Marketing Illinois SWCDs

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Marketing Illinois SWCDs
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Marketing Taskforce Members

• Eric Suits, Chairman
• Van Bitner
• Lee Bunting
• Jim Todd
• Stacy Stremsterfer
• Brooke Baker
• Gerard Fabrizius

• John Beckhart
• Marilyn Kelton
• Richard Nichols
• Debbie Slade
• Jessica Edwards
• Tracey Waite

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Marketing Taskforce Mission Statement

• To develop a marketing plan to assist the
  districts in educating our non-traditional
  customers about SWCDs value and purpose

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Target Audiences

• Legislators
• Interest Groups/Green Groups
• Municipalities/County Boards/Zoning
• General Public
• Media
• Groups/Traditional Partners

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SWCD 9-1-1 IL Legislative Veto Session

• 2 faxes sent to legislators concerning the
  importance of restoring funds and updates on
  funding status

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Whats Next??
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• Develop a general core message and a marketing
  mix

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Challenges

• 98 different messages
• Lack of marketing knowledge
• Lack of financial resources

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Ten reasons why the lack of marketing can hurt

• 10 - Youre trying to get coverage and attention
  on the spur of the moment.
• 9 - You havent prepared your message
• 8 - You have been non-existent to your audience
  in the past

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Ten reasons why the lack of marketing can hurt

• 7 You see marketing as a necessary evil, not
  an opportunity
• 6 You arent sure of your message
• 5 You want your message to be just so
• 4 Youre making it too complicated

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Ten reasons why the lack of marketing can hurt

• 3 You havent made or kept key audience
  contacts
• 2 Your message isnt really thought
  provoking, because
• 1 You havent really thought it through

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Why is marketing necessary?

• Sell your mission, services programs
• Establish a strong image
• Gives you credibility
• Create and maintain a level of awareness
• Helps you target several audiences

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SWCD INPUT NEEDED