Hello again everyone
I just attended the District Marketing Committee's monthly breakfast meeting. This committee was set up with representatives from each club in our District who are enthuasiastic for promoting the Rotary message. Although at our meetings, we would have on average 7-8 people attending, we still need to get more clubs actively involved in this strategic marketing committee.
Our aim is to engage with our clubs and come up with ideas of how Rotary can be promoted within our own communities; but also look at our internal image.
This morning's session was a great brainstorm of ideas of what we can do to work with clubs to look at both their internal and external marketing and image.
One of the ideas that was bandied around was the importance of partnering with our community - inparticularly, the council who are more than happy with having local community groups such as Rotary involved. We simply don't do enough of it. Also, the idea of 'bringing back to business' was a big discussion point and this is where the business networking events came into play with a lot of interest shown in what we do every few months. I have also had interest from other Rotary Clubs in our district who are looking at our model of business events to roll out to their own clubs - or use variations - such as a new role of: Business Liaison person in one of their club duties. So get ready for next year when we start to bring business back into Rotary across the District.
Another factor was having the role of Marketing uplifted to one at President or President Elect level and one in which looks at our own internal image. For example, do we present the right image? Do we act as good hosts to guests? Are our venues presentable to guests? Does the AV equipment work? etc.
Unfortunately, a bit of negative feedback for our club (which wasn't highlighted to me at the time it happened) was that one of our guest speakers was told to pay for her meal. Luckily, it wasn't during a business networking event but it highlighted to me that whoever is at the door, please know who our guest speaker is on those nights and don't request payment as a matter of courtesy. It also highlights the role of the host (or everyone's role actually when the host is not around) to ensure our guests are made welcome.
But that was in the past and we can't do much about that now and since then, we have come a long way as the feedback from many guests from our events lay testimony to being made to feel welcome, enjoying the presentations and the warmness of our people. So keep up the great work.
I do hope that in all this, sometimes please let it be known that I'm here for you. Sometimes I can be run off my feet or my mind a million miles away while I'm focussing on the business events but please don't think that I have your best interests as a club. If you have an idea, if you would like to help out in any way, all you need to do is ask - then do. You will have my support.
Sometimes, I can't see the forest through the trees and I can steam ahead with my own ideas but I value the people who have ideas, who are willing to muck in and give it a shot - within their own time committments - and help out in their own way.
One of the dangers facing many Rotary clubs in our district and across the world is redundancy and apathy. This doesn't sit comfortably with me because I have seen the good that Rotary does across the world and in my own naive way, I just can't see why anyone wouldn't be involved in Rotary. But we are our own worst enemy and if we can change one little thing at a time when it comes to our own image, how we project ourselves to others, how we interact with others, how we connect with others in our community and then promote Rotary we would have people wanting to be involved.
Just a reminder that we have our Rotary Illumination event on tonight at Fed Square in Melbourne. If you;re thinking of going along - come around 8pm where inspiring videos of Rotary by well known people like Jackie Chan and Hugh Jackman talk about polio eradication. The show will be officially open by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne and it's sure to be a talking point of everyone there. If you don't get to tonight;s lighting up ceremony (and where Melbourne will take stage along with London, Paris, Rome, and many other cities who have done the same), you will see the Rotary promotion across Federation Square for the next few days.
Anyway, I've rambled on so I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and see you on Monday night.
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