrolling in a college or university is an exciting, valued experience that helps prepare students for the transition to college life.

Competitive Advantage • Opportunity to Make Life-Long Friends • One of the most dynamic and valued takeaways of the Boys State experience is how the week fosters new friendships that often last well beyond the week.

Competitive Advantage • Opportunity to Enhance and Build Leadership Skills • Alumni who are college-bound and careerminded know that the Boys State experience “looks good on a resume. ”

Situational Analysis • From the Interviews/Research — • “The role of the local American Legion cannot be overstated and this may be a problem in the immediate future. The Osborne High School counselor was interviewed the same day that their American Legion contact, a long-time member of the post and the community, died. Only two of the schools indicated the presence of a strong American Legion. Most schools said that their local posts were experiencing lower membership or were nonexistent. Other relationships, such as teachers and counselors, have been severed due to retirement. While substitutes had been found in most of these cases, none of those schools were certain whether recruiting would continue as it had in the past. ”

Situational Analysis • From the Interviews/Research — • “Work and sports camp were the two most frequently mentioned competitors, and for some students, work is not optional after their junior year. Students in poor areas, both urban and rural, must work to help support their families. ” • “In addition to work and sports camp, other competition was listed as music (band) camp, Spanish club, leadership camp (Rotary-sponsored and Kansas Association of Youth Leadership) and Junior Achievement-type opportunities. ”

Situational Analysis • Visual approach varies; different logos are used in different places. • Graphic standards are needed to establish the correct use of the logo, colors, fonts and where and when to use the American Legion brand.

Objectives 1) Stabilize Enrollment – The annual Kansas Boys State goal is 550 boys attending for the week. 2) Raise Overall Awareness – The level of awareness shifts from school to school throughout the state based on previous participation. We need to find a way to raise awareness in every school in order to raise enrollment. Some schools will not be able to participate every year, but each school in Kansas should be aware of the program. 3) Raise Awareness Among Key Audiences – These key audiences include students, educators, parents and members of the community. 4) Create a Unified Brand – Kansas Boys State realizes that the variety of visual graphics and “looks” currently used can contribute to a cloudy brand image.

Strategies • 1) Broaden pool of prospective students by opening enrollment to include younger participants. • 2) Consolidate the brand in terms of look and message. • 3) Create a new distribution system for your product that focuses on relationships at all levels. – – Schools – Educators Students and Young Alumni Businesses and Communities Parents

Creative Strategies & Action Plans • Logo/Visual Brand Revision 1. New Logo Graphic 2. Font and Word Mark Usage 3. Graphic Standards • New Print Collateral 1. Overview Brochure 2. Letterhead, Envelopes, Cards

Key Message • Only one counselor (from a participating school) said she wouldn’t buy the slogan, “A week to shape a lifetime. ” All others said they liked it and some liked it very much.

New Key Message • “A week that changed my life. ”

New Descriptor • The American Legion Boys State Leadership Academy

New Wordmark

New Positioning Statement

New Fonts

New T-Shirt Design -Staters

New T-Shirt Design -Staff (recreation)

New T-Shirt Design -Advisor / Coordinator

New Staff Polo Design

Defined Color Scheme

New Brochure

www. kansasboysstate. org New Prestate Website Same Program Website www. ksbstate. org

Audience Definition

Tools Summary • • Brochure Videos Website Visual Consistency – Colors – Typestyle – Graphics

Inflection point od o G at e r to G Good, not great What made the difference Although the Good to Great model has been applied to the over all nature of our organization, it can be seen at the individual level – what do we do to make ourselves great? Boys State can be the point of inflection for a young man to move his life track from good to great.

The Inflection Point Was shy Knew nothing about how government works Never work with minorities Always top of his class Never worked with anyone who had a handicap Never played his guitar in front of more that 3 people Wasn’t sure about the ‘whole college thing’ Now comfortable Understands how complex it really is Roommate was a minority Humbled by quality of peers Worked with James Geary or Blake Reed Got a standing ovation at the talent show College Fair introduced him to school _____

Finally, Bob Turner’s call to sell, sell • Need to overcome objections • Need to see collateral (brochures, websites, etc. as tools) – Nothing is built by tools left in the shed • Few of us got into Boys State to be salesmen, but we need to understand the sales process of NFBR – Need – Feature – Benefit – Response

I don’t have money… Sponsors in the community Local Business People from other communities

I won’t know anyone… Everyone is in the same boat. Have you ever gone to a camp before? What do you expect that college will be like? I didn’t know anyone – and now I have xx friends

I am liberal… I am conservative… You will probably meet people more _____ that you. If you only associate with people who think like you – little thinking is getting done. Role-playing doesn’t commit you to one political philosophy the rest of your life.

NFBR Need To learn about college choices Feature College Fair on Thursday morning Benefit College and Universities that target Boys State students (apart from the pack of other students) Response Does that sound cool? Valuable?

NFBR Need To be less shy Feature Run for City offices (just talking in the smallest of groups) Benefit You are able to get past this and express yourself within a group that has similar goals, expectations. Response Does that sound cool? Valuable?

NFBR Need To run for Congress some day Feature Highly competitive election process Benefit Learn about the impact of campaign financing and political promises made on the campaign trail Response Does that sound cool? Valuable?

NFBR Need To stay in shape over the week of Boys State Feature Daily athletic competition Benefit Compete with some of the best athletes from across the state who are also interested in the same thing Response Does that sound cool? Valuable?

Questions?