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It’s time to put your 4-H Revolution of Responsibility service learning project in the spotlight! Use these marketing strategies and sample materials to share your progress, celebrate your success, tell your story, and demonstrate your commitment to making a positive impact in your community. There are a number of ways to create visibility and recognition for your project, your club, your volunteers, your sponsors, and your community partners – check out the topics below to learn how you can draw attention to your project! You’ll find helpful tips for working with the media, communicating your message clearly, implementing a social media strategy, and engaging your community in the Revolution of Responsibility.
Whether you're in the process of implementing an amazing service learning project or you’ve completed your project, it’s time to celebrate your accomplishments. What are the best ways to share your efforts in your community? How can you get publicity and recognition in your local newspaper, on your local radio and television stations, and through public events and photo-ops? Here are a number of easy to use resources that can support your marketing efforts for maximum impact. And, you’ll see that this is just the beginning – you’ll find many opportunities to use your creativity to put together a plan that will work best in your own community.
Let’s get on the same page!
Before you begin, review this brief glossary of marketing terms so that you are comfortable creating your plan.
Please select a topic from the links below
Some important guidelines to keep in mind
Before you implement your plan, it’s important to familiarize yourself with some guidelines established for the California 4-H Revolution of Responsibility Centennial Campaign as well as specific 4-H policies that pertain to marketing, advertising, and social media. If you have further questions about these policies, we’d be happy to help you. Contact the California 4-H Foundation at (530) 757-8740 for more information.
Join the Revolution of Responsibility – What’s the message?
When you talk about your project, it’s important to connect it to the overarching message of the Revolution of Responsibility. There are two compelling core messages developed by the National 4-H Council to describe 4-H’ers and the concept for the Revolution of Responsibility:
4-H develops young people who are uniquely prepared to step up to the challenges of a complex, changing world.
What is The Revolution of Responsibility? The Revolution of Responsibility is our way of celebrating the centennial anniversary of 4-H in California. It is the power of 4-H youth taking action across California by implementing 1,000 civic engagement projects involving 4-H clubs in 1,000 communities across the state. Responsibility is central to all our programs and projects. 4-H youth are a living, breathing culture-changing revolution for doing the right thing, breaking through obstacles and pushing our country forward by making a measurable difference right where they live. That takes uncommon commitment.
California 4-H has adopted the Revolution of Responsibility message as the impetus to achieve the ambitious goal of planning and implementing 1,000 service learning projects statewide in preparation for our 2013 Centennial Celebration. Each project will have significant value, not only locally, but for 4-H as a program of statewide significance. In the same way that you will be looking for ways to make your project visible within your own community, California 4-H will be looking for ways to create visibility for its amazing programs and stellar participants throughout the state. To ensure that our message is consistent and clearly heard, it is important that we all use the same language. Use these talking points to help your marketing and fundraising efforts!
Creating an “Elevator Speech” for your project
An “elevator speech” is a short description of the “who,” “what,” and “why” behind your project designed to motivate a listener to ask for more information, invest in your efforts and to encourage others to engage with your organization. An elevator speech refers to a quick thirty-second to one-minute overview of your organization and project. The idea is that if someone asks you about 4-H or your project in the elevator (or at a professional or family function), you should be able to tell them the most important information by the time the ride ends. Click here for a brief activity helping to create an elevator speech.
The Revolution of Responsibility – managing the brand
Be sure to use the Revolution of Responsibility logo (CA specific) on all of your print and online materials! Ideally you should use the logo that includes University of California personalization although you may also use the generic logos provided by National 4-H. You will also want to use your local 4-H Club or County logo (if applicable). Remember, there are specific rules with regards to the use of the clover!
The National 4-H site provides a Brand Toolkit which will help you create excitement and awareness by incorporating the Revolution of Responsibility into your materials, presentations and daily communications, and distributing to your local media
Telling your Story
Whether you are writing a press release, creating a PSA for broadcast on a local radio station, participating in an interview, or presenting your project in front of your local City Council, it is important that you tell your story in a compelling and meaningful way. You have access to a variety of tools that present the Revolution of Responsibility message in a consistent manner, whether from a broad perspective or reflecting the California 4-H Centennial Campaign. Now it’s time to tell the story of YOUR project – what you are doing, why it’s important, and what you hope to achieve as a result of your efforts. Here’s a great tool to help you tell your story in a variety of formats. Once you have created story using the previous guidelines, use this rubric to discern whether or not your story is portraying the message you intended.
How do we get publicity and press coverage for our Revolution of Responsibility Project?
There are a number of venues that cover local stories – daily, weekly and monthly newspapers, online publications, and local magazines. If you are partnering with other community organizations, businesses or public agencies, you may also receive coverage on their websites or print publications. You’ve honed your story – now it’s time to develop a professional press release to communicate the importance of your project to a variety of media outlets. You’ll want to have some great photos of your project available as well . . . a picture is worth a thousand words! Check out these links for Press Release samples, do’s and don’ts and some great pointers for working with the media.
What can we create for radio and television?
Your press release may get you an invitation to do an interview or to develop a short PSA (Public Service Announcement) for broadcast on a local radio or television station. Here’s a great overview that will help you polish your interview skills. And, National 4-H has created some great PSA templates for the Revolution of Responsibility featuring some examples of service learning projects told from a very personal perspective. You can adapt these for your purposes.
Taking advantage of Web-based Media (for members and volunteers)
Facebook and Twitter can be great resources for getting the word out about your project. Create links to your press release, project photos, and events related to your project using these easy and cost-free resources. Your community partners and local sponsors may also have a Facebook page or Twitter account so see if they will post information about your project as well. You might also want to create a project blog, providing regular updates on your progress to build interest and keep your community engaged.
The National 4-H Council has developed an excellent Social Media guide that will help you in planning your web-based marketing strategy. This guide when combined with the recommended California 4-H social media guidelines will help you to launch a successful online campaign!
Documenting your project through Photography and Video
As a recipient of funding for a Revolution of Responsibility service learning project, you are required to document your results. Whether you are capturing the process as your project unfolds or highlighting the final outcomes, your photographs and video footage will tell a unique story. For more details about documenting your project, you can check out the Project and Documentation sections. It’s important to capture great photos and strong video footage along the way. You may not yet have a final plan in place but if you have great images to work with, you’ll be on your way. These resources will help you with your final documentation. You will find additional information and resources on the Revolution of Responsibility Documentation page
Coming Soon!
Using the new California 4-H Revolution of Responsibility Website
In February, the California 4-H Foundation will be unveiling a new website that will feature the 1,000 Service Learning Projects that will be implemented over the next two years. In addition to providing a description of each project and photos documenting its progress, it will also provide a link to your video documentation on a special YouTube page.
