A great example of Rotary clubs working together

(L to R)

Richard Parker - Hutt City

Leole Malama - Hutt River Valley

Jaye Howey - AG Hutt 2 (kneeling in front of Phil)

Phil Collett - Petone

Des Darby - Eastern Hutt

Paul Newsom - Past AG Hutt 1 (kneeling between Des and Barry)

Barry Girvan - Hutt Valley

 

The redevelopment of a central area of Lower Hutt, NZ adjacent to the Town Hall and Hutt City i-SITE Visitor Centre, meant the previous Rotary information sign was removed by contractors and condemned to the scrap heap.

While wondering ‘where has our sign gone’, the presidents of the Hutt clubs saw the opportunity to replace the Rotary sign.

Following some close collaboration between the clubs, and several meetings with the council and signage company, a new sign has been proudly installed. 

The eye-catching modern sign, carrying the message ‘Join Leaders, Exchange Ideas, Take Action’, portrays Rotary in a vibrant way unlike the tired, wooden and rusty Rotary wheel signs that welcome visitors to many towns.

The cost of the new sign was shared between the local council and the participating Rotary clubs.

Enthusiastically and very successfully promoting Rotary

The Rotary Club of Botany East Tamaki in Auckland recently put on another display at the Botany Town Centre and  had a wonderful day – meeting and greeting everyone.

Who wouldn't want to join Rotary after a chat with this enthusiastic crew!

The stall was set up by 9am complete with 2 pull up banners & our tear drop flag, plus we made use of the lawn outside Botany Mall and put out 2  more tear drop flags there as well. 

Members were highly visible in Rotary fluro vests and there were plenty of brochures handed out in addition to the public being able to browse  display boards showcasing past projects and have a read of Rotary information from display material such as copies of Rotary Down Under magazine and more.

An outcome of the display was that the club meeting following had 3 prospective new members at our plus a contact through www.rotarysouthpacific.org  with another prospective member keen to come to our next meeting, after being handed one of our brochures.  The club has a robust membership plan to ensure all prospective members are well looked after.

A South African Rotarian and his wife who visited the stand and are staying with their daughter in Flat Bush also want to come to visit before he goes back to Sth Africa.  He comes to visit twice a year for about three months, so we could also have a regular visiting Rotarian as well.

It was a very rewarding day and the result has been well above expectations and these days have proven so successful that the club will be doing this publicity day about 3 – 4 times a year in Botany Mall, as these are well worth the effort.

Submitted by: Dyann Calverley
www.botany.rotarysouthpacific.org

Additional Information

For some ideas about promoting Rotary at events and as stand-alone displays have a look at THIS WEB PAGE

TURNING ENQUIRIES INTO NEW MEMBERS

What happens to 0800 4 ROTARY or Rotary website membership enquiries?

In New Zealand, the 0800 4 ROTARY free phone number is used to centrally receive enquiries about Rotary, and this phone number is extensively used in all NZ Rotary promotion activity. PDG Rob Crabtree refers enquiries to the relevant Rotary districts throughout NZ whether they concern projects, Rotary programmes, general information about Rotary, Rotary contacts or the possibility of membership. 
 

Membership enquiries for Auckland clubs in District 9920 are sent to a knowledgeable central Rotarian, PDG Beryl Robinson, to ensure that these enquiries are handled in a manner most likely to convert them into new members. This also includes emails received via the Rotary NZ and Pacific Islands website www.rotarysouthpacific.org and the Rotary International website www.rotary.org.

Beryl promptly speaks to the enquirers to let them know about Rotary, find out a bit about them including their expectations and circumstance, so they can be referred to a club or clubs best suited to them. She then provides the enquirer with the contact details for the Rotary club, and the club with the enquirer’s contact information and background (which is a two way contact capability), plus asks both to keep her informed as to the outcome. The idea is that if the club does not respond properly (which sometimes happens!) or it is not suitable for a variety of reasons, then the enquirer can ask again, so that all is not lost.

Most of these referrals get turned into new members, and this more centralised approach to handling enquiries is resulting in a higher conversion to members that the earlier direct referral to clubs on receipt of the initial call or email. Sometimes (about 10%) the enquirer is not as motivated as they initially seem. There have been several instances of multiple emails, phone calls with messages left and texts as follow up before eventually reluctantly letting the enquiry process lapse if the enquirer does not respond to any means of communication and it can only be hoped they later go onto serve the community in some way. It is important to note that Beryl's role is the start of the process, and success is still dependent on Rotary Presidents and clubs performing their role with excellence to turn these enquiries into members.

- Submitted by: District 9920 PR Committee

Rotary on the Radio in November

A national radio campaign starts again for the weeks commencing  12, 19 and 26  November 2012 and uses same commercial read by a female voice (MM -3) and a male voice (MM – 4).

Two gender voices were recorded to appeal to different targets. The different gender intonations will create interest and add some intrigue…a tactic not many use.

The communications all air during Larry Williams Drive 16:00 – 19:00 on Newstalk ZB (internet: http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/shows/drive/ ).  ZB is rated number one against all national radio stations with a weekly audience of 146,200 listeners aged 20 years plus.  In addition, there is likely to be an on-air interview with Larry Williams focussing on 'Rotary in your community' with a Rotarian, one who is savvy and has good skills.  These spots will be broadcast across Wellington, Christchurch, Waikato, Dunedin, BOP, Taranaki, Hawkes Bay, Southland, Northland, Manawatu, Nelson, Rotorua and Auckland.

