NHQ Recruiting Materials

[culpeper]

Does anybody know why NHQ is out of stock on recruiting materials and if we know when we can order again?

[baronet68]

Does anybody know why NHQ is out of stock on recruiting materials and if we know when we can order again?

In a nutshell, printed materials are expensive, people typically order more than they actually need, and the materials ordered are often hoarded or improperly utilized.  Using brochures and pamphlets for recruiting is ineffective in today's world where we are digitally connected like never before and people are willing to do their own research.

Brochures can come in handy when someone walks directly up to your booth seeking more information however, the usefulness of brochures as a stand-alone recruiting tool is minimal at best and while NHQ is rolling out a new collection of recruiting pamphlets, they became obsolete the moment they were printed.

A much more effective tool for local recruiting are QR-coded business cards.  These small, highly portable and inexpensive cards provide just enough information to pique interest without overwhelming people with information.  Also, because the cards use a QR code pointing to a website, information can be updated or changed on the website whenever necessary, unlike printed brochures. 

QR-coded cards were initially tested at Oshkosh with promising results.  They were then further tested in Washington Wing where, after distributing over 8,000 cards over 12 months, the wing's total membership has grown by 25%.

This link has QR card templates for every wing and includes instructions for replacing the wing patch with a unit patch and for printing cards on your computer (using Avery business card stock).  The artwork can also be uploaded to online printing companies (such as VistaPrint) where thousands of cards obtained for pennies a piece.  

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1YZBl_-XK884M5bw0l3FcZO-S6qbtQ_qZ?usp=share_link

Note the QR code on these templates leads to an NHQ page where the visitor can watch a video, read Volunteer magazine, and find their nearest CAP unit.  However, if you'd prefer, the QR code can be updated to direct potential members to a different website.

[culpeper]

I found the folder for my state.  Thank you

[RiverAux]

They were then further tested in Washington Wing where, after distributing over 8,000 cards over 12 months, the wing's total membership has grown by 25%.

This is quite interesting and I agree that a traditional trifold brochure can have some limitations and probably wouldn't be anywhere near as cost effective as this concept. 
 
How were they distributed in Washington Wing?
How much of that growth can be directly attributed to an initial contact in which a card was handed out?
Is this growth more cadet or senior focused?  I could see some seniors not really being that on board with the QR code concept. 

[baronet68]

They were then further tested in Washington Wing where, after distributing over 8,000 cards over 12 months, the wing's total membership has grown by 25%.

This is quite interesting and I agree that a traditional trifold brochure can have some limitations and probably wouldn't be anywhere near as cost effective as this concept. 
 
How were they distributed in Washington Wing?
How much of that growth can be directly attributed to an initial contact in which a card was handed out?
Is this growth more cadet or senior focused?  I could see some seniors not really being that on board with the QR code concept. 

About 3,000 cards were distributed all at once during an Alaska Airlines Aviation Day event attended by youth from across the state.  A couple thousand more were handed out at air shows, parades, baseball games, schools, etc.  The rest have been distributed by members.  During squadron visits, each member is given 5 cards with instructions not to hoard the cards but to share them with 5 people who don't know about CAP. 

While we cannot say, "X number of people joined because they received a card," we have anecdotal evidence that they work as we've had people show up at unit meetings (with card in hand) to see what CAP has to offer.

Growth in WAWG has been primarily cadet focused with cadet membership up by 30%.  As you stated, there are some older adults who are not QR code savvy.  Funny story... back in the 1980's CAP had recruiting pamphlets which included postcards that people could mail to NHQ for more information.  To this day, NHQ still receives one or two of those cards in the mail every year.

[NC Hokie]

Thanks for sharing the cards, Maj Moore. I do have some constructive comments to share about the website and the card itself.

Regarding the website:

• There appears to be an extraneous apostrophe or quote mark at the end of the red "Welcome to Civil Air Patrol" banner on the top of the page.
• The text accompanying Cadet Plasschaert's picture is very small on on my phone. I know about zooming in and scrolling to read it, but it might be better to print the text normally with the picture above or below it for the technically challenged.
• Finally, it might be better to align the two publications atop each other versus next to each other since this site will most often be viewed on a mobile device.

Regarding the card, it might be better to include the entire website URL instead of just GoCivilAirPatrol.com for those who might have some difficulty (technical or otherwise) using the QR code.

I have printed the cards out and will be sharing them with our squadron's senior members to see if they'd be interested in getting a box done professionally to use in our recruiting efforts.

[baronet68]

Thanks for sharing the cards, Maj Moore. I do have some constructive comments to share about the website and the card itself.

