CAP's Brand Image

[RiverAux]

Not too many years ago, CAP and CAP-USAF had more than enough paid employees scattered around the country to assist in branding. 

Not sure what any outlaying AF liaison officers and CAP bookkeepers were doing to assist in branding.  Their job is/was to shuffle papers. 

[NIN]

I think FW was referring to before that.

[FW]

Not too many years ago, CAP and CAP-USAF had more than enough paid employees scattered around the country to assist in branding. 

Not sure what any outlaying AF liaison officers and CAP bookkeepers were doing to assist in branding.  Their job is/was to shuffle papers.

Darin is correct.  Not only did each wing have an LO, it had an ALO, a RAELO, and a staff which could help spread the word.  NHQ also had many more employees than now.  Also, up until 15 years ago, we had the privilege of MAC airlift for members to use to get to national conferences, encampments, and NCSA's.   We also had "big shots" to help us with PSA's.  We don't have these resources now, and until we can develop contributors which will allow us to get there, we need to step in and do it ourselves.  However, we need that framework.  The Branding Book is a start... I guess...

[danhawkeye]

Is it a branding problem or a lack of an actual mission?

My daughter is in the AF. Her perception of CAP? "You guy work with kids and collect ribbons and badges, right?"  At least she knows CAP exists.

[RiverAux]

Darin is correct.  Not only did each wing have an LO, it had an ALO, a RAELO, and a staff which could help spread the word.  NHQ also had many more employees than now.  Also, up until 15 years ago, we had the privilege of MAC airlift for members to use to get to national conferences, encampments, and NCSA's.   We also had "big shots" to help us with PSA's.  We don't have these resources now, and until we can develop contributors which will allow us to get there, we need to step in and do it ourselves.  However, we need that framework.  The Branding Book is a start... I guess...

Almost none of those are branding issues.  Definitely had a role in getting work done but branding is an entirely separate issue.

[Майор Хаткевич]

Is it a branding problem or a lack of an actual mission?

My daughter is in the AF. Her perception of CAP? "You guy work with kids and collect ribbons and badges, right?"  At least she knows CAP exists.

Funny, was chatting with a fellow gamer who's AD NCO at Yokota currently. Eventually I asked him if he knew of CAP. He said that he did, had quite the positive outlook, and that more kids should be in something like CAP as it gives them structure that he lacked as a young teen/adult.


He's about my age, so mid-20s, and has two nephews in CAP in PAWG.


I guess it all depends.

[FW]

Darin is correct.  Not only did each wing have an LO, it had an ALO, a RAELO, and a staff which could help spread the word.  NHQ also had many more employees than now.  Also, up until 15 years ago, we had the privilege of MAC airlift for members to use to get to national conferences, encampments, and NCSA's.   We also had "big shots" to help us with PSA's.  We don't have these resources now, and until we can develop contributors which will allow us to get there, we need to step in and do it ourselves.  However, we need that framework.  The Branding Book is a start... I guess...

Almost none of those are branding issues.  Definitely had a role in getting work done but branding is an entirely separate issue.

Riv, actually it is a branding issue.  Getting ourselves "recognized" is part of the problem.  The more we get our brand noticed, the more successful we become.  Having "employed" individuals helping to spread things around was a help back then.  We don't have the same resources today.  It is now more of a task for the volunteers, however we need the tools to succeed.  This is where our leadership and our NHQ staff comes in.  Unity of message is key to successful branding, and I think we will need more than a branding pamphlet to make it happen.

[Luis R. Ramos]

I remember a story that was told to me regarding the involvement of a squadron that met in an Air Force or National Guard Base at the time of September 11 in upstate New York.

The story goes like this. The squadron, which unfortunately the story does not mention, was cooking and feeding the volunteers coming down the NY Thruway. An Army JAG found the squadron in the base, ordered them off the base. The CAP LO was contacted, showed the Army JAG where in the USAF regs it mentioned that CAP could be in a military base, and the squadron went back there.

[FlyNavy]

Is it a branding problem or a lack of an actual mission?

My daughter is in the AF. Her perception of CAP? "You guy work with kids and collect ribbons and badges, right?"  At least she knows CAP exists.

With regards to the mission, it depends largely on where the units are located. Some units due to their location specialize in one thing, while it other areas the mission focus may be completely different. Regardless, all units can conduct the same types of missions...it just depends on what they are primarily utilized for.

