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Table of Contents
Executive Summary

Research

3
Analysis

Recommendations

29
33

Goals and Objectives

33

Strategies Outline

34

Message Design

35

Strategies and Tactics

36

Schedule

57

Budget

58

Evaluation

59

Creative Materials

61

Appendix

62

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Girl Scouts of Western New York (GSWNY), is a nonprofit youth organization in need of overall
outreach aid to recruit more local volunteers. Craft Public Relations has created a detailed strategy
guide in how GSWNY can not only gain more participants, but expand overall awareness to its
targeted public. Through in- depth research, which includes examining past outreach approaches
from other Girl Scout organizations, social media presence, and benefits to volunteering and current
recruitment practices, Craft Public Relations has cultivated a deep understanding of GSWNY and
what elements can be improved.
The following campaign is focused on the idea of Beyond Cookies & Crafts, which will drive our
message that being a volunteer involved with the GSWNY provides more influential purpose that
goes beyond the standard stereotype of the cookie and craft-loving troop. The value of participating
in GSWNY is heavily highlighted throughout this campaign as its leadership and sisterhood benefits
are continuously reiterated.
Through this campaign, Craft Public Relations has formulated specific steps to gain positive
exposure for GSWNY including a new social media approach, publishing expansive creative
materials (both traditional and non-traditional advertising), sponsoring interactive events, and a
television spot.
This campaign initiative has additionally listed five core strategies that include a standard budget and
timeline for each tactic. Implementing such strategies into GSWNY communications will greatly
advance GSWNY in recruiting more volunteers and spreading general public awareness, forming an
influential presence in the local Western New York community.

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GIRL SCOUTS OF WESTERN NEW YORK - INTRODUCTION

MISSION:
The Girl Scouts mission is to build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world
a better place.
SITUATION:
In order to positively impact the lives of girls, volunteers are needed and are a major component of
GSWNY. The nonprofit organization is trying to recruit more volunteers across nine specific
counties, including Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans
and Wyoming County. The recruitment and training of qualified adults is a top priority for the
organization, as a single volunteer can take as many as five girls off of a waitlist and into a troop
setting. With a new and integrated marketing campaign, more people will be informed and hopefully
interested enough to volunteer and make a difference.
BENEFITS OF GIRL SCOUTS:
There is greatness in every girl; Girl Scouts helps her find it. Girls are able to discover fun and
friendships and understand the power of girls working together. Girls benefit from Girl Scouts by
developing social skills, building confidence, pursuing interests, causes, and leadership roles that
matter most to them. Cookies, camping, and craft activities are great Girl Scout traditions, but
leadership development in girls is one unique purpose Girl Scouts aims to hold. When selling
cookies, girls learn goal setting, decision making, money management, communication skills and
business ethics, which are all lifelong skills that will be beneficial to every girl. Girls who are Girl
Scouts are more likely to achieve academically, graduate from high school and college, and enjoy
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economic equality, healthy living and participation in faith- based communities. Slightly more than
half of Juniors, girls in grades 4-5, strongly agree that Girl Scouts has helped them recognize their
strengths and the things they can do well, become a better team member, and get to know new
people in their schools and communities.
RESEARCH TECHNIQUES:
Our primary research was formed through speaking with our client and conducting a survey via
email and Facebook. Secondary research was done by searching key words relating to the
information needed. We also used the GSWNY Facebook page and website for information.

BUDGET:
After contacting Callie Johnson, she said a $10,000 budget would be reasonable for this campaign.

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CLIENT INTERVIEW
INFORMATION NEEDED: What is GSWNY? What is the organization looking for in this
campaign? What are the benefits of the organization? What problems is the organization facing
while trying to reach publics? Who are the main publics?
METHODOLOGY: A preliminary client interview was held with the client. After this, contact
between the firm and client was kept through email. Along the way, questions about the
organization and what needed to be done were asked.
FINDINGS: When first meeting with Callie Johnson, we learned what her job title was, how many
people GSWNY serves, what counties they serve to, the mission of GSWNY, the primary
demographic, the different departments within GSWNY, the background requirements needed in
order to volunteer, the different levels of Girl Scouts, the main competitor, how they get the word
out about volunteering, groups GSWNY works with, and most importantly we learned that
GSWNY is a nonprofit organization so the budget is tight.
In order to fully understand the issue and the organization a little more, we have been in contact
with our client Callie Johnson. (See appendix for screenshots of our email communication.) We
asked Callie what our budget would look like, specific volunteer rates of GSWNY, the number of
volunteers the nonprofit has now and their goal, the amount of Snapchat followers, whether or not
GSWNY participates in the Chautauqua County fair, what big events GSWNY holds annually, and
whether or not a list is available on the GSWNY website of all the troops in the surrounding areas.
We also signed up for the GSWNY newsletter via email so we could see what events are happening
and when. Through these emails, we were able to get a better understanding of the organization,
which allowed us to create a new and improved campaign that addresses the nonprofits wants and
needs.
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PAST OUTREACH APPROACHES

INFORMATION NEEDED: Understanding what past promotion approaches the nonprofit has
taken in the past is crucial to finding out what strategies have been successful and what still needs
improvement.
METHODOLOGY: Information was found through a Google search and the article Girl Scouts
Financial and Leadership Woes Threaten 100-Year-Old Group from The Chronicle of
Philanthropy and Girl Scouts Changes Approach to Member and Adult Volunteer Recruitment
from www.associationsnow.com.
FINDINGS: Since 2003, The Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA) has seen a
decline of youth membership and adult volunteer members. An estimated 10 percent drop of adult
members was recorded in 2013 with only a slight increase since that time. GSWNY has been a part
of this decrease in volunteers over the years and, as part of GSUSA, the organization has been trying
to stable this negative slope with a new approach to its outreach.
The new campaign to improve the deficit of volunteers/members involves a grassroots and social
media campaign that differs from the traditional media and highway advertising space. Girl Scouts
has taken a larger focus on neighborhood initiatives, asking local councils (including GSWNY) to
push social campaigns I Cant Wait To and To Get Her There to spread the word via
social media. These phrases were created in hopes of better engaging potential members and
volunteers.
The I Cant Wait to campaign even reached First Lady Michelle Obama, who resonated with
the organization as honorary national president of the Girl Scouts. In the official I Cant Wait to Be
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a Girl Scout video on YouTube, Mrs. Obama is quoted as saying, In order to bring the fun to
more girls, Girl Scouts need you to volunteer.
GSWNY specifically reaches its audience through various social media platforms at www.gswny.org,
www.facebook.com/gswny, and twitter.com/girlscoutswny. Though social media reaches a larger
audience and increases overall engagement, many more volunteers are desired and the organization
as a whole is still at a decrease in recruitment.