Clip 1 Voice A  Clip: "Do you want to make your community a better place to live in ..."
Clip 1 Voice B

Clip 2 Voice A  Clip:  "Did you know that Rotary played a leading role in setting up ..."
Clip 2 Voice B

These are also on the PR CDs currently being distributed to clubs and there are some tips for clubs at www.radio2012.rotarysouthpacific.org
Listeners wanting more information about Rotary and / or wanting to contact a club local to them are encouraged to call 0800 4 ROTARY or go to www.rotarysouthpacific.org (the Rotary New Zealand and Pacific Islands website)

Sign writing is a great way to publicise Rotary

Electrical contractor and Past President of Otaki Rotary Chris Dungan recently took delivery of a new work vehicle.

Chris said “I’m now on the club’s PR committee, and as I’m always banging on about getting members to wear Rotary branded gear when we’re out and about, I felt it was time to put words into actions. So when I was getting the sign writing done, I got Wayne Kaye from Kaye Sign Service in the nearby town of Levin to include Rotary on half of the rear of the van”.

Chris feels that more Rotarians should include Rotary signage on work vehicles. “When you think of the huge number of Rotarians who own or run businesses with vehicles, we should be encouraging them to include Rotary in with their company branding” emphasised Chris. “At times I feel I’m a member of some arcane secret society. We should be letting people out there know that Rotarians are everywhere.”

How will you get the Rotary message across? 

It is the stories that motivate people to join Rotary



The NZ-wide Rotary radio advertising that commenced on Monday 1 October is a stunning opportunity for all clubs to build their membership, and hopefully your club will receive referrals as a result of this.  Information about these radio clips is at www.radio2012.rotarysouthpacific.org where you can also listen to them.   

  

These clips direct listeners to:

 

• 0800 4 ROTARY – they will then be referred to club Presidents – are you ready to welcome these prospective members?

•  www.rotarysouthpacific.org – is your club website a good reflection of your club?

 

Importantly, people interested in Rotary will want to know what Rotary actually does, and in particular what we do locally, so this is why the attached newsletter is so valuable to you because it summarises our stories from NZ and the SW Pacific that you can use to illustrate the value of Rotary to the community and show the sorts of activities that Rotarians get involved in. 

 

Prospective and new members want to learn about Rotary as an organisation so they can be involved, and the simplest way to achieve this is by referring them to October Rotary Down Under magazine as a simple, comprehensive introduction to Rotary.

 

Most clubs send some information to prospective members, and the following is an extract from what our club sends immediately following the first contact with a prospective member:

 

[extract starts]

To find out more about Rotary, please visit: 
Rotary NZ & Pacific Islands’ website www.rotarysouthpacific.org 
Rotary success stories blog www.rotarystories-nzandpacific.blogspot.co.nz 
Rotary International website www.rotary.org  
Rotary Down Under, Life & Leisure, and Traveller regional magazines are available online at www.rotarydownunder.org    

[extract ends]

 

Give all visitors and guest speakers a copy of the current Rotary Down Under magazine on their first visit.  Also by including questions about interesting aspects of Rotary taken from RDU magazines in your Sergeant’s sessions, you do more than just help educate members and extract coins - you also talk about Rotary activities they would probably not have been aware of and thereby increase their interest in hopefully joining.

 

A friendly reminder: Please let up-and-coming leaders in your club and district know about the special opportunity to grow their leadership skills in Rotary, business and life on 15 October by directing them to www.futureleaders2012.rotarysouthpacific.org.     



On-line magazine at www.rotarydowunder.org

 

 

ARTICLES FROM OR FEATURING NZ AND SW PACIFIC IN THE OCTOBER 2012 ROTARY DOWN UNDER MAGAZINE

RDU: (Page 9) Call to action
(13) Bikes for the Solomons
(17) The best little Rotary club around
(19) Small comforts no mean feet
(20) Pippa’s passion was rewarded tenfold
(21) Hospital beds donated to Fiji Ministry of Health
(23) Top End school gets growing
(24) World First for Rotary
(24) Asylum for neglected children in Samoa
(25) Group Study Exchange benefits 2,900 in the Philippines
(39) Paul Harris Fellows; Called to Higher Service; and Changes
Life & Leisure: (46-47) Your guide to what’s happening this month
Traveller: (58-59) Here comes the sun
(60) There’s more to Norfolk Island
(62) South Pacific gem soon to be Rotary Island

Children's House for Hope in Apia

Each year District 9920 holds a PR Award with monthly submissions and the monthly winners being entered for consideration for the annual recognition.

This was the submission for August 2012 and describes both the project and the Rotary PR that accompanied this:


Club:  Rotary Club of Apia, Samoa in matching-grant partnership with donor Rotary Clubs from the Surfers Paradise area in Queensland, Australia.

Contact:  Rotary Apia: Project lead Maraea Slade and President Douglas Creevey

Project: 

The Children’s House of Hope (for SVSG: Samoa Victim Support Group) is a childrens' refuge that has been built to accommodate young children under-12 who are either been made homeless or taken away from abusive parents. Some of the children are kept in the care of the SVSG while their abusive parents or guardians are awaiting court trial.

Outcome:

The Rotary Club of Surfers Sunrise from Queensland had helped rebuild a preschool facility after the Tsunami in 2009 then searched for another project in the Pacific. Rotary Apia Club member Maraea Slade diligently pursued and convinced them of the idea of a Childrens refuge centre in Samoa for abused and abandoned children. After 2 years of correspondence, planning, matching grants applications, design and eventually shipment - the project was underway in July and voluntary Rotary members of several Clubs in the Gold Coast area travelled over in 1 week shifts and with local support of the Rotary Club of Apia and local volunteers the construction of the pre-fabricated facilty was erected and opened

Public Image