MARKETING YOUR DEPARTMENT
VOLUNTEERS CORNER
Almost all of us involved in volunteer fire service management for any amount of time ask this question: How do we get more quality people interested in becoming volunteer firefighters? For years we have been struggling with this question, and our solutions have met with varying degrees of success. Some of the more traditional means we have used to recruit volunteers have been the printed media and word of mouth from active volunteers.
TRADITIONAL RECRUITMENT
Various forms of the printed media have been used to recruit volunteers for more than 100 years. Fosters displayed at local businesses, flyers or handbills delivered to individual residents. and advertisements in local newspapers are among the most common approaches. Our annual membership drive—another early marketing technique —consisted of holding a community open house or soliciting potential members at a community civic event. Most of us would agree that the most effective traditional form of marketing that has stood the test of time is word of mouth.
The membership is still the key to a successful recruitment and marketing program. Each member is a salesperson for the product, the fire service. The salesperson (volunteer firefighter) can add life or realism to your recruitment and marketing program, whereby prospective volunteers can see and hear the enthusiasm and personal satisfaction that come with being a volunteer firefighter.
THE POWER OF TV/VIDEO MARKETING
Today’s life-style warrants looking at new ways to enhance our traditional marketing programs. It is wellknown that Americans are obsessed w ith the electronic media (television and video). These media not only are major sources of home entertainment, but they also provide many Americans with their daily news and information about consumer products, world cultures, and economic trends. They also formulate our opinions on local and national issues. An example of the influence of television was demonstrated during a flood that occurred in Denver in the mid 1960s. The Colorado State Patrol, with other local police and fire agencies, was going door to door alerting residents along the flood plane to evacuate. Residents did not leave their homes immediately. An investigation to determine why residents took so long to leave revealed that they went to their television sets to await confirmation of whether a flood actually was happening and whether evacuation really was necessary. Naturally, the residents’ behavior confused the lawenforcement agencies, who found it difficult to understand why people would believe the local news anchor before a uniformed officer going door to door.
It is estimated that more than 85 percent of all households in the United States have televisions and approximately 70 percent of them have video players. The average person spends more than 25 hours a week watching television. From a product marketing perspective, it is obvious that at least some of our marketing dollars should be spent for these powerful and dynamic media.
The U.S. armed services recognized how much influence TV had on young Americans in the early ’70s when they discontinued the draft. They were faced with the challenge of maintaining minimum strength levels with an all-volunteer Army. Much of their early success in meeting their objective can be attributed to TV advertisements, and effectiveness grew with the advent of the videocassette recorder (VCR). Videotape added another dimension to the military’ recruiting program: Recruits could take the message home and review it. The military marketing program has proved successful for nearly 20 years.
FIRE SERVICE TV/VIDEO MARKETING
Today’s volunteer fire service is facing recruiting and marketing challenges similar to those faced by the U.S. military services. Basically, w^e have a product (the fire service) and must sell it to potential members. Many of us might believe that TV/ video marketing is just too expensive for the typical volunteer fire department. While cost can be a limiting factor, depending on how elaborate or high-tech you get, these media can be cost-effective in many small and moderate-sized departments.
Cable TV service is available or becoming available in a growing number of communities, even the smaller rural ones. Most of these cable companies are required to provide the community with services in addition to the home cable feed. If this is the case in your area, it could be an excellent opportunity to get your marketing video produced at a fraction of the normal cost—or even without cost.
Another cost-effective way to get your marketing video produced is to find a local business to underwrite (pay for) your production. (A company or a small local business underwriting the cost of production may require some form of acknowledgment, usually a credit line.)
If you are near a major corporation, its video production department may be willing to help, as was the case for the Lafayette (CO) Volunteer Fire Department, located 25 miles north of Denver. Many volunteers employed by the company solicited help from the company’s media production department. They were pleasantly surprised and enthusiastic when the company agreed to help with editing, narrating, and title generating. Department members had to write the story line (script) and shoot the visual media. None of the members had any formal training or professional experience with video cameras, and the department video camera was not of the quality necessary to produce a professional video program. Limited funds made it unrealistic to purchase a new video camera, so the department used still pictures (slides) and converted them to video format. A basic 35-mm camera was used to shoot the slides, resulting in a tremendous cost savings.
Before shooting pictures, department members wrote a script that supported the department’s marketing objectives and values. The objectives were to recruit a number of quality members for long-term service. The story line began with an action segment that would “hook” the prospective volunteer on the excitement of the organization and to the fire service. It also showed the social benefits recruits and their families would derive from joining the volunteer fire department.
Selling the entire family on the product (fire service) is as important as selling the new member. The key to successfully marketing a video is honesty. The story line also outlined the standards and requirements necessary to maintain membership. Prospective members must be told clearly what the expectations are. Because the tape would be shown at many types of activities and forums, its length was kept below 12 minutes (seven to 12 minutes is recommended). It cost less than S250 and took approximately 45 to 50 hours to produce.
MARKETING RESULTS
We are evaluating the long-term success of the Lafayette program. In the short term, however, the department has seen an increase in interest and applications, and the department has enjoyed an increase in public relations and community awareness. Residents and perspective members can view the video by checking it out, free of charge, through local video rental stores, the library, the Chamber of Commerce office, or members of the fire department. The video also was made available to the local cable company and is shown after city council meetings. This program has proven that even small departments with limited budgets can enhance their traditional recruiting methods. Using the dynamics and power of videotape/TV marketing could be just the tool to enhance your marketing i (recruitment) program *
