| |
Our Competition
Competition (def): The Catholic Scouting program faces competition from any condition or
activity that would distract our Scouts or Scouters from participating.
Target Audience (def): We will define this as we go along.
Why? Human nature. Please Explain
- 2 - 3 hour activities vs. a whole day or whole weekend
- friends do activities together vs. not all their friends are in Scouting in the same unit
- sports (football and soccer are king)
- short distance (in town) vs. long distance (camp further out of town)
- seasonal commitment vs. don't need religious requirement to fulfill Eagle Scout
- Other Scouting Activities vs. Catholic Scouting. If a scout attends another Scouting event
on the same weekend, then the other Scouting program is succeeding in enticing our Scouts to
participate where we are not.
- Choice of 2 Scouting Weekends in a row will usually be a disadvantage of ours if its pitted against
a "fun" Scout weekend program
- Public School (required attendance) vs. Catholic Scouting (not required). Can't do much about this
- Catholic School vs. Catholic Scouting. Our surveys have shown that parents and Scouts feel
like they already participate in a religious program through the school. Again, Catholic Scouting becomes
a secondary program.
- Catholic Church vs Catholic Scouting. Units may be sponsored by church and required to support
a "community fest" event conducted by the church
- Unit Membership vs. Psychology of Catholic Scouting (see description below)
The Pyschology of Scouting programs competiting against each other for
the same target audience.
A majority of Boy Scout Troops meet weekly, have a monthly/regular Troop Committee meeting, and
go on monthly campouts. When a boy earns Eagle Scout, there is an intimate Court of Honor at his sponsor
with all their friends and family.
A majority of Cub Scout Packs meet monthly during the school year, have Den Meetings weekly and the Pack
Committee meets once a month. When a scout earns an award, they are presented the award at the Pack Meeting.
Most units do not have 100% Catholic membership. If your unit has Catholic leadership, then the ability
to obtain a commitment to Catholic Scouting events risks alienating the remainder of the
religious denominations when it involves planning future events because most other denominations simply don't have
their own active retreat program. If you don't have Catholic leadership in the unit, this increases
the liklihood of resisting a commitment that does not meet the needs of the entire membership.
If you are a unit sponsored by a Catholic School, then a majority of your membership is probably
Catholic but then you have the disadvantage of Catholic School Religious program vs.
Catholic Scouting (see above).
The CCS meets once a month or once a quarter, awards are done on an annual diocesan basis and there
is an annual retreat. There is no ongoing weekly or monthly continuity with Catholic Scouting programs
on the unit level that builds strong loyalty from the outset of someone joining Scouting.
How do we counter these competitive activities and behaviors both within and without Scouting?
Upgrade our promotional strategy, illustrate our competitive advantage, research our target audience,
facilitate "synergy" of effort, remove obstacles, and use innovative ideas by
harnessing the power of ....
Marketing
Email
Economy
I posed the following question to our Catholic Scouters
What are the obstacles to our Scouts, Scouters or family members attending our event?
When we had written everything down that we could think of, we began brainstorming for solutions over
the next several weeks.
- Financial - we decided to conduct a fund raiser benefiting our Catholic Scouting program so funds
could go toward Retreat Camperships for layoff families, etc. We also considered writing letters to
Knights of Columbus Councils.
- Promotion of Camperships - make sure these are mentioned in articles, on the website, in Sunday Bulletins, etc
- Location - Does it merit having an event at a Scout Camp if its 100 miles away, hundreds of families lost
jobs and every family expense is a concern. Be innovative - move your event in town to a location that has
indoor/outdoor facilities. When the local economy bounces back, return to prior arrangements.
- Pray - that our Lord sends motivated volunteers, encourages participants, and urges those who have financial
problems to enjoy an oasis of spiritual peace when they attend our inspiring retreats.
|
|
|