Direct
Suffolk Ornithologists' Group (SOG) - A Comprehensive
promotional makeover
SOG ascending
Situation
- In the autumn of 2010 the consultant took up the editorship of the Suffolk Ornithologists' Group (SOG) magazine, The Harrier, then a rather drab publication.
- Like many other bird watching clubs, SOG had merely secured a position of stasis. In an environment of spiralling prices and increasing social media, which led to shrinking membership and this foretold a vulnerable future.
- To bolster its position, it was decided to embark on a re-branding exercise to reinvent and then re-assert its presence. An insistence that the logo could not be touched was an added constraint.
Response
- This task commenced with commissioning a membership survey.
- This revealed a good level of satisfaction about SOG, although the issue of static membership emerged as a special concern.
- From the survey's findings the Group's benefits were distilled and the consultant, expressed them with a simple slogan ('For birds & for birders') and extracted a list of ten 'sales' features.
- Every aspect of the Group's media presence was then reviewed.
- Task one was to transform the Group's bland bulletin, The Harrier, into a flagship magazine the members would be proud of.
- The magazine underwent a comprehensive makeover - completely re-designed, with a more readable text format adopted, a switch to digital press, full colour introduced and its content enhanced with pieces by national authorities alongside member-authored articles.
- The late Derek Moore, the respected ornithologist, referred to the new Harrier as now being "the best bird club magazine in Britain" - no mean achievement by such a small society.
- SOG's sales features were then summarised on the reverse of a 'business card' that acted as a short-form presenter.
- To support this card/presenter A4 & A5 leaflets, expanding on the Group's 'sales' features, were prepared as a handout.
- This was accompanied by a set of professional display boards, explaining the Group's role, that served as a backdrop to meetings/exhibitions.
- A continuous loop PPT presentation for attracting exhibition show traffic was also provided.
- Finally the SOG website was re-vamped in the course of spring 2013, though sadly the site’s content remains thin and often out of date.
- To further improve SOG's media profile a Twitter account was established that has hundreds of users and followers.
- Regular articles on SOG and bird issues now also appear in various local papers.
Results
- Every aspect of the Group's media presence has undergone a flight-check and was overhauled to create a much stronger brand presence amongst conservation and birder audiences.
Value Added
Enhancing SOG's promotional presence has restarted the Group's momentum, allowing it to attract both members and eased funding.
