Media Blitz vs. Media Noise: What Are We Trying to Accomplish?
13:47, 3 November 2009
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Susan Ellis once again hits the nail on the head, this time calling out the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s (EIF) recent attempt to mention volunteering in all types of media. From her blog on the subject: "Despite the announced list of over 50 television shows planning to incorporate either a public service ad or a story line about service during the week of October 19-25, the media blitz was more of a bust. The messages were all over the map in type, length, and meaning. It took conscious effort to find the teeny, tiny mentions of service and, if it was hard to catch our eyes, why think the general public was aware of anything?"Read Susan's entire blog for November.
And here's what I wrote to a media consultant working on behalf of EIF who asked me what I thought of the effort:
There are thousands and thousands of people who want to volunteer but are consistently turned away from nonprofits, schools, fire stations, etc., because those organizations lack the funding and other resources necessary to involve volunteers effectively. This campaign -- like other volunteer promotion campaigns that are launched regularly -- will create even more people who want to volunteer but will be turned away. And, sadly, they will not have very nice things to say about volunteering, based on their own experiences.
I hope that, some day soon, you and others will sit down with volunteer managers -- those who work with volunteers -- and ask them what it is they need to be able to involve even more volunteers. It's a conversation that's long overdue.