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SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE

INFORMATION NEEDED: How strong is the GSWNYs social media presence compared to a
similar organization that is more populated? What type of media outlets does the GSWNY work
with to get information out into the public?
METHODOLOGY: We looked at the GSWNY accounts on four different types of social media
which include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest and then compared those numbers to the
Girl Scouts San Diego accounts to get a general knowledge of how established the local chapter is
on social media. The Girl Scouts San Diego consists of nearly 40,000 girls and adults while the
GSWNY consists of about 23,000 girls and adults. Even though Girl Scouts San Diego expands to
more people this methodology is meant to show that even though the GSWNY is smaller it can still
reach out to more people. We contacted Callie Johnson to get a list of the different types of media
outlets that the GSWNY works with. All of the statistics presented are as of Feb. 9, 2016.
FINDINGS: The GSWNY has a relatively low media presence on social media sites. GSWNY have
accounts on the main sites including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. In order to show
the GSWNY media presence rates, there is comparison with the Girl Scouts San Diego media
presence.
The GSWNY Facebook page has 3,844 likes. It uses their page for a variety of purposes such as
posting photos, listing upcoming/past events, and displaying opportunities to partake in different
contests. Girl Scouts San Diegos page has 6,170 likes. It offers a section for reviews on this page.
Facebook users decided to rate the Girl Scouts San Diego a 4.6 out of 5 stars.
Additionally, the GSWNY has its own Twitter account in which the organization is following 511
accounts and have 550 followers. It has a total of 2,152 tweets compared to The Girl Scouts San
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Diegos twitter page which has produced an estimated 1,600 tweets. In addition, the San Diego
organization has a total of 1,676 followers and follows 322 accounts.
Another social media site both organizations are present on is Instagram. The GSWNY is currently
following 76 accounts and has 254 followers. The GSWNY have created around 118 posts while
The Girl Scouts San Diego contains 358 posts. The San Diego- based account also contains 1,448
followers and follows approximately 248 different accounts. Most of the posts produced by
GSWNY are product and event pictures (see below) with occasional photos of troops interacting
with each other.

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The GSWNY also has a presence on Pinterest. Its account consists of 30 boards, 680 pins, and 9
likes. It has 539 followers and follow 91. The Girl Scouts San Diego has 26 boards, 1.1k pins, and 1
like. It has 1,000 followers and follow 51.
The comparison of the GSWNY and the Girl Scouts San Diego highlights that the GSWNY can be
a lot more active on its social media sites. Social media should be an important aspect for every
organization because its an easy and popular way to exchange information and post updates so
followers and fans will be able to know whats going on. These certain statistics show that even
though GSWNY has a presence on many social media sites, there could definitely be improvement.
Even though GSWNY is not as widespread as San Diego and doesnt consist of as many people,
that does not mean GSWNY cannot strive for more substantial numbers. Below is a comparison of
the GSWNY Instagram and Twitter pages to the Girl Scouts San Diego pages. It shows that Girl
Scouts San Diego has a higher range of followers and posts compared to the GSWNY.

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As important as social media is, the GSWNY also works with and has been featured in many
different media outlets. Not only does it work with Buffalo media, but it also has appeared in media
outlets throughout Rochester, Batavia, Jamestown, and Niagara. The different types of media outlets
range from community newspapers, daily newspapers, magazines, and radio/ TV stations. Since it
works closely with the Buffalo area the most, some examples of newspapers are Buffalo News, Bee
Publications, Metro Group, and The Sun. The GSWNY have been published in magazines such as
WNY Women Online, Buffalo Spree, and Western New York Family Magazine. The TV stations it
has been featured on include WGRZ-NBC, WIVB-CBS and Time Warner Cable News. Some radio
stations include WBLK, WYRK, WJYE, and Mix 96.

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GENERAL VOLUNTEER/ RECRUITMENT PROCESS

INFORMATION NEEDED: What is the process of becoming a volunteer for the GSWNY? What
are the main jobs a volunteer is responsible for? We wanted to understanding the different steps to
become a volunteer for the GSWNY and knowing the responsibilities of a volunteer.
METHODOLOGY: The information listed came from the Girl Scout official toolkit guide available
for public use online on the Girl Scout official website (www.girlscouts.org).
FINDINGS: The GSWNY volunteers represent the diversity of the world we live in, meaning
everyone from women, men, young adults, senior citizens and people of all racial and ethnic
backgrounds are capable of being volunteers. A volunteer may be a college volunteer working on a
community-action project, a parent volunteer ready for an outdoor adventure with his or her
daughters group, or any responsible adult looking to contribute time to shape girls into the leaders
that they want to become.
In order to become a GSWNY volunteer, one must go through a general volunteer screening
process. This process includes three different steps. The first step is to fill out a volunteer
application, allowing for the GSWNY to learn important information like what the potential
volunteer is interested in, how they can be reached, and what their availability is. The second step of
this screening process is providing information needed to go through a background check. This step
is crucial because the safety and security of the girls is the most important aspect of GSWNY. The
GSWNY ensures that the information provided for the background check will be handled
appropriately and privacy will be valued. The background checks cost six dollars, but there is an
option to have the GSWNY pay for some or all of the fee. The checks are performed by Verified
Volunteers. Each person applying to be a volunteer needs to set up an account on the website in
order for the background check to occur. The last and final step of the volunteer screening process
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is a short phone interview. The phone interviews are meant to typically last five to fifteen minutes.
These interviews give the GSWNY the opportunity to ask questions based on the application to
figure out the position that will best fit the volunteer.
The GSWNY adult-to-girl ratios tend to vary depending on how many girls and adults there are.
This number also depends on what level the Girl Scouts are at. For example, when talking about
group meetings there needs to be two unrelated adults, one of which needs to be female, to
supervise a total of twelve Girl Scout Daisies. Daisies are the lowest level of girl scouts including
kindergarten to first graders. When talking about events, travelling, and camping there needs to be
two unrelated adults to supervise six Girl Scout Daisies. As grade levels increase, the adult-to-girl
ratios tend to remain constant with the number of adults needed even though the number of girls is
increasing. These supervision ratios were determined to ensure the safety and health of all girls.

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A main part of being a GSWNY volunteer is to guide girls to become leaders in their everyday lives,
their communities, and the world. The GSWNY has a practical approach to helping girls become
leaders and its to discover, connect, and to take action. The discover part of it is meant for girls to
find the value and confidence to do whats right and act in ways that make GSWNY proud. This
leads into the connect part of the approach because when girls lead in their communities, they learn
to connect and work with other people. When the girls learn to discover and connect, then they will
begin to take action in the world. This part of the approach allows for the girls to change the world
for the better. Everything the volunteers do with the girls in GSWNY is aimed at giving them the
benefits of these three keys to leadership.
GSWNY uses two types of events within the council to recruit members, a recruitment booth/open
house and a parent information night. The recruitment booth/open house usually takes between 14 hours and is set up at a community event or location. During the booth, individuals can come
require about any information regarding GSWNY and register to participate.
The parent information night is a recruitment event style to which parents and girls are invited to a
specific meeting time and location. A presentation is then presented illuminating the benefits of
participating in the organization and general Girl Scout information is given out. Several interactive
activities may also be presented at this time to encourage engagement.
Recruitment is also done through distributing marketing materials at area locations. Common places
for such distribution are schools, libraries, hair salons, medical offices, cultural centers, banks,
grocery stores, shopping malls, movie theaters and employee lounges.

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Marketing materials are supplied on the GSWNY website with tips to getting the word out such as
placing posters on local bulletin boards, enlisting organizations like the PTA to put out information,
and placing advertisements in local newspapers.

