The Scout Association
Campaign message: "Inspire! Become a leader"
Aim: To raise the profile of the Scouts and recruit more members and more volunteers.
Number of people involved: 4
Launched: On-going
Working with celebrities: The Scout Association chose to approach ex-Blue Peter presenter Peter Duncan 3 years ago to work with them to help raise their profile and membership. Peter Duncan became Chief Scout in 2004.
“Peter really reflects the sorts of people we want to attract to the Scouts. He has experience in youth work; he has an adventurous streak and enjoys helping people. He is also very eloquent in front of the camera (so great to do media work with) and crucially our target audience will remember him presenting Blue Peter-and be parents themselves now." Simon Carter, Head of Media
PR work: The Scouts have had great success in getting media coverage with Peter Duncan. He has appeared on behalf of the Scout Association across the media. He has featured on prime time television such as the BBC 6 O'clock News, CNN, Radio 4 and Radio FiveLive. In August 2007 he appeared on BBC News 24 in celebration of the Scouts Centenary- the scouts ‘I want to join’ enquiries shot up by 100% after this broadcast. You can watch this broadcast on the Scouts' website. He also wrote an article for The Express on Sunday.
The Scout Association has also created a partnership with Sainsbury's and V. One of the aims of the partnership is to encourage more 16-25 year olds to become volunteers for the Scouts. They have run adverts about volunteering in the Sainsbury's in-store magazine, Fresh Ideas.
Online activity: Scouts have also started using new media to create awareness and raise membership. “You have to catch volunteers where they are at to make sure the Scouts are on their radar”. The Scouts are currently using Facebook, MySpace and Youtube to encourage people to get involved.
The Scout Association has a section of their site called Scouts' Campfire Circle to encourage past scouts to become volunteers and use their online network: www.scouts.org.uk/campfirecircle
They also provide information for people interested in volunteering for the Scouts: www.scouts.org.uk/join/volunteer.html This section focuses on case studies and profile some of their current volunteers and the work they do for the organisation.
Outside agencies involved: None
Results: The Scouts membership went up by 0.4% in 2005 and 1.6% in 2006.
Contact: Simon Carter www.scouts.org.uk
