[ SHOWGSD-L ] Now Foundation Dinner
- From: "Kathaleen Strong" <inflight@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <TISHW@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:28:47 -0700
Actually, I have supported the foundation dinner 2 out of the last 3 years.
We went to the one in Denver -- it was an absolutely enjoyable evening. We
had a good time and the money flowed. In Beaumont -- well, it was really a
VERY quiet affair which while good intentioned, wasn't enjoyable enough to
entice us to attend again this year. If the Foundation wants people to take
time out of their busy schedules, they might try to use their considerable
power to affect some of these changes:
1) Scheduling of the show needs to be done in such a fashion that the
judging of the show isn't ending every day at 6pm or later. With the
exception of Saturday, I don't think we got out of that show site before
dark. It absolutely amazes me -- I don't know how we'd get through the
kinds of nationals like we had even in the mid-90's, like 1996, the 6-9
puppy bitch class had 69 puppies entered and I think over 50 of them showed
(all I remember is we were in the 6th group and I think there was a group
behind us), the rest of the classes were well over 25 -- how in heck would
we get through a show like that nowadays?
2) Some folks have the impression that the foundation cocktail dinner is a
'mucky-muck" affair and that it's "exclusive". Perception is a key -- I
know it's not exactly as it may be perceived, but olive branches in the
right directions may be lead to a considerable change in the attendance.
Perhaps the "exclusivity" of the event worked in the past, but as the
economic changes hit the country, this one item may need to be dealt with to
insure there are continued funding opportunities for this most worthy of
charitable organizations.
3) Maybe some market research might be a viable way of understanding some of
the reasons people don't attend it. My first years working after high
school was with marketing research organizations. The way you ask a
question can lead you to the answer you want, or if you want a real
representation of the populace's thoughts, there's other ways of asking
those questions. In any event, Constant Contact has a module on it which
could be used in a two-way marketing benefit by A) finding out what people
perceive about the event B) what prevents them from attending C) Asking
questions in a manner which provides information while at the same time
gathering information: Were you aware that the funds gained from this event
all go towards research? Yes No That kind of thing. This is a VERY
economical way of asking questions. Further, the gsdca.org website has a
module in which simple one or two question surveys can be created and asked,
perhaps the Foundation should look at updating their site and incorporating
information like this.
4) Marketing -- Marketing -- Marketing -- This blood draw thing is a perfect
example. I heard the announcements, I vaguely recall hearing that it was
for cancer -- but some people are very concerned about having blood drawn on
their dogs and then showing them. There are different methods which can be
utilized to make it more palatable for people to contribute: Every person
who submits a dog for a blood draw gets a drink coupon for the foundation
dinner or a raffle ticket for Xyz excellent item. Or... Every person who
submits a dog for a blood draw gets a discount coupon from "xyz" corporate
vendor (ie petsmart, petco). Most importantly you have to Market the
benefits to show people they can have a feel good thing AND a benie too. It
would require getting in touch with a corporate vendor, but with the
Foundation's prestige it's a good possibility that it could be a mutually
beneficial partnership. Maybe you've already done this and since I didn't
participate in this year's blood draw, I don't know about it. Maybe more
information in the Review prior to the National (at least 2 ads spaced
within 3 months of the national). And More of a web presence on the GSDCA
website should be sought to insure that every member of this club is aware
of the Foundation and it's good works -- The new website is working and it's
a great tool to for making sure that messages are received by the target
audience which is visiting. Sometimes details get lost in articles (ie
people don't always read them), and sometimes you need to have your message
appear monthly for it to sink in (hence the ads you see on tv where they run
the same commercial twice in a row with significant jingles which after
hearing them multiple times you can recite when they come on).
We are in different economical times. Different strategies need to be
looked at to insure the goals of an organization are realized in situations
where funding may be lessened due to contributors not having excess funds to
give. Please understand, I am not writing this as a base criticism, rather
just throwing out some ideas which have worked for the organizations I have
worked with and run in the effort to help.
Regards,
Kathaleen
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