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RECRUITMENT
INFORMATION NEEDED: Vast knowledge on recruiting volunteers
METHODOLOGY: Looked at multiple case studies from the Silver Anvil Awards to gain better
knowledge on volunteers and recruitment habits for future recruiting plans.
ISSUE: Being a nonprofit organization, it is difficult to receive the funds in order to achieve the
organizations goals. With having a small budget, the resources, research and focus groups an
organization uses comes from the local town. It is important for an organization to understand its
target audiences, key messages, key influencers and advocates in order to meet their goals.
FINDINGS: Many nonprofit organizations try to gain attention by recruiting volunteers, enhancing
social media websites to increase followers, as well as become recognized by local news/television
stations.
The first case study I found was The Power of Relationships in Launching Morgans Wonderland,
which was about building a theme park with limited resources, staff and budget. The team left their
hope to gain volunteers through years of trust and performance. Through effective news media
relations, targeted story pitching, timely special events and regular social media communications,
Morgans Wonderland endeavored to create local, regional and national awareness of the new park
to the general public. As for the outcomes, the social media pages gained over 29,000 people, the
grand opening had around 10,000 people, and with the public relations efforts Morgans
Wonderland was granted over $40,000 in donations.
Another case study I found was Nicolas Come & Nicolas Garden, which was where second
grader, Nicolas Come, convinced his parents and volunteers programmers at a Hackathon to help
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him create a mobile app. This app, also known as Nicolas Garden, allows children to share healthy
recipes with each other. The goals of this project was to identify key messages, target audiences, key
influencers and advocates, special events and similar campaigns, and favorite media/mediums used
by the target groups. The team reached these goals by gaining print and broadcast media for news
stories on Nicolas, his mission, and NG app launch as a healthy cooking tool, were consistent
with follow-up, repeated, and personal Thank You notes, regularly updating partnerships, and
using creative materials to engage media outside hometown. As for the evaluation stage, Nicolas and
Nicolas Garden generated over 16 million positive media impressions worldwide and over 100
million when including social media outreach. Nicolas also raised over $65,000 in seed funding, and
a projected $2 million investment funding. Nicolas was asked to be a part of many cooking shows
and won the Student Entrepreneur of the Year award.
A third case study I research was My Cause -- Empowering Clients to Give, created by SunTrust
Banks, Inc., and the team at Edelman PR. The main focus of this case was to use the My Cause
promotion to let the thousands of new customers of SunTrust Banks know they can chose to
donate to their favorite charities. This promotion is said to of helped an estimated 4,600 nonprofit
organizations in their fundraising efforts. While researching information, the teams came across the
fact that 7:10 Americans want to do business with companies that give back. The goals of this case
was to create a program that has a culture of giving, to make SunTrust a partner, define the target
audiences and to educate and empower those involved with the program. As for the evaluation
stage, the team gained an increase of 67 percent over baseline in new checking account household
during the My Cause promotion, had over 2.5 million print impressions, and secured more than
40 commitments from foundations. Due to the success of the campaign, positive media coverage
and positive feedback from the nonprofit organizations, SunTrust was able to extend the promotion
for the remainder of the year while adding an additional program component.

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BENEFITS: By understanding the target audiences an organization has, the organization can use the
research they conducted to aim their key messages toward their audiences wants and needs. By
realizing who the organizations key influencers and advocates are, the organization can use them to
their advantage by allowing their messages and goals to gain more publicity. Social media plays a big
role in gaining more followers because the sites original followers tend to advocate and promote the
organization through social media, making its audience grow. By having an organization be wellknown for how it interacts with its customers, its customers will then proceed to tell their followers
how great of an organization it is.

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BENEFITS OF VOLUNTEERING
INFORMATION NEEDED: What are the benefits volunteering can offer? Why is it good for
someone to become a volunteer?
METHODOLOGY: I looked at a quantitative study that listed certain benefits produced by
volunteering and to understand that positive outcomes of volunteering also depends on the actions
of the organization. The study is Increasing Older Adults Benefits from Institutional Capacity of
Volunteer Programs by Song-Iee Hong and Nancy Morrow- Howell.
FINDINGS:
There are many different benefits volunteering offers. Volunteering has become an important aspect
to increase the civic engagement and well-being of the growing older population. There is evidence
that indicates that volunteering can have positive mental and physical health outcomes for older
adults.
One quantitative study analyzed 401 older adults serving in 13 different volunteer programs across
the United States. The study collected and combined data from the benefits reported by volunteers,
comprehensive assessments of the institutional capacity of the programs which they are a part of,
and information on institutional characteristics from an administrative point of view.
Volunteering provides many different individual benefits. These benefits include reduced mortality,
increased physical functioning, better self-rated health, higher levels of cognitive functioning, better
skill and knowledge development, maintenance of sense of purpose in life, lower levels of
depression, and higher levels of life satisfaction. All of these benefits demonstrate that volunteering
can have positive outcomes for an individual.

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The organizations that offer volunteering can also have an impact on the overall experience of the
volunteer. Throughout the findings, it was discussed that volunteers become agitated with
ineffective management at nonprofit organizations. The more organized and supportive the
management tends to be in the organization, the more positive outcomes tend to happen. One part
that is vital in the eyes of the volunteer is the flexibility in the volunteer role. Adults are said to be
more satisfied when there is a wide variety of choice in schedules and types of activities. This can
play a major part in the recruitment of older adults because they may already have busy schedules in
their everyday lives.
The major way this study measured factors that affect the participation of adults in volunteer roles
and work positions is institutional capacity. The study defined institutional capacity as the ability of
social institutions, such as businesses, churches, civic clubs, and public or private agencies, to
provide productive roles for older adults.
In order to obtain the true institutional capacity of volunteer programs, the study used six different
dimensions: role flexibility, role recognition, cash incentives, skill development, accommodation, and
integration. These six dimensions were transformed to a standardized correct form (0 percent to 100
percent) because theoretical ranges of each scale had large variation. Role recognition and role
flexibility had the highest means of all dimensions being above 70 percent.
The programs that were a part of the study mostly recognized volunteers for their service through
special events and media coverage and also agreed they would be willing to adjust schedules based
on volunteers availability. The dimensions of accommodations, integration, and skill development
all resulted in similar measures. The study found that most programs would expand to make
volunteers feel comfortable and welcome their ideas and hope for growth. The cash incentive
dimension showed the lowest measure of 36.76 percent because most programs cannot afford to
compensate their volunteers.
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This study focused on the individual benefits volunteering has to offer along with the institutional
capacity of the programs. The action of volunteering doesnt just rely on the work of the volunteer
but also what the organization offers as well. Most of the positive outcomes develop when there is a
steady balance between the needs and wants of the volunteers and the programs.

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COUNTY FAIRS
INFORMATION NEEDED: How many county fairs are there in WNY? How many
people/families attend these fairs? How does 4-H participate in the fair?
METHODOLOGY: Looked up information about county fairs by visiting three county fair
websites, as well as finding attendance information from a NYfairs newsletter. I also spoke with a coworker who did 4-H in the fair.
FINDINGS: There are 18 county fairs in WNY. Three around this area are the Chautauqua County
Fair, the Cattaraugus County Fair, and the Erie County Fair. This year, the Chautauqua County Fair
will be from July 25th to July 31st in Dunkirk. In 2013, attendance for the week was 48,217
individuals. The Cattaraugus County Fair will be from August 1st to August 2nd in Little Valley. The
attendance was estimated at 73,000 individuals in 2013. The Erie County Fair will be from August
10th to the 21st. In 2014, the attendance of the fair was 1,220,101 individuals.
Individuals can enter several projects into county fairs; there are categories from knitting to animals.
I didn't find much on whether or not there would be a category suitable for what the girls do with
the STEM program, but the fair might be able to add categories to accommodate this. Individuals in
4-H are judged by the 4-H program and, if they chose to enter the fair competition, they are also
judged by the fair. Fees for entering animals in the fair generally go from $1.50 to $5. When
competing in the fair, the top individuals receive ribbons and prizes.