I am prior Enlisted Air Force, and currently a Commissioned flight student with the Navy. Commanders, Senior Enlisted, Junior Enlisted, and Civilians alike give me the same answer when I talk about Civil Air Patrol: "Wait..what is CAP...Who?"  Then after you tell them the mission and our capabilities I usually get the following: "Wow thats awesome!...What a great resource! I/Somebody I know would love to get involved in that!"

Even talking with community leaders on several occasions, they are USUALLY very interested in tasking CAP with missions and activities. The problem lies not with our capabilities, but with becoming a known force within local, and state governments. Don't forget private sector tasking for select activities too...

It's in the brand image, and with the advertisement. A few well placed TV commercials and radio advertisements would do the organization wonders.

You can't advance your organization if you keep it a secret from the world!

[Майор Хаткевич]

The problem is...CAP is so...vast in it's missions, it's hard to formulate an elevator speech.

[FlyNavy]

The problem is...CAP is so...vast in it's missions, it's hard to formulate an elevator speech.

If there was a "Like" button in this forum, I would have hit it for this post. Spot on.

[lordmonar]

The problem is...CAP is so...vast in it's missions, it's hard to formulate an elevator speech.

Sorry but vast?    Three is vast?   

[Майор Хаткевич]

The problem is...CAP is so...vast in it's missions, it's hard to formulate an elevator speech.

Sorry but vast?    Three is vast?

Because I can just tell someone CAP does ES, AE, CP, and call it a day?

[RiverAux]

Darin is correct.  Not only did each wing have an LO, it had an ALO, a RAELO, and a staff which could help spread the word.  NHQ also had many more employees than now.  Also, up until 15 years ago, we had the privilege of MAC airlift for members to use to get to national conferences, encampments, and NCSA's.   We also had "big shots" to help us with PSA's.  We don't have these resources now, and until we can develop contributors which will allow us to get there, we need to step in and do it ourselves.  However, we need that framework.  The Branding Book is a start... I guess...

Almost none of those are branding issues.  Definitely had a role in getting work done but branding is an entirely separate issue.

Riv, actually it is a branding issue.  Getting ourselves "recognized" is part of the problem. 

You're confusing branding with general public affairs and agency coordination work.  That is the stuff you do AFTER you have your branding on target so that you are actually able to tell a a coherent story and present a coherent image to the people you're wanting to recruit and/or work with. 

[lordmonar]

The problem is...CAP is so...vast in it's missions, it's hard to formulate an elevator speech.

Sorry but vast?    Three is vast?

Because I can just tell someone CAP does ES, AE, CP, and call it a day?

i would you expect to be a little more forth coming then that....but yeah.....I can explain our three missions to a prospective member in less then 10 minutes...and hit all our the high light.

We got a CP that focuses on leadership training, character development, aerospace education and physical fitness.  Its goal is to make our young people better citizens by using a military training model.

We got an ES missions that provides air and ground assets to conduct SAR, Disaster relief, counter narcotics, to local, state, and federal agencies.  We also provide support to Homeland Security, and USAF training operations. 

We have an AE mission that aims to educate our cadets, our adult members and the community at large about the value of aerospace power. 

That's not too vast.

[FW]

River, I apologize for not being clear.  Let me explain.  IMHO, CAP does not have a clear and concise marketing strategy to get what we want.   This includes our brand, image, vision, and mission awareness to the public.  In the past, we had a better plan, and the people to make it a reality. Now, we are coming up short.  We must depend on our members to bear the load of marketing our brand, however National must still come up with the strategy, and a logo which doesn't change every other year... It is all related.

[PHall]

Also, up until 15 years ago, we had the privilege of MAC airlift for members to use to get to national conferences, encampments, and NCSA's.

That must have been in the "other" MAC, because the one I was in didn't fly CAP on anything other then on a Space Available, Non-Interferece basis.
15 years ago we were a bit busy flying to and from sandy areas!

[FW]

Must have been. I was fortunate to have been on two airlifts to cadet special activities/encampments, and had some staff utilize same for national conferences in the late 90s and early 00s.  Ok, I may have been "off" by a year or two. How that has to do with our branding issues or overall marketing strategy is not registering with me.

[TheTravelingAirman]

MAC ceased to exist almost 23 years ago...  1 June 1992.

AMC arose from that which was MAC. Lot of money to change two letters around.

Just, ah, just to let y'all know... TAC and SAC are gone too.

: P

[FW]

^That's a branding issue ;-)