[PAO] Marketing question

Mon Jun 30 16:57:42 CDT 2014

Lt Col Jessmer,

Thanks for reaching out to the field with this important question!

In my opinion, one thing that we don't need is more "crap" in the sense of
wasted money on give-aways and printed material from NHQ that are not
always relevant or effective. I have a huge pile of promotional material
that is outdated and/or not relevant to the wing. The slogans and logos
used are all over the place in terms of unity. And there are way to many
options of recruiting type materials. It confuses people when they come up
to a CAP display at an event. Either people don't pickup anything because
there is too much to choose from and walk away, or they load up with
everything because they don't want to miss anything -- even if half of it
is not relevant. The idea should be to drive potential members and/or
customers to a website that they can easily navigate and find the
information relevant to them.

*I think the marketing focus needs to be on CAP as a single brand.* If you
are going to spend money, then assisting the wings with specific projects
would be useful, e.g., creating a national video promo to be used on
YouTube, converting wing artwork to vector graphics, or assisting with
creating a promotional commercial specific to the local audience. Here are
4 areas that make it near impossible for CAP to be a single, recognized
brand, and here is how I think it can be fixed.

*1. Prohibit the "branding" of CAP functional areas.*

An example of this is the safety directorate
<http://www.capmembers.com/safety/> (not sure what to call it, which is
part of the problem) at NHQ. The *Safety Beacon*
<http://www.capmembers.com/media/cms/Safety_Beacon_June_2014_20CD6B78A00B3.pdf>
is sent out around the Web to members and non-members alike. It doesn't
even have the Civil Air Patrol logo or seal on the front page or anywhere
in the "official" newsletter! *How can anything official not be branded
like this?* There are more functional area newsletters floating around than
I can even count.

"CAP Safety" also has it's own social media presence on Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/CivilAirPatrolSafety/info>. Looking in from the
outside, it looks like it's a separate organization -- equipped with its
own slogan, logo, and mission. *Is this the message CAP -- as a brand --
wants to portray?*

>From another perspective, this same principle applies to national
activities, encampments, and events. *Does every activity and program
really need it's own logo and slogan?* This type of leadership leads to
clicks, which in-turn leads to hurt feelings and resentment when someone
who created the "program" is removed or it needs to be shut down for
budgetary reasons. Leadership decisions are based on the individuals
involved and not the overall mission of CAP.

*2. Define who's in charge and who's Civil Air Patrol it is.*

*How many CAP units have their own slogan?* Many squadrons and wings brand
themselves to portray something specific, which may not always be in the
best interests of CAP. *Who is to say something or make a decision? Where
does the buck stop?* *Is NHQ there to support the wings as the operational
component of the organization, or are the wings and squadrons there to
support NHQ? From a public perspective, where to groups and regions fall
in? Should they even have their own identity on the Web and social media,
or should they be silent administrative components of CAP?* With so many
layers of organization, these questions need to be understood by the
membership before any single CAP branding can happen.

*3. Maintain uniformity in uniforms.*

The CAP uniform is the single most valuable piece of marketing real estate.
It's what the public sees, and it's what our members see at every
activity. *However,
when is the last time you went to a CAP event and everyone was uniform?*
Exactly, pretty much never. CAP as an organization intentionally ostracizes
its own members who are not allowed to wear one type of uniform. CAP will
never have a functional "brand" when it's own members cannot all be branded
the same. It's time to desegregate CAP as either Civil Air Patrol members
or U.S. Air Force Auxiliary members. I'm sick of being embarrassed to wear
the uniform.

*4. Create an official social media registry for CAP. *
In order for the public and our own members to know what's official or not,
a national social media registry is needed. There should be checks and
balances so the command at the next level knows what platforms are being
utilized. It could also aid in the "CAP Unit Search" function when someone
looks up a prospective squadron. *The website comes up in the search, so
why not the social media platforms?*

*The point of all this is that CAP cannot and should not focus it's major
marketing efforts to the public before it fixes it's internal brand and has
an image to sell to the public.*

v/r
--

*PAUL S. CIANCIOLO, Lt Col, CAPPublic Affairs OfficerNational Capital Wing*

Cell: 301-751-2011
Work: 202-385-9599 (@FAA)

On Sat, Jun 28, 2014 at 5:58 PM, DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP CAP/PM <
djessmer at cap.gov> wrote:

> This may be the first of a few questions I ask, just to better assess the
> marketing needs in the field, and as I'm in the midst of a branding project
> for CAP. This may be a little random, but there is a method to the madness,
> so bear with me.
>
> — What's the need right now for posters, brochures, flyers, et al., and
> what do you think would help better tell our story? What would you change
> about what we're doing now?
>
> — What do you see as flaws in CAP's branding, whether it's in the visuals,
> the brand message or overall messaging?
>
> — Do you perceive a need for tschotchkies — key chains, stress balls,
> stuff like that — and since budgets are as they are, if online ordering
> (let's say, from eServices) were stood up, or if preferred vendors were
> identified, would you use it/them?
>
> Fire away at djessmer at cap.gov.
>
>
> DOUGLAS E. JESSMER, Lt Col, CAP
> National Marketing Officer
>
> COM: (727) 480-9606
> Clearwater, Fla.
>
> CAUTION: This e-mail is intended only for the person or entity to which it
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-- 

------------------------------
Civil Air Patrol National Capital Wing
*"Citizens Serving Communities: Above and Beyond"*

CFC Charity #26757
www.NatCapWing.org

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