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SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE

INFORMATION NEEDED: What forms of social media are most often used by adults and/or
parents? What do these individuals Internet usage habits look like? What is the best way to reach
this type of public?
METHODOLOGY: I viewed the Pew Research Center website and looked for research pertaining
to adults and/or parents and their social networking habits. I found two articles titled Parents and
Social Media and 72% of Online Adults are Social Networking Site Users.
FINDINGS: Research done in 2013 showed that 72% of online users are engaging in at least one
type of social networking website. The graph below shows what percentage of Internet users in
specific age groups are using social networking sites.

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An article from the Pew Research Center titled Parents and Social media talks about how mothers
are heavily engaged in social networking. Both mothers and fathers are most likely to use Facebook
as a form of social networking. Fathers are least likely to use Pinterest, and mothers are least likely to
use Twitter. On the next page is a graph showing what social networking websites parents are most
likely to use.

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The research also showed that parents are most likely to use Facebook, while non parents are more
likely to use Instagram.

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VOLUNTEER SURVEY
INFORMATION NEEDED: What are Western New York individuals volunteer habits? Why do
individuals choose to volunteer for certain organizations? Why do individuals choose not to
volunteer? What do these individuals know about the Girl Scouts organization?
METHODOLOGY: We used a short survey directed toward adults in the Western New York area.
To do this, we sent the survey through the SUNY Fredonia listserv to the administrative/secretarial
employees. We also put the survey on Facebook since we are all from the area. The survey was
distributed to 135 emails through the listserv, and it was posted on 6 Facebook accounts. It is
estimated that the survey had the potential to reach 4,496 individuals. We received 67 responses,
giving us a 1.5% response rate. A copy of the survey and a complete list of answers can be found in
the Appendix.
FINDINGS: The survey respondents consisted of 97% female and 3% male participants. The age of
participants went from 18-25 year olds to individuals with an age of 66+. The most represented age
groups in this survey were 51-55, 46-50, 18-25, and 36-40 respectively. From the participants, 40%
were a parent or guardian of a child who has already graduated from college, while 13% were
individuals with no children at all. Participants with children in Kindergarten through sixth grade
and the participants with children in seventh grade through twelfth grade were both 27%.
Individuals from several cities/towns in Western New York participated in the survey.
VOLUNTEERING: The majority of participants indicated that they very rarely or have never
volunteered in the past year [see chart below].

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The number one reason (69.23% of participants) individuals did not volunteer this past year was
because they did not have enough time. There were also several individuals who put that they do not
know where to volunteer. Two people wrote in the other field that they do not volunteer because
of family commitments or not having someone to watch their kids. The most common places
participants volunteered were schools, churches, or nonprofits that raise money for people with
illnesses or helps the less fortunate. When asked, Why did you choose to spend your time
volunteering for the above cause/causes, a common answer was for the kids. Other common
answers were for experience, to make a difference, and people needed help. Participants said that
when looking for an organization to volunteer for, they look for organizations that make a
difference, have a worthy cause, an organization who sufficiently helps the people it is supposed to
help, and organizations who help those in need.
GIRL SCOUT PARTICIPANTS: A little under half (46%) of participants know a girl who is a part
of the Girl Scouts organization. When asked What do you know about the Girl Scouts of WNY,
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the most reiterated response was that they sell cookies. Several participants stated that they used to
be involved in Girl Scouts in some form; however, they do not know what the organization
currently does. One answer I thought was worth noting is that a participant from Dunkirk stated
that her daughter wanted to sign up, but she could not find a troop near her. Other answers to this
question included words/phrases such as leadership, life skills, camp, and badges. Another
question on the survey asked what individuals think girls learn from Girl Scouts. Below is a word
cloud generated by the answers given to the aforementioned question (the bigger the word, the more
times that word was mentioned in individual answers)?

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ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION

GSWNY is a nonprofit agency that aims to build girls of courage, confidence and character who
make the world a better place. Volunteers are a major component of how GSWNY is able to
positively impact the lives of girls, so recruitment needs to increase across GSWNYs nine county
jurisdiction, specifically in the rural areas.
We conducted research that would help us understand why the volunteer rates have decreased and
how to potentially increase them. We found that GSWNY has a relatively low media presence on
their social media sites. The more intriguing and relative content on the sites, the more knowledge
people will receive about GSWNY and possibly the more volunteers. It is a spiral effect. Social
media should be an important aspect for every organization because its an easy and popular way to
exchange information and post updates for followers.
Another issue we came across while researching is the fact that being a nonprofit organization
makes it difficult to receive the funds in order to achieve many organizations goals. Perhaps there is
a low volunteer rate because GSWNY doesnt have the budget to constantly advertise that they need
more volunteers. If this happens to be the case, this is where GSWNY should utilize social media
every chance they can, because it's very effective and free.
Throughout the research we found, it was discussed that volunteers become agitated with ineffective
management at nonprofit organizations. If a company is organized and the management is
supportive, the more positive outcomes tend to happen. We also found that volunteers need
flexibility. Adults are said to be more satisfied when there is a wide variety of choice in schedules
and types of activities to engage in.

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A study was conducted in order to obtain the true institutional capacity of volunteer programs. The
study used six different dimensions: role flexibility, role recognition, cash incentives, skill
development, accommodation, and integration. Role recognition and role flexibility had the highest
means of all dimensions being above 70 percent. The programs that were a part of the study mostly
recognized volunteers for their service through special events and media coverage and also agreed
they would be willing to adjust schedules based on volunteers availability. Positive outcomes will
develop when there is a steady balance between the needs and wants of the volunteers and the
programs.
Through our volunteer survey, we found that when asked What do you know about the GSWNY?
The most common response was that they sell cookies. Several participants stated that they used
to be involved in Girl Scouts in some form; however, they dont know what the organization
currently does. The lack of knowledge seems to have stopped people from committing themselves
or their children. The survey also told us that the majority of participants indicated that they rarely
or have never volunteered in the past year. The number one reason being that they didnt have
enough time. Others stated that they didnt know where to volunteer or couldnt because of family
commitments or not having someone to watch their children.
A new innovative integrated marketing campaign has been created with the use of our research in
hopes of recruiting many new dedicated volunteers to aid and inspire young girls as they make their
way in the real world.

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ANALYSIS OF THE ORGANIZATION

GSWNY is an organization that focuses on developing and enhancing leadership skills for young
women and girls. Accepting any girl within the ages of K-12 to become a scout and anyone over the
age of 18+ to become a volunteer. With its mission, GSWNY focuses on building girls of courage,
confidence, and character who make the world a better place. The staff, board of directors, and
CEO as well as the volunteer troop leaders all work together to form core values to each girl who
becomes a part of the practice. The core values of the group are represented by respect, integrity,
customer service, diversity, empathy and courage, which they try and incorporate with everything it
does.
GSWNY provides girl scouts with multiple different benefits ranging from hands-on learning, to
campground trips and science fairs. Being a part of GSWNY the girls have the chance to develop
many skills such as financial skills, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills,
becoming an advocate for the environment, what it means to live a healthy lifestyle as well as what it
means to be a global citizen. Offering different trips around the world, GSWNY gives each girl
scout and volunteer the opportunity to experience and learn more in depth about particular subjects,
survival skills, safety skills, and so on.
Volunteerism and community service plays a big role when dealing with GSWNY. Each Girl Scout
is entitled to earn awards based on hours of community service and age groups. These awards also
have restrictions of what needs to be done along with the community service in order for the scout
to receive the award. Along with these awards, each Girl Scout that receives an award is eligible to
also receive a scholarship based on grade level and future plans. GSWNY allows for the interests,
needs and abilities of girls ages K-12 to be brought to life through girl-focused activities and real life
scenarios with the help of troop leaders and volunteers.

