[huud-l] FW: Brief overview and summary of assessment so far - media campaign test KC

[Mary Andrus-Overley]

All,
 
Below is a report from UUA Congregational Services Director Tracey
Robinson-Harris on the Kansas City media campaign.  There's food for
thought here and good news about some resources coming out of the
experiment that our congregations and districts can use.

Mary

Mary Andrus-Overley, LCSW, ACSW
District Executive
Heartland District of the Unitarian Universalist Association
445 N. Pennsylvania St., Ste. 330
Indianapolis IN 46204-1889
888-948-4883 toll free
317-634-5384
317-634-5385 fax
317-313-7013 cell

Services from your Heartland District Office and Staff are possible only
because congregations in our district make fair share contributions to
the Heartland District and the UUA Annual Program Fund.  Thank you for
your generosity! 

-----Original Message-----
From: Tracey Robinson-Harris [mailto:trobinson at uua.org] 
Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2003 6:11 AM
To: # District Staff
Subject: Brief overview and summary of assessment so far - media
campaign test KC


Dear District Staff,
 
Thought you'd be interested in this brief summary of the media test.
Please let me know if you have any questions about this?  
 
Hope you're well and the year's off to a good start!
 
Tracey
 
Overview and Summary of Media Test, Kansas City, January 11-June 30,
2003



Goals for the campaign test:

* Increase awareness of UUism in the community at large (research

conducted pre and post campaign) (Reach: Minimum 70% of adults age 25-54
-

approximately 70,000 people. Frequency: 7 impressions

* Increase attendance at primary worship services by 25% in six months

- assess capacity to welcome and include visitors and new members & make

adjustments as needed; track data on contacts, visitors, new attenders,
new

members

* Increase membership in participating congregations

Components of the media campaign:

1.) Bill Boards

. Six locations over four and a half months (rotate location after two

months) with two different billboard locations for an additional month

2.) TV Advertising

. Two weeks including NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox

. Total of 92 spots and 55 "TV billboards" ran on Channels ABC, NBC,

CBS, FOX

. Morning, early and late news, and on the Sunday 2/1 and 2/9 and

Friday 2/7 Dateline on NBC

3.) Radio Advertising

. On 10 stations including country, jazz, rock, NPR; a total of 1,023

spots and 338 sponsorship "billboards" over the six-week period

4.) Posters (donated for cost of printing)

5.) Print

. 8 page "tab" insert in the KC Star - distribution in late August

. Event specific ads in two local papers

. Metro Kansas City/Lawrence brochure with info about all the KC area

congregations for use by all the congregations (paid for with PSD
Chalice

Lighter grant)

6.) Seven public events

 

Awareness in the community at large:

The post campaign research shows that awareness increased by 4 points

unaided and by 6 points aided. The pre campaign research was clear that
we

had "nowhere to go but up." The messages most remembered were "everyone
is

welcome" and the tag line from the campaign "The Uncommon Denomination."
(a

service mark of the UUA) Those who know more about such things than I
tell

me that, given the relatively short duration of the campaign (four and
half

months), this increase in awareness is very, very good. More details
from

the report are available. 

 

Attendance:

We know that readiness of congregations to reach out to seekers, welcome

guests and include new members is hugely important. One of the most

important things any congregation can do (and we did in KC) is an honest

assessment of its own readiness and do what is needed to improve where

needed. 

 

Gathering and using data as a means to an end is important. Growth is,
as

Loren mead wrote years ago now, "more than numbers." And the practice of

careful and consistent tracking of data allows us to know more about who
is

attending services and to use that knowledge to increase awareness about

guests and the capacity of congregation to welcome and include.

All four congregations experienced increases in numbers of visitors and

returning visitors of more than 25% as compared to the previous year.

Knowing that meant that congregations could be better ready to welcome -

from small things like adding to the numbers of greeters, having an
adequate

supply of visitor nametags, forms and pens, adding a "Welcome Back"
table

for returning visitors with different information than the first time

visitor ("Welcome") table offered. 

 

Seeking to increase attendance at the primary worship services by 25%
was an

ambitious goal. One of the congregations reported a 24.9% increase
during

the period of the test. The others also showed increases in attendance -

significant but more modest with one reporting an increase of 11-12%. 

 

Membership:

We did not set a numeric goal for increases in members during the
campaign

test period. We expected that we would not see new members as a result
of

the campaign until fall. In fact folks began joining the congregation
they

had chosen about two months into the campaign. New members as a result
of

the campaign continued through the Spring. The congregations are
tracking

and reporting data through December. 

 

What we're doing right now at the UUA:

Requests for use of campaign materials have been strong throughout the

summer and continue - for everything from graphics for t-shirts to use
of

messages to the ads themselves. Just this week I completed arrangements
for

use of the TV spot by our minister in Rockford, IL on his weekly TV show
on

the local CBS affiliate. 

 

With the success in increasing awareness, the increases in visitors and
some

success in increasing membership we have decided to immediately do a
"mini

roll out" of resources from the campaign this fall. This kit will be

available to all our congregations and include best practices,
guidelines,

media templates, radio spots and more. 

 

We chose Kansas City for the test because of the vitality and diversity
of

the congregations, the support of the district and because KC is an

affordable media market. The costs for media buys in KC are not, as I am

sure you know, a good indicator of the costs for your area. The media

buyer we worked with on the test did a fabulous job - bringing our total
buy

in at about $15,000 under budget and exceeding our reach and frequency

goals. The UUA owns the creative work done for the campaign and will
have

the mini roll out kit ready before the holidays. Costs for future
markets

would be production and media buys.