Regarding the website:

• There appears to be an extraneous apostrophe or quote mark at the end of the red "Welcome to Civil Air Patrol" banner on the top of the page.
• The text accompanying Cadet Plasschaert's picture is very small on on my phone. I know about zooming in and scrolling to read it, but it might be better to print the text normally with the picture above or below it for the technically challenged.
• Finally, it might be better to align the two publications atop each other versus next to each other since this site will most often be viewed on a mobile device.

Regarding the card, it might be better to include the entire website URL instead of just GoCivilAirPatrol.com for those who might have some difficulty (technical or otherwise) using the QR code.

I have printed the cards out and will be sharing them with our squadron's senior members to see if they'd be interested in getting a box done professionally to use in our recruiting efforts.

Thank you for the input.  Others have pointed out the stray apostrophe but I'll include your other feedback to the web design folks.

Regarding the URL, the decision was to go with just the root domain GoCivilAirPatrol for simplicity of design on the card.  Much easier to fit GoCivilAirPatrol.com on the card and about 85 characters shorter than https://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/members/cap-national-hq/public-affairs-about/welcome-to-civil-air-patrol on the card.  The URL will be shortened in 2024 when a new web domain comes online (a domain geared more towards non-member visitors).

[NIN]

In a nutshell, printed materials are expensive, people typically order more than they actually need, and the materials ordered are often hoarded or improperly utilized.  Using brochures and pamphlets for recruiting is ineffective in today's world where we are digitally connected like never before and people are willing to do their own research.

I'm gonna make a little "squee!" sound over here and nod violently in agreement.

I'm a *little* guilty of ordering recruiting materials to stockpile at wing. I kept a couple boxes of the current (now old) brochures in case a unit needed some on short order or we had a wing-level event.

However, when setting up my "small" (less than 500) brochure stockpile, I came across several boxes of "older" brochures that someone well before me had kept around. They still had the "cap.af.mil" domain on them, so I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader to figure out how old they were (hint: VERY).

Maj Moore's approach to this is a lot more effective than brochures, IMHO. Printed matter in general isn't super effective, and today's digital natives aren't that interested something like that. I admit to being "less than enthused" about QR codes (dinosaur) when they came out, but I do see their efficacy now as its really caught on.  A business card is a *little* easier to do than brochures and you can certainly create a lot more of them for not a lot of money.

I'm working with my IT & PA folks to create a specific landing page on our website with similar content and links as the NHQ page, and we'll use a custom QR code on our cards for that landing page.  That way we can look at the engagement from that avenue.

(as an aside, when I had Maj Moore's job, I would often get requests from squadrons and wings for "40,000 brochures for the airshow next weekend!"  Even if we had 40,000 brochures available [we did not], chances were that 39,000 of those would wind up at the squadron HQ or Wing HQ basement to sit in mildewed boxes for another year or 7. Distributing 40,000 brochures without some sort of solidified avenue for people to connect to the local wing or group is a fool's errand)

[RiverAux]

About 3,000 cards were distributed all at once during an Alaska Airlines Aviation Day event attended by youth from across the state.  A couple thousand more were handed out at air shows, parades, baseball games, schools, etc.  The rest have been distributed by members.  During squadron visits, each member is given 5 cards with instructions not to hoard the cards but to share them with 5 people who don't know about CAP.

Distribution of 3,000+ printed items of any kind at an air show is quite an accomplishment.  Were these all given out at a booth or were you doing roving patrols with members instructed to put one in the hand of every person they ran into? 

[baronet68]

About 3,000 cards were distributed all at once during an Alaska Airlines Aviation Day event attended by youth from across the state.  A couple thousand more were handed out at air shows, parades, baseball games, schools, etc.  The rest have been distributed by members.  During squadron visits, each member is given 5 cards with instructions not to hoard the cards but to share them with 5 people who don't know about CAP.

Distribution of 3,000+ printed items of any kind at an air show is quite an accomplishment.  Were these all given out at a booth or were you doing roving patrols with members instructed to put one in the hand of every person they ran into? 

The Alaska Air event was a round-robin format and the venue was laid out in such a way that there was a natural choke point.  Shuttle buses would unload participants who then had to pass through a big roll-up door before being able to access the flight line and see the planes.  I planted myself right in front of that door and "carded" everyone as they came in. 

As each bus unloaded, I'd start handing cards out saying, "Here, I've got something for you."  People like it when someone is giving away free stuff so they would usually wait their turn if there was a crowd.  Occasionally, someone would ask, "What's this???" and, rather than engage in a detailed conversation, I'd simply say, "It's for you!" and let them figure it out on their own.