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ANALYSIS OF KEY PUBLIC

Volunteers can be anyone over the age of 18; however, we are focusing more specifically on adults,
both men and women, who have children eligible to participate in Girl Scouts. We believe
individuals with children who can participate in the organization are more likely to volunteer to help
the organization. The key publics are individuals who reside in Western New York.
The majority of individuals who took our survey volunteered less than five times last year; most did
not volunteer at all. Only 15% of individuals volunteered at least once a week. The biggest reason
that individuals do not volunteer is because they do not have enough time. Other reasons include
not having care for their children and not knowing where to volunteer. Individuals who did
volunteer tended to volunteer in churches, schools, or nonprofits. These individuals want to
volunteer to make a difference and help people, as well as for the experience. Individuals stated they
want to volunteer for an organizations that helps who they say they will help and has a worthy cause.
The key publics have a general knowledge about the existence of the Girl Scouts, but likely do not
know the extent of activities or education the organization provides to the girls. Individuals might
think of the Girl Scouts an organization who sells yummy cookies, but most are unaware of the
STEM Program or other activities the organization offers to girls. The majority of individuals know
someone who has participated in Girl Scouts in some form, and about half of the individuals know a
girl currently in the Girl Scout organization.

Research shows that the best way to reach our public through social media would be through
Facebook. Parents are most likely to use Facebook and they use it often. Mothers are more likely to
use social networking sites than fathers are. The second most used site by mothers is Pinterest.
Twitter and Instagram are the social networking sites used least by both mothers and fathers.

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GOALS:
GOAL 1: Recruit more adult volunteers for the GSWNY
GOAL 2: Gain overall awareness about GSWNY and its role/benefit to society

OBJECTIVES:
OBJECTIVE 1: Increase the amount of adult volunteers participating in GSWNY from 6,141 to
7,000 by the end of September 2017.
OBJECTIVE 2: Increase GSWNY participation in rural areas by 15 percent by the end of
September 2017.
OBJECTIVE 3: Increase Facebook page likes from 3,877 to at least 5,000 by the end of September
2017.
OBJECTIVE 4: Increase Twitter followers from 565 to at least 1,000 by the end of September
2017.
OBJECTIVE 5: Increase Instagram followers from 291 to at least 500 by the end of September
2017.
OBJECTIVE 6: Increase Pinterest followers from 587 to at least 650 by the end of September 2017.
OBJECTIVE 7: Increase Snapchat followers from 25 to at least 100 by the end of September 2017.

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RECOMMENDATION OUTLINE
STRATEGY A: Enhance social media efforts
TACTIC 1: Create a more personal and relatable presence on all social media platforms
TACTIC 2: Establish a more consistent posting schedule
STRATEGY B: Monitor the Web
TACTIC 1: Use Google Alerts
STRATEGY C: Media relations
TACTIC 1: Feature STEM program through creative materials
TACTIC 2: Feature local troop on local news station
STRATEGY D: Increase outreach efforts
TACTIC 1: Create new posters
TACTIC 2: Design T-shirts for new volunteers
TACTIC 3: Participate in county fairs
TACTIC 4: Sponsored advertisements on Facebook
TACTIC 5: Sponsor events
STRATEGY E: Improve social awareness
TACTIC 1: Design new T-shirt to sell
TACTIC 2: Troop Locator Page on Website

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MESSAGE DESIGN
Beyond Cookies & Crafts:
Our core message for this campaign is Beyond Cookies and Crafts, reiterating the fact that
being a volunteer involved with the GSWNY provides a more influential purpose that goes beyond
the standard stereotype of the cookie and craft-loving troop. The leadership experience and value
volunteers experience while positively transforming young girls lives is something not to be
understated. We will use both nonverbal and verbal communication to project our core message,
including TV spots, promotional items (t-shirts/ posters) and social media. While implementing our
campaign, we will stress the word beyond, as it will be repeated often in messaging as well as in our
campaign slogan.
For this campaign, we are focusing our approach on the two main persuasive appeals: logos and
pathos. For the majority of our tactics, we will highlight the many benefits of volunteering in a factbased approach (logos). These approaches include focusing on media relations that feature
GSWNYs STEM efforts with other general benefits. Additionally, a focus on increasing outreach
efforts through social media along with promotional items will be implemented. Such efforts will be
demonstrated throughout the community to enhance GSWNYs grassroots advancement, leading to
an increase of volunteers participating within the organization. We will also use the emotional appeal
of pathos to connect with the intended audience, featuring hardworking, personal vignettes to create
a more personal projection of the great influence being a part of GSWNY can have.

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STRATEGY A: ENHANCE SOCIAL MEDIA EFFORTS:

Social media has become absolutely essential for the growth of any organization. GSWNY has a
simple social media foundation that we can easily build upon, creating a more illuminating platform
that relates to our intended audience. Through utilizing specific tactics that will create a more
personal, dynamic presence online, we will spread awareness of the nonprofit at little to no
cost. Relate to research findings.
TACTIC 1: Create a more personal and relatable presence on all social media platforms
Throughout all social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and
Snapchat, we would like to create a more relatable presence featuring more personal stories that
connect to a broader audience. We will focus specifically on the most influencing media platforms.
Below are detailed descriptions of how to incorporate this approach into all GSWNY profiles:

Instagram
Instagram is at the forefront of social media as it is one of the most prominent and influential media
powerhouses. GSWNY has a simple presence with a very modest following on Instagram. Mainly,
GSWNY features product pictures and event posters (see next page), which is not necessarily bad,
but we would like to see more volunteer and Scout features that show just how much of an
impression the nonprofit has made. Providing content on a more personal level will attract a large
audience. A balance of fun, relatable posts with the standard product and event postings is what
to ideally aim for.
Taking a note from the popular Humans of New York blog, an online, narrative photo album of
individuals around the New York City area that has gained notoriety for creating meaningful, short
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content via Instagram and Facebook, we would like to see Scout members and volunteer pictures
with attached quotes about their experiences participating in GSWNY.
Posts like these can be a mix of more simple posts with a funny little quote, or be a little longer and
anecdotal. Pictures of troop members talking about their hopes and dreams for the future or
volunteers actively working with the young girls would be great starting points to kick off a more
dynamic and personalized profile (see creative materials).

Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest:

In order to cultivate a larger following, the first step is to connect the GSWNY Twitter, Pinterest
and Facebook accounts even more with Instagram, using relevant and popular hashtags and
constantly cross- posting selected images. Simply tagging each post with #girlscouts and #GSWNY
can substantially help photos reach a wider audience, but we feel more can be done. For example, it
is key to check up on current trending hashtags that are relevant to the brand, like the popular
hashtag #ImAGirl, which is a New York City created- campaign that is targeted to young women
with the set purpose to empower girls self-esteem. The hashtag itself has a large following and girls
looking up the hashtag will easily be drawn to the GSWNY page.
Additionally, it is crucial to engage with followers and, for the most part, GSWNY has done a pretty
decent job at this, though more can always be done. We suggest liking more postings from others
relating to the brand and commenting more on such posts. Signing your name at the bottom of a
comment left on someones post is another simple but influential way to connect with the audience..
Connecting more with the alumni of GSWNY is a wonderful way to bring in more recognition for
the nonprofit. More pictures of past troops and volunteers posted on these media platforms adds a
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great, personal touch. Such posts can be sent out on Thursdays and tagged with the popular hashtag
#tbt (throwback Thursday). With these posts, GSWNY should consider reconnecting with alumni
who are now successful women who grew up molded by the Girl Scouts. Whether the alumni is a
prestigious doctor, a self-starting business owner or proud mother, highlighting how the Girl Scouts
encouraged such women growing up can add both a logical and emotional appeal to the overall
content produced.
Additionally, linking positive stories about the organization from notable sources on Twitter,
Pinterest or Facebook is a fantastic way to drive more traffic and add more dynamic content. The
Huffington Post, for example, just released a story on the lasting benefits of being a Girl Scout and
volunteer. Such an article would be a perfect asset to any one of the GSWNY media profiles. It is
also recommended to tag the source (for example, @HuffingtonPost) to a Tweet or Facebook
post to add even more engagement. (An example tweet can be found under the creative materials
section for reference).
SNAPCHAT:
Snapchat is relatively new to GSWNY and has a modest following. To help with reaching a larger
crowd of people, we suggest continuing the promotion of the Snapchat account on all social media
platforms. It is imperative to remind the public that the nonprofit has an account and, in time, more
followers on Snapchat will come.

