I’m one of the leaders of Laconia, NH, Troop 143. This weekend was the Wannalancit District Fall Camporee … where 200 screamin’ (literally) 11 to 17 year old boys, and their troop leaders, got together for a two day camping trip. Friday was special for 70 of the boys because they worked to get their Wilderness Survival Badge. This is where everyone is outdoors WITHOUT sleeping bags OR tents. The boys have to make their own shelter, start a fire without matches, learn survival priorities, learn the many ways of signaling for help and must keep themselves warm. Oh, by the way, did I mention that Friday was the first heavy frost of the year and the temperatures dipped well below 30 degrees?
As I tried to fit the act of thinking between the chattering of teeth, I found I had A LOT of time to think without distraction. It also dawned on me that the recent success of this troop, in particular, is an example of great brand management. HUH? Yes, that…s what I said …¦ great brand management. Here…s how.
DIRECTION
Steering the direction of your brand is kind of like herding cats. You can TRY to get them all going in one direction but the results may be something completely unexpected. If you…ve ever tried to get 200 teenaged boys to do something, you…ll get the whole …cats… analogy. Regardless of which you herd … boys or cats … you…ll most definitely be challenged and will have fun in the process.
GETTING THE BZZ
Troop 143 has an especially difficult challenge in its own survival because it has no …feeder pack…. This is a local group of younger cub scouts that will eventually …cross over… to become Boy Scouts. Without this pack, the troop can only grow or maintain size by constantly recruiting new members. Yep, think marketing. Creating a brand connection with the boys of …fun, hip, fun, different and fun… was a challenge. Creating a brand of …smaller (than other local troops), more focused, experienced, leadership oriented… for the parents was also a challenge. By doing this well, the troop attracts new members.
GROWTH
When my boys and I started with the troop, it had dwindled down to only four scouts (five are required to maintain your charter). It has since grown to NINE scouts with two more seriously considering signing up. The recruiting efforts for these new boys was identical to a marketing campaign. If it had been based on a weak or diluted brand, it would have been much less successful. While we have thrived, the other local troop size has fallen down to half. Yes, it’s all about branding for them too!
DIFFERENTIATION
When we began a year ago, the patrol name was …The Americans…. This name was picked because, as a requirement, the patrol must have a flag and a patrol cheer. The boys already had an American flag and easily came up with the cheer …Go Americans…. They found it easy to just go in that direction …¦ it…s good enough isn…t it? Although this thinking is patriotic, it…s not very unique or memorable. Kinda like most businesses, don…t you think?
After a little cajoling, we were able to sit the boys down and teach them how much better a new name would be. They quickly got the brainstorming bug and they came up with LOTS of great names. The name they finally picked was the …Rabid Chipmunks… and the cheer sounds like something off of a George Romero film soundtrack. Yes, it…s very …boy-like…, but it…s also fun watching them do the cheer and it lifts the Scouting spirit up with every boy at every meeting. You can only guess what the flag looks like.
This has been a longer than usual post but it…s definitely helping to get my fingers warmed up!
