Project promotion: initial and lasting impressions

[Hoover]

First off--I want to give Castle Mountain credit for directly influencing a lot of what I have to say.  We've been trading emails regarding promotional items.  He had already taken the lead with some fantastic new ideas--one of which is a well designed banner that we'll soon have the privilege of using in Ohio.  Ironically, I was thinking about posting this subject on the Ohio forum this morning when an email of his popped in with virtually the identical title.  Like minds?  If so, it is an honor to be in such company.

I have started increasing my attention to not only instruction, but promotion.  Instruction begins when we already have engaged "clients" or "customers".  And, while doing effective instruction is absolutely critical to the Appleseed mission--so, too is getting people to the line.  No doubt we all feel the responsibility of individually touching those immediately around us and finding ways to get them to the line.  But, to what degree do we have the resources and know-how to do so effectively?  And, how can we expand our reach to those that we don't have immediate relationships?

I had begun some initial activity on the Ohio board by creating a promotions thread (at MeanStreaker's urging) to serve as a common area for Ohioans to get the promotional resources that they need.  To give proper credit, I first saw something similar on Illinois' board and thought a similar approach should be given here.  We now have two state flyers that help give needed information to those that may have interest in the project as well as links to other promotional assets.  But, thinking back on the motivation for doing so; I created them because it's what I would have wanted to see.  Effective promotion, though, is not always seeing the needs through your own lens.  And, it occurred to me that I was not thinking about the larger picture of how to manage the cycle of initial awareness through the steps leading eventually to definite and engaged interest (and, thus, filling the line).  In other words, I was guilty of creating a partial solution before thoroughly thinking through the problem or need.

My wife and I were chatting this morning about the events leading to and including the three strikes.  Or, at least I thought it was just chatting.  At one point, she stopped and said, "I really like the stories that you tell".  Ironically, I didn't realize I was telling them.  Progress perhaps?  If so, it was short lived.  She later mentioned that she now had a much better understanding of the project.  I somewhat sarcastically quipped--"what did you think it was--a bunch of middle-aged guys shooting guns?".  To my dismay, she was not so quick to refute the notion.  And, it dawned on me that I had failed to set the best initial impression in the very person closest to me.  To be fair, I fit the stereotype perfectly and excepting the fact that I dislike distracting imagery--especially, that which is counter-productive to understanding the project--I see nothing at all wrong with a bunch of middle-aged guys shooting rifles.  It is also true that her initial impression may well have formed when I attended my first Appleseed and may have been a reflection of my own very flawed initial impressions.  Perhaps I was not being conscious of things I had said since then to make sure that the correct imagery was being emphasized.  Regardless, some people have pre-dispositions or sensitivities to certain stereotypes that--from a promotion standpoint--need to be recognized so that we help form accurate initial impressions and then reinforce them through appropriate additional information less they otherwise serve as barriers toward attending an Appleseed at all.  A sense of inclusiveness is perhaps one of the biggest initial hurdles to overcome.

And, so, I have readjusted my thinking about promotion from one of simply creating assets and checklists (although, those are still important) to a more broad strategy of what are the impressions to be emphasized and which ones de-emphasized (or avoided altogether).  If the promotional activity is a "booth" or "static display", what imagery should be most prominent and inviting to all visitors as the very first thing seen?  What should the first few points of emphasis be out of my mouth when greeting them?  How can their initial curiosity of what is seen or heard be converted to a willingness and eventually a desire to learn more?  How do I leave them with an expectation that they will return for more information and/or join the line?  Can I put myself in their footsteps enough to understand their pre-dispositions and use that information to advantage; or, am I just standing about robotically passing out flyers?  Can I develop a strategy that makes for maximum effective use of assets and that tailors them to ways that improve promotion?  This differs significantly from my original goals of developing promotional resources in an apparent vacuum.

My intention in posting is that this thread be just the start and that perhaps it will spark comment that will help evolve our collective thinking.  The near-term, tactical outcome (for me) will be to start planning a design for Ohio gun-show booth settings with both sufficient assets/resources as well as suggested uses so that people will feel comfortable and be effective in promoting Appleseed.  Designing things in such a way that will permit effectiveness even in un-staffed booths or "static displays" is a further goal.  And, lastly--that we continue to refine promotion with some of the same vigor that we develop and strive toward perfection in our instruction.