Optional to Essential: Constructing Your Marketing Plan Welcome

Hello! My name is…. Introduce yourself by sharing the following – Name – State – Chapter – 1 fun fact about yourself – You chapter’s biggest concern as it relates to promoting your chapter

Objectives Identify the characteristics of an essential FCS/FCCLA program Introduce the new “Guide to Promoting FCCLA” Identify best practices for teaching students how to market themselves and FCS/FCCLA Develop a marketing plan for a chapter’s long- term goals using the Planning Process

What’s Essential to You? Consider the list of the following items in a chapter, with the people at your table, you must choose the five items that are essential to a chapter’s success. Everyone at your table must agree!

What’s Essential to You? Large number of members Updated Bylaws Unlimited financial resources Strong stakeholder support Engaged STAR Event competitors Community service/service learning presence Administrator support Another adviser to share responsibilities Strong group of student leaders An extra plan period for FCCLA activities

Essential Programs What are the characteristics of an essential program?

Essential Programs… Are co-curricular – Plan STAR Events in your class to meet objectives and promote your program – Use Power of One as a goal setting project – Turn proficiency on an objective in to a planned project

Essential Programs… Fill a need – Your program does something that brings positive associations to the school – The only organization with the family as the central focus

Essential Programs… Financially self-sustaining – Thank your school for whatever you receive – Have an advisory board to which you report your credits and debits – Don’t spend money you don’t have – Set up a budget and share that budget with members, parents, donors, and administrators

Essential Programs… Give service – Brings your organizations members together and builds their relationships – Gives you a new advocate – Builds proficiency in a classroom setting when used as a learning tool (i.e. service learning)

Essential Programs… Develop students’ skills – Leadership – Public speaking – Advocacy – Self-esteem – Confidence – Higher graduation rates – Higher GPA

Essential Programs…

What is Marketing? The action of promoting and selling products or services What are we promoting? What are we selling?

The Guide to Promoting FCCLA Who should have this? – Advisers – Officers – Any student involved in marketing your organization – Administrators – Marketing teacher – Parents

The Guide to Promoting FCCLA How can I use it? – Writing media releases – Basic facts about the organization – Ensure proper use of the logo – FCCLA editorial style guide – Tips for how to use each kind of media – Tips for working with elected officials

Guide Yourself to Answers Working as a table, you will find the answers to the questions that follow. Choose one person as a recorder Each person will find one answer and then pass the booklet to the next person. When it is your turn, find the answer and the recorder will write down the answer and the page number.

Guide Yourself to Answers What is the name for the award that honors a media outlet whose responsibilities are not related to FCCLA, but who has contributed to the coverage of the organization? What indicates the end of a media release? What is a media advisory used for? What does PSA stand for? Where should a chapter name be placed when using the FCCLA logo? How many characters per Tweet are allowed on Twitter?

Take What You Learned Take the article at your tables and help identify areas to improve this press release

Teaching Students Marketing Skills No time for all of this???

What Can Should Students Do? Advertising in and out of the school Develop RELATIONSHIPS with the community and business leaders Attend meetings and present at community and school organizations Be your best advocates Personally strive to portray a positive image

Tips Never assume your kids know what they’re doing Practice! Practice! Practice! – Have them critique each other – Ask your students thought questions regularly Get it before they go Keep everything in perspective

The Trouble with Assuming Things…

Teaching Time! As a group, create a minute lesson plan that you could use to teach this concept to a group of members

Planning Process Always the starting point Your students already know it so it makes it easier to get started Think about the problem with promoting and marketing you shared in your introduction and we will be developing a plan to help you solve this problem

Planning Process: Questions to Consider Who is the audience? How do you attract new members? Where do they come from? How do we share our experience? What will they get by joining FCCLA? Why should current members rejoin? How do we recognize members? Who are our community supporters?

Planning Process Identify Concerns Set a Goal Form a Plan Act Follow Up

Act Setting up a marketing plan allows you to – Develop measureable goals – Assign roles – Measure progress

Take it Home Discuss your plan with your group – What can you take back to your chapter? – Which of these ideas will be met with opposition? – How can you prepare for the new year today? – What do you need to carry out a successfully marketing plan?

Seeing Results Sometimes we have to remind students that they are building a file (literally and/or figuratively)

Don’t Eat the Marshmallow!

Allison Kreifels National Consultant Team National Executive Council Adviser