As for content, featuring live snaps of events and active group members is a fantastic way to show
the general public what the nonprofit has to offer, which will lead to more participants overall. The
Snapchat account username and password could also be temporarily given to a troop member or
volunteer for a day during a group meeting or event so that viewers can see GSWNY life through
the eyes of current participants.
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GSWNY BLOG:
We love the fact that GSWNY has cultivated a personal blog dedicated to the WNY sector of Girl
Scout troops. The content already published on the blog is quite dynamic and we suggest promoting
the pieces/ photos more on all social media platforms, especially on Instagram. We would also
recommend getting a proper domain name for the blog, which is a moderately-priced expense and
very simple to do. A domain name helps search engines locate the blog quicker and is ultimately
easier for the public to remember. An example domain name could be, www.gswny.blog.com or
something to that liking. Such a domain name can be set up through Wordpress for around 50
dollars and can be activated immediately once purchased. Little changes like this will help the
intended audience engage with the creative content featured on the blog as well as gain recognition
for the publishing efforts already put in place by the nonprofit.
Tactic 2: Establish a more consistent posting schedule with more diverse and creative
content
Creating a more consistent posting schedule for all social media platforms is key to gradually
improving overall presence, leading to a greater number of followers and active participants. There is
a free tool that we highly recommend called Buffer. This app, which can be accessed online, helps
reach your audience at the right times, driving more clicks on your posts and traffic to your site
while aiding in increasing fan engagement. Additionally, Buffer makes it effortless to consistently
schedule content on social media while providing powerful publishing tools that help share content
across multiple social networks. By using Buffer, the nonprofit will be able to view in-depth social
media data as well as schedule posts at the most prominent times based on given analytics.

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Generally speaking, one or two posts on Instagram/ Facebook and three or four posts on Twitter
daily is a good goal to start out with. The posts overall should be less focused on quantity and more
on quality. Pinterest, the blog, and Snapchat postings can be a little more relaxed, although it is key
to maintain consistent content through these platforms as well.

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STRATEGY B: MONITOR THE WEB

In order to maintain a good reputation and build close relationships with the audience, we need to
keep an eye on the social media sites we are trying to enhance. See what is being said, good or bad,
and respond or react. Did a Girl Scout have a bad experience with her troop? Was she left out or
feeling uncomfortable? If so, its most likely that she or her parents will react online. Did a Girl
Scout have a memorable time at camp or selling cookies? She will also make it known how amazing
her experience was via the Web. Consumer created content is the fastest growing medium on the
Web today so we need to make sure we use it to our advantage. Negativity spreads like wildfire,
especially in an environment thats open 24/7. Any online content, positive or negative, impacts
how people view the organization. Having a good reputation doesnt come automatically. It is built - one tweet at a time, one Facebook like after another, blog after blog, guest post after guest post.
After conducting research, we found that GSWNY has a relatively low media presence on their
social media sites, however, once establishing a more consistent posting schedule with more diverse
and creative content the next step would be to monitor the content and build strong relationships
with the public via the web.
TACTIC 1: Use Google Alerts
The best type of monitoring systems are those that happen automatically. We strongly recommend
utilizing Google Alerts. This application automatically sends you emails based on specific queries
you set up. For instance, you could set up alerts for your name, your company's name (GSWNY)
and any common misspellings of your company name because bloggers dont always get it right.
You can even specify the exact search query (with operators), the result type, language, region,
frequency, how many, and where the alerts are delivered (email or feed).

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For clear visuals, I have set up a Google Alert for Girl Scouts of Western New York. After doing so,
I received an email a minute later of an article found on Niagara Gazette regarding GSWNY. This is
a very simple and easy way to monitor what is being said about your company. I would suggest
doing this daily. (See the appendix section for screenshots of Google Alerts)

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STRATEGY C: MEDIA RELATIONS

When dealing with media relations, public relations plays a key role in bringing important
information and relaying it to the audience to fit their wants and needs. Creating different features of
the GSWNY STEM program, for example will allow for an increase in knowledge and participation
from GSWNY publics. Having these features available to GSWNY target audiences allows for the
organization and its public to understand what is currently happening, what the current goals are,
and what to do in order to reach them. By having these resources available to GSWNY public, it will
not only benefit the organization by recruiting more volunteers, but also by spreading the word to
attract potential volunteers and scout members. This is shown through different research and case
studies that provide set goals and their plan to achieve each goal, whether it be through social
networking, advocating, key influencers, and so on.
TACTIC 1: Feature STEM program through creative materials
Using news releases to increase the awareness of the STEM program is one way to get its target
audience involved. Each target audience and key public its trying to reach should have a different
news release because of the different content its trying to portray. It is important to know what
information the organization wants its public to know that they do not know already. Developing a
news release allows its target audience to know the basics like who, what, where, when, why, and
how. Who is the news release coming from? Just the organization, or are there outside parties?
Who does the news release affect/benefit? What is the news release main point? Why is this
news important, or what information does it provide that is different from previous releases.
Where is the event happening? Does the location have relevance to the event? When is the
event taking place, and finally how did this event come about. This allows for the target audience
to know a brief idea of the event without giving away too much information. With our message
being Beyond Cookies & Crafts, the STEM program is a perfect way to represent how the
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GSWNY are more than just cookies and crafts. It is an honor to be a part of the GSWNY
because of how each person involved not only benefits from learning hands-on skills, but also
because of how each person involved can learn and use these important tools and skills in everyday
life.
TACTIC 2: Feature local troop on local news station
Featuring GSWNY on a local news channel will allow local areas to listen and hear more about what
GSWNY has to offer to its participants. Not only will the audience be able listen to personal stories
and events from recent trips and fundraisers, but they will be able to find out where to go and who
to talk to about further information. Creating a news pitch featuring a local troop will inform the
audience of specific benefits and accomplishments made by the community girl scouts and
volunteers. By informing individuals through such media, the target audience will be more likely to
want to be engaged in GSWNY.
Many troops have created brilliant and outstanding projects that one would only know if they were a
part of GSWNY or a part of the current audience. It is so important to have a pitch on a local troop
because even if all audiences watching are not particularly interested in the said information,
GSWNY is still getting talked about. This then builds ground for a bigger, more desired audience.
Along with pitching a local troop, Beyond Cookies & Crafts would also play a role in the news
story. Stringing these segments together can show the audience how being a Girl Scout is so much
more than girls hanging out and being creative. Being a Girl Scout is actually about loyalty, trust,
friendship and teamwork. GSWNY is the type of organization where the participants are involved
with each other so much that it is like a second family and we think thats important to show.
A designated market area (DMA) is defined through the search engine, Vintage Local, as a
geographic area that represents specific television markets as defined by and updated annually by
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the Nielsen Company. Local news channels use their DMAs to indicate how well their station is
doing as well as how many views. Channel 4 News in Buffalo is ranked 53 on the DMA platform of
all news channels with over 585,000 views. Using these numbers to our advantage, we can expand
the demographic and target audiences by allowing them to see what the everyday life of a girl
scout is, without having to leave their home. By coinciding the television pitch with the multiple
updates of other social media networks, it not only benefits the audience but also GSWNY because
of the access of allowing for a more interpersonal relationship. An interpersonal relationship is also
defined through Vintage Local as a strong, deep, or close association or acquaintance between two
or more people that may range in duration from brief to enduring. By allowing the audience to
interact with the organization either face-to-face or through different social media networks, the
audience can see that the organization cares for the audiences wants/needs and what the audiences
comments/concerns are.
While talking with Anchor Joe Arena, our team discussed with him financial expenses and set plans
to establish a pitch for local troops to be segmented and interviewed on local television. Arena made
it clear to focus on a few things specifically because of the designated market area (DMA), or target
audience. The DMA is over 2 million people with over half a million followers on Facebook and
Twitter. With these numbers, the news segment on GSWNY will reach a great amount of people
and it will be promoted through their social media networks leading to an even larger demographic.
Arena also informed us that there is no cost to have GSWNY featured, the only cost would be for a
commercial featured during newscast breaks.

