Scouting Relations and Communications Team
Use and share this page www.AlamoAreaBSA.org/Marketing as a resource in support of Scouting through marketing. The National Boy Scouts of America main marketing/branding resource page can be found by clicking HERE.
For more information, contact the Alamo Area Council’s Scouting Relations and Communications Team by email at marketing@AlamoAreaBSA.org.
What Is Marketing?
Marketing is the process of influencing the behavior of one or several people so they will make a purchase, cast a vote, offer a contribution, or join an organization.
Put the right product in the right place, at the right price, at the right time.
This statement talks to the 4 P’s of Marketing as introduced in 1960 by marketer E. Jerome McCarthy:
- Product
- Place
- Price
- Promotion
All good marketing contains a “call to action”. In sales, it is commonly called the A.B.C. which stands for “Always Be Closing” with a focus on “selling” the F.A.B. (Features Advantages Benefits) end “benefit” of your offering. There are only 5 benefits to sell any product or service:
- Make Money
- Save Time
- Save Money
- Increase Health or Wellness
- Provide Peace of Mind
Some activities that fall under marketing include advertising, public relations, and market research. The Boy Scouts of America, Alamo Area Council’s key marketing objectives, as outlined in the Strategic Plan, include a focus on good content marketing:
Content Marketing and Stories
“Functioning as the cornerstone of our marketing plan, good content marketing creates and shares valuable stories commonly thru searchable online articles, videos, photos, graphics, and sound recordings published on owned media platforms, like our council website and social media sites, in order to attract and keep customers. It should also be sensibly transparent and honest about the supported brand and always include a good marketing call to action” ~ Angel Zuniga Martinez, Chief Storyteller, Alamo Area Council
“The goals of Content Marketing are to: Build relationships with existing clients, attract new customers, demonstrate benefits, tell interesting stories about your brand and to appear in search engines and increase web traffic.”~ Robert Wynne, “Content Marketing – The Real Story,” Forbes Magazine, 7/8/13
The Boy Scouts of America’s national “umbrella” marketing programs are designed to increase national awareness about Scouting, while encouraging local participation and donor contributions. To understand the philosophy behind these marketing efforts, it is important to understand how they impact the organization’s target audiences and the product-adoption process—the psychological steps consumers, or target audiences, go through from the time they learn about Scouting to the time they actually buy into the program.
Moving a target audience along the product-adoption continuum requires extensive, focused marketing efforts. The National Council’s efforts create awareness and interest, but the local Alamo Area council must complete the sale by convincing community members to become involved in Scouting in some way.
BSA Brand Theme 
In just three words, the Boy Scouts of America theme communicates the integrity, commitment, and enthusiasm of Scouting’s time-honored ideals. Here are the key communication elements:
- Prepared for Leadership
- Prepared for Learning
- Prepared for Service
- Prepared for Adventure
“Scouting makes the most of the little time parents and San Antonio leaders have to impact their children. By working together, we can support San Antonio youth to be Prepared for Leadership…for Service…for Learning…for Adventure…and most importantly for Life. Please support Scouting by giving or volunteering today!” ~ Michael de los Santos, Scout Executive / CEO, Boy Scouts of America, Alamo Area Council.
Alamo Area Council Theme
- Unified Focus On Youth
In just four words, the Alamo Area BSA theme communicates where we keep on keeping the “main thing” – our kids – the main thing. The “Unified Focus On Youth” theme was launched in 2013 and incorporated into mosts of our marketing material, including our Give the Adventure donor campaign. It’s also a statement of our purpose to serve more youth!
What Is Public Relations?
Public relations is communicating with various sectors of the public to influence their attitudes and opinions in the interest of promoting a person, product, organization, or idea.
What Is the Difference Between Marketing and Public Relations?
- Public relations is one element of marketing.
- Public relations is primarily a communications tool, whereas marketing also includes needs assessment, program development, promotion, and sales.
- Public relations is a two way open communications tool, whereas marketing is mostly one direction.
- Public relations seeks to influence attitudes, whereas marketing tries to influence specific behaviors, such as purchasing, joining, voting, etc.
- Public relations does not define the goals of the organization, whereas marketing is involved in defining aspects like mission, strategy, potential members, and services.
Resources
For council website, contact the site administrator at webmaster@AlamoAreaBSA.org.
Webmaster Committee page found HERE.
For support with online training or other site features found within the National Boy Scouts of America (BSA) sites my.scouting.org, contact the BSA Member Care line at 972-580-2489.