Marketing Challenge for CERT

Challenging the neighbors

A couple of weeks ago I reported that our local CERT group was

PowerPoint presentation for group

scheduling a showing of “Run, Hide, Fight: Surviving an Active Shooter Event.”  Since it’s only 6 minutes long, we planned a brief half-hour meeting for intro, showing, and discussion.

(I embedded the downloaded video into a PowerPoint presentation – see photo — so I could create a complete talk, with intro and some follow-up questions.)

I announced the showing in our neighborhood newsletter (one small paragraph in a 20-page newsletter), on our neighborhood website, and also via email to my list of about 30 neighbors.

And I got a response I wasn’t expecting.

I’m sharing the story here because I’d like to hear YOUR comments.

As always, I try to create some curiosity with my headline to attract more readers. Here’s what I used this time:

“If it happens, you’ll have only seconds to react . . .”

Then I followed up with, “The chances of you finding yourself in the middle of an active shooter event are small, but that’s what the people in Ottawa probably thought, too.”  Details of the meeting followed.

Anyway, here’s a response that I received:

“Suspense, is that the answer to something so important to our lives?” 

 The writer went on for several long messages, criticizing me for not revealing immediately how to respond in an active shooter event.

 My reaction  . . .

•  At first I was surprised at the vehemence of the writer.
• Then I got defensive. (“I know from experience that simply reading a sentence or too won’t compare with making the effort to join a group to watch the video and discuss it.”)
• Finally I figured this subject had simply triggered something for this particular individual.

The meeting came and went.

We had a modest attendance with a number of good comments and questions. This was a senior audience, so the discussion about “FIGHT” was different from what a younger crowd might have had. And it was also agreed that a new version of the video could profitably be made with the setting in a mall or retail establishment instead of in a workplace.

People were interested and participated, and several thanked us for “good information.”

With the meeting over, we went home. But I keep remembering that email exchange.

So now, it’s your turn to comment.

Have you shown the video to a group?  If so, what message did you use to attract attendance?  How did your promo work? How was the video received?

If you haven’t shown the video, please take the time to watch it now, and let me know how you would promote it to YOUR neighbors (work group, classroom)!

 You can go right to YouTube to watch it now: http://youtu.be/5VcSwejU2D0

A big part of our sharing these posts is to get MORE information to MORE people in such a way that they will INCORPORATE it into their daily lives.

It’s a big challenge . . . so I’d appreciate any suggestions or comments you have.

Thanks in advance!

Virginia Nicols
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team