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STRATEGY D: INCREASE OUTREACH EFFORTS

One of the best ways to increase awareness and recruit individuals to participate in your organization
is to go to events and have materials on hand to give out at these events. Attending events that
receive a lot of traffic is key in getting the word out about what Girl Scouts does for girls. In order
to recruit volunteers and girls, the organization should have creative materials on hand to explain the
organization and the steps of how to become a part of it. Gaining exposure at fairs and other events
can be greatly beneficial; some county fairs get up to 1,000,000 visitors. According to surveys, many
people don't know what the Girl Scouts do, so having informative handouts and exposing the
organization at events will help people see what the organization does on top of selling cookies.
TACTIC 1: Create new posters
A simple poster showcasing our new campaign, Beyond Cookies and Crafts, can be hung in the
halls of several elementary and middle schools in specific counties including Cattaraugus,
Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming County. Posters
can be given to troop leaders to hand out to girls so they can be hung up the throughout their
schools.
An interactive poster is a great way to showcase a group or event. The poster is meant to be shared
online and a link makes the poster easily shareable. A link to the poster can be shared on Twitter and
Facebook or in comment sections on any website. (See creative materials for an example poster and
interactive poster)

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TACTIC 2: Design T-shirts for new volunteers

There are several benefits of becoming a Girl Scout volunteer and a free T-shirt would add to that
list. Having a T-shirt dedicated for individuals signing up to volunteer for the first time is a great way
to welcome them to the GSWNY volunteer family. The T-shirt could be exclusively for new troop
leaders, or it could be extended to individuals who volunteer for a shorter amount of time. The Tshirts should be a simple design and limited to one shirt color and one text color to minimize the
expense. To see the T-shirt we created, please refer to the creative materials section of the binder.
To order T-shirts with our specific design, please follow the steps below:
Step 1:
Go to: http://www.customink.com/lab?cid=whc0-00ag-7wqj#
Step 2:
Click on get your price, which is located below the shirt. Select your size and quantity and enter
your zip code for the guaranteed delivery date.
Step 3:
Your all-inclusive price and the date of delivery will appear on the screen. If interested in purchasing,
click on the blue button on the bottom right of the page that says "buy now."
TACTIC 3: Participate in county fairs
County fairs are usually a week or more during the summer time. These fairs have tens of thousands
of individuals come during the week. By just having girls attend the Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, and
Erie County fairs, the organization will be seen by over 1,300,000 individuals.
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Instead of only having a table with information, the girls should be showing off their skills, what
they have done in Girl Scouts, and what Scouts do besides sell cookies. This could include showing
STEM projects, or any other type of project done through Girl Scouts. What the Girl Scouts are
able to do in the fair may depend on the fair, so here are two options that could be modified to suit
each fair:
OPTION ONE: Keep an informational table for the Girl Scouts where the organizations currently
have one in order to give out information. Also, have girls individually enter into categories (this
might mean that they will be scattered throughout the fair in different locations) and wear their
uniform at the fair to represent the organization. At their stations, girls can refer people to the
informational table either verbally or with a sign.
OPTION TWO: Try to have a central location for the organization to set up. In this area, have an
informational table near the entrance. Have the girls present projects of any kind while wearing their
uniforms. If this is the setup, girls might not be able to enter projects into the fair, but it will be a
good central location for everyone to visit and see the different, lesser known, aspects of Girl
Scouts. If girls are not able to enter projects into the fair, the organization can provide volunteer
judges and get prizes on a donation basis to give girls an incentive to participating.
In both scenarios, the informational table will have a banner of some sort that says Beyond
Cookies and Crafts. The table will hold any informational material that is usually brought to the fair
or recruiting events. Representatives will be there and current volunteers should be available for
questions if need be. The cost of each girl to participate, or any other costs associated with
participating in the fair, can be provided by individual troop fundraisers.

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The contact information for these three fairs are listed below:
Erie County Fair
Phone: (716) 649-3900
Email: entries@ecfair.org
Chautauqua County Fair
Phone: 716-366-4752
Email: cofair@netsync.net
Cattaraugus County Fair:
Phone: (716)938-9146
Email: ccflvs@hotmail.com
TACTIC 4: Sponsored Advertisements on Facebook
The process: To get started with your sponsored Facebook ad, you could go through an
advertising agency or you could utilize Facebook for Business
(https://www.facebook.com/business/) which allows you to create ads in Ads Manager. (See
Appendix for screenshots of the website.) The first step in Ads Manager is to choose an objective
for your campaign. Do you want to increase conversations on your website? Promote your page?
Reach people near your nonprofit? Raise attendance at your events? Next, you need to name your
campaign and choose your audience. You can choose audience characteristics such as age, gender,
interests, location and more. The location targeting allows you to reach customers in key locations
by country, state/province, city and zip code. This information comes from people's stated location
on their Facebook timeline and is validated by their IP (Internet Protocol) address. This can be
super beneficial to GSWNY because the nonprofit is trying to recruit more volunteers across nine
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specific counties. For example, if you would like to see volunteer rates increase in the Wyoming
County area, simply create an ad directed to those who live in that specific county. As far as
demographics, you can refine your ad's target audience based on content people have shared about
themselves in their Facebook profiles, such as age, gender, relationship status, education and type of
work they do. This can also be very beneficial if you are trying to target people within a certain age.
Next you would need to set your budget and ad schedule and begin to actually create your ad by
choosing images and adding text and links to make it stand out. (Components for effective ads are
described on the next page.)
There is no set cost for ads when using Facebook Manager. You chose a budget for your ad, which
is the total amount you want to spend. Then youll choose a bid, the amount youre willing to pay to
have customers see your ad and click it or take some other action, so the cost is completely up to
your organization's budget and you can adjust your budget or bid in Ads Manager at any time.
You can choose where you want your ad to appear and preview what it'll look like before you
submit it to Facebook. You can choose for your ad to appear in news feed on desktop computers,
news feed on mobile phones and tablets, or the right column of any page on Facebook. (See
example images in Appendix.)
In this case, I would suggest creating one advertisement that targets the nine rural counties we are
hoping to recruit more volunteers from. You can make the ad very specific to the people in that
county. For an example you could say, Wyoming County have you volunteered in your local Girl
Scout troop lately? If not, click here http://www.gswny.org/volunteer-opportunities to get
involved. Older generations might be mind boggled that the ad is location specific and they might
be interested enough to click the link and learn more. Really taking advantage of targeting specific
people in specific areas can be extremely beneficial. I would also suggest creating an ad that features
The Beyond Cookies and Crafts campaign. This might draw in a completely new crowd of people
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since its a new campaign. This ad could also mention the campaign t-shirts that are for sale as a
good incentive
Effective Ad Content: There are 890 million people signing into Facebook every single day, so lets
use that large number to our advantage. The trouble is, posting on Facebook alone isn't enough
anymore for most companies. Throwing money at Facebook to drive people to your page and
sending them to your website only works if you're smart about it. One way to be smart about it is to
create optimized Facebook ads targeted at the right audience. Optimized ads can help you spend
your budget wisely and see a positive return on your investment.
Its good to keep in mind that people are signing into their Facebook account daily to stay updated
on their social lives, not necessarily to check out products or companies. This is why keeping four
components in mind is important for any Facebook ad you create.
The first component is to make sure the ad is visual. Visual content is treated more favorably in the
Facebook world. Visual content is more engaging in the ever-changing News Feed and, therefore, is
more likely to catch the eye of your potential audience. The image should be visually appealing and
attention grabbing.
The second component is to make sure the ad is relevant. It seems like common sense, but if youre
showing ads that arent relevant to your target audience, then you're wasting your time and money
and will likely not see success with any kind of advertising. So if you are hoping to increase volunteer
rates in specific areas, perhaps focusing on the benefits of volunteering and highlighting the county
is a good idea. Facebook recently launched a new feature in the Facebook advertising platform that
rates your ads and gives you a relevance score. The more relevant your ad image, ad copy, and
destination page is to your audience, the higher your score is -- and the more favorably Facebook