For airshows, we have cards at a booth and hand then out while doing things like hourly paper airplane contests or pushup contests.  We posted people at the exit gates and handed out cards to anyone who made eye contact.  During the bulk of the airshow it's a quiet job but once the "main event" is over, it becomes an all-hands-on-deck situation.  It's better to distribute cards as people are LEAVING an airshow because, while most people will simply put the card in their pocket, there are some jerks who will toss them on the ground.  Last thing we need is CAP being accused of creating a ton of flight line FOD.

[Toad1168]

Thanks for sharing the cards, Maj Moore. I do have some constructive comments to share about the website and the card itself.

Regarding the website:

• There appears to be an extraneous apostrophe or quote mark at the end of the red "Welcome to Civil Air Patrol" banner on the top of the page.
• The text accompanying Cadet Plasschaert's picture is very small on on my phone. I know about zooming in and scrolling to read it, but it might be better to print the text normally with the picture above or below it for the technically challenged.
• Finally, it might be better to align the two publications atop each other versus next to each other since this site will most often be viewed on a mobile device.

Regarding the card, it might be better to include the entire website URL instead of just GoCivilAirPatrol.com for those who might have some difficulty (technical or otherwise) using the QR code.

I have printed the cards out and will be sharing them with our squadron's senior members to see if they'd be interested in getting a box done professionally to use in our recruiting efforts.

Thank you for the input.  Others have pointed out the stray apostrophe but I'll include your other feedback to the web design folks.

Regarding the URL, the decision was to go with just the root domain GoCivilAirPatrol for simplicity of design on the card.  Much easier to fit GoCivilAirPatrol.com on the card and about 85 characters shorter than https://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/members/cap-national-hq/public-affairs-about/welcome-to-civil-air-patrol on the card.  The URL will be shortened in 2024 when a new web domain comes online (a domain geared more towards non-member visitors).

I have heard that there is a plan to put out a new public facing URL and I was wondering if it might be more prudent to instead create a new member facing one. Reason being, GoCivilAirPatrol.com is already everywhere to include on the side of our vehicles, cards, etc. It would be a lot less expense to both the corporation and members to just create a new member portal and take the member only stuff off the existing one.  Kinda like we had a few years ago when they were separate.

[baronet68]

I have heard that there is a plan to put out a new public facing URL and I was wondering if it might be more prudent to instead create a new member facing one. Reason being, GoCivilAirPatrol.com is already everywhere to include on the side of our vehicles, cards, etc. It would be a lot less expense to both the corporation and members to just create a new member portal and take the member only stuff off the existing one.  Kinda like we had a few years ago when they were separate.

While I haven't been part of the decision making process here, from what I understand, about 90% of the traffic on the GoCivilAirPatrol domain is our own members searching for regulations, forms, etc.  Therefore, the path of least resistance would be to keep the member-focused resources where they are and to direct new members and information seekers toward a different domain.  The "OFFER EXPIRES" date on the business card templates is in preparation of that move (as well as discouraging future Recruiting Officers from using outdated resources).

[Toad1168]

I have heard that there is a plan to put out a new public facing URL and I was wondering if it might be more prudent to instead create a new member facing one. Reason being, GoCivilAirPatrol.com is already everywhere to include on the side of our vehicles, cards, etc. It would be a lot less expense to both the corporation and members to just create a new member portal and take the member only stuff off the existing one.  Kinda like we had a few years ago when they were separate.

While I haven't been part of the decision making process here, from what I understand, about 90% of the traffic on the GoCivilAirPatrol domain is our own members searching for regulations, forms, etc.  Therefore, the path of least resistance would be to keep the member-focused resources where they are and to direct new members and information seekers toward a different domain.  The "OFFER EXPIRES" date on the business card templates is in preparation of that move (as well as discouraging future Recruiting Officers from using outdated resources).

And I would say that the traffic was created by NHQ when they combined the websites in the past.  When I was at NSC in 2019, the PAO guys were proudly saying that they had doubled web hits to the site.  I asked if they had analyzed it since they combined the sites and members were now going there to jump to eServices.

I still say it would be prudent to keep the current site public facing. I mean even the Army uses goarmy.com as their public site.  Plus we wouldn't have to change the site on the vehicles.  Also, business cards are at a member expense and I for one (and I would bet a lot of members and units) get nice ones printed instead of using a home printer.

[NIN]

I still say it would be prudent to keep the current site public facing. I mean even the Army uses goarmy.com as their public site.  Plus we wouldn't have to change the site on the vehicles.  Also, business cards are at a member expense and I for one (and I would bet a lot of members and units) get nice ones printed instead of using a home printer.

Much the same way the services have it, we could too:

Primarily an externally facing "recruiting" site: goarmy.com = airforce.com = gocivilairpatrol.com
Primarily an PA-type and somewhat internally facing site: army.mil = af.mil = cap.gov (like the old "capmembers")

But we gotta somehow break the mold. Again.