Promoting our core values is the essence of effective public image that every club agrees is important for the health of their club and therefore Rotary in general. Our projects reflect this and telling our stories of Rotary in action is the only way we are going to interest people to join us whether this is as members of our club or as partners in our projects.
This includes our club members knowing about Rotary both how it works, what has been achieved and what is possible. If our members are not familiar with Rotary they are often Rotarians in Name Only – disengaged and non-contributing. There are many sources of general Rotary information but few that tell the stories that are relevant to our members and the community we seek to engage with. One of the most effective sources is the Rotary Down Under magazine.
How do I know that? One source is direct feedback from Rotarians across our Zone on the positive contribution of the magazine to their own enthusiasm for Rotary and its use as part of an effective public image strategy for their club. A more precise example is my own experience where the magazine is used in the process of interesting people in joining my club and has been pivotal in showing people that Rotary is a credible, active organisation achieving the sort of things that are of interest to them – the result for the Rotary Club of St Johns is not theory but 11 new members and 3 just approved applications in 7 months as at today (plus the other 7 ‘hot prospects’). It is also the organisations who support our projects because they know more about Rotary than just what we have told them about our club.
Some Rotarians mention that the hard copy magazine is harmful to the environment and their preference would be to read it on-line. The number of people who would actually read the magazine on-line is very debatable. Certainly the younger generation are more likely to but few others – although I read a lot on-line, nothing is as practical and easily portable as a magazine you can handle, flick pages at leisure and put down and pick up as is convenient and then pass on to the club for use as a PR tool. For me reading the hard copy actually takes less time than trying to read on-line yet I get much more benefit as I can much more easily identify and scan articles of interest.
In summary – digital technology is the way of the future but please consider the following effective and very practical points for the use of unwanted (pre-loved?) Rotary Down Under magazines from members before you stop receiving your hard copy magazine:
· Every speaker receives a magazine in addition to the speaker gift – it is common for speakers to know very little about Rotary yet they are often people of influence in the local and business community so the magazine goes some way to potentially helping them to support Rotary, maybe even your club, by being informed.
· Every potential member visiting the club should receive a Rotary Down Under magazine (along with club information and Rotary Basics) – people interested in your club need to receive something that informs them about Rotary – telling them is just not enough – they need to SEE what we do as part of their decision making process as to whether or not they want to join your club and this is an easy way to achieve that.
· There are many public image activities where the Rotary Down Under magazine can add value – whether a specific PR event, a project or distributing copies with your club contact details on to libraries, cafes etc – for those who haven’t tried this it is an effective activity over the longer-term
Finally you can have the best of both worlds:
· Continue to receive your hard copy knowing you can also read on-line via www.rotarydownunder.org or streamed via http://m.rotarydownunder.com.au/
· get your hard copy addressed to your club for club use (as described above) and you read the magazine on-line
Submitted by AG Colin Robinson, Rotary Club of St Johns Inc (Membership & PR), District 9920 PR & Membership Committee
NOTE: An information sheet explaining the requirements for subscribing to the on-line Rotary Down Under magazine only is at http://www.rdu.rotarysouthpacific.org/ then under PR Downloads
Submitted by AG Colin Robinson, Rotary Club of St Johns Inc (Membership & PR), District 9920 PR & Membership Committee
NOTE: An information sheet explaining the requirements for subscribing to the on-line Rotary Down Under magazine only is at http://www.rdu.rotarysouthpacific.org/ then under PR Downloads