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will treat your ads. This feature can really help your message be reached to a broad amount of
people.
The third component should make sure the ad includes an enticing value proposition. The value
proposition tells the reader why they should click on the ad to learn more. How is this service
different than any other? Why should the viewer click on your ad to see your website? This is where
adding pictures of troop members talking about their hopes and dreams for the future or volunteers
actively working with the young girls would be great. Perhaps the ad could tell a story rather than
share lots of information about GSWNY.
If I were scrolling through Facebook and saw a picture of a little girl and a quote underneath it, I
would be interested in what she has to say. What is her story? Boom, I have just clicked on the ad
and eventually made my way to the GSWNY website page.
The fourth component recommended would be to have a clear call to action on the ad. A beautiful
and relevant ad is great, but without a call to action, the viewer might not know what to do next.
This can be really simple. You could add the link http://www.gswny.org/become-a-volunteer and
mention how easy it is to become a volunteer. The call to action should encourage people to click on
the ad now.
TACTIC 5: Sponsor Events
Another way to improve social awareness for the GSWNY would be to sponsor events. Sponsoring
events is a great local marketing opportunity because the organizations name is out in the public in
many different ways. There are many benefits as to why a business should sponsor an event. Its a
good way to put the business in the spotlight, it gets the businesss brand noticed in front of the
target market, and it leads to new contacts and clients. This is an inexpensive type of marketing that
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allows for the organization's name, brand, or product to be displayed in front of a chosen crowd.
The organization willing to sponsor the event can pick and choose what specific events it wants to
sponsor so that its putting the name of the organization in front of a population that appeals to
them. Sponsoring charity events can also raise social awareness because not only does it raise the
organizations morale but it also shows that the organization contains social responsibility. For an
organization to sponsor an event shows it has credibility and wants to establish connections with the
audience. An idea Craft PR had for the GSWNY to sponsor events would be through prize
donations. The events could consist of a fun-run, golf tournament, or any well publicized event in
the community. Since the GSWNY is a small business, prize donations is a top sponsorship
opportunity. This is a good way to sponsor events because prize donations cost as much as the
organization wants them to. Craft PR decided to set aside $2,000 for these type of donations. This
amount will allow GSWNY to provide a variety of different prizes to certain events. Some examples
of a prize could range from a gift certificate to several boxes of the Girl Scout cookies for people to
enjoy. This is a good idea because it gets the name of the organization out to the public and shows
that it cares about the community. It can be as expensive or cheap as the organization wants it to be
and it will allow for GSWNY to connect with other organizations and the public.

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STRATEGY E: IMPROVE SOCIAL AWARENESS

Social awareness can have a huge impact on an organization. Its important for an organization to
make the society aware of how involved they are in the community. GSWNY is an organization that
thrives off of the support of the public and the surrounding communities. Its crucial for them to
establish a strong relationship with citizens and to get their name out there in a positive light. The
individuals of society need to gain consciousness and awareness of the organization. Even though
the society is aware of the GSWNY in particular ways, its important to improve and increase its
efforts in order to connect with the public more. There are many different types of ways that the
GSWNY can engage with the surrounding communities more. Its crucial that it serves in the
community and engages in social activity on a daily basis. One way to do this is to explore service
opportunities that are happening throughout Western New York. This can range from events
happening in schools, cultural centers, political organizations, religious communities, or
neighborhood activities. Engaging in social activities on a daily basis can also help improve social
awareness. This requires the GSWNY to participate and listen to the needs of other people. By
showing that it cares about the community and being active in surrounding events will boost the
public's confidence in the GSWNY.
TACTIC 1: Design new t-shirt to sell
The new T-shirt was created in hopes of promoting our Beyond Cookies and Crafts campaign.
This shirt would mostly be aimed at Girl Scouts actively engaged in learning programs GSWNY
offers, such as STEM. We decided that creating shirts would be an effective promotional tool. No
matter what age, everyone loves wearing shirts and showing others what they're involved in.
Although there will be an initial cost to purchase the T-shirts, they will be sold, a profit will be made,
and our campaign will hopefully receive some public attention. To see the T-shirt we created, please
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refer to the creative materials section of the binder. To order T-shirts with this design, please follow
the steps below.
Step 1:
Go to: http://www.customink.com/lab?BN=true&cid=whc0-00ag-7w52
Step 2:
Click on get your price, which is located below the shirt. Select your size and quantity and enter
your zip code for the guaranteed delivery date.
Step 3:
Your all-inclusive price and the date of delivery will appear on the screen. If interested in purchasing,
click on the blue button on the bottom right of the page that says "buy now."
Each T-shirt will cost approximately $5.85 each. We are suggesting T-shirts be sold for $20 each.

TACTIC 2: Troop locator page on website

In order to gain new volunteers or girls, it is important to make information accessible for those
who are looking. In one of the surveys, a participant from Dunkirk stated that her daughter wanted
to join a troop; however, she could not find one in the area. Chain restaurants often use a feature on
their websites called a location finder. This allows individuals to type in an area code or city, and the
program generates a list or map of all close restaurant locations. This is a very helpful tool for
individuals looking to find a service close to their home. Girl Scouts of America has a page like this
on their website, but it gives the local council, not a troop. If I were to type in my zip code on this
page, it would give me GSWNYs website, Facebook, Twitter, Email, phone numbers and address.
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If GSWNY had a Troop Locator page on its website, girls and parents could find the troop that is
closest to them. Another way of doing this would be to have a page that simply lists all of the troops
in WNY by cities alphabetically. Either of these ways would benefit anyone who is looking to join a
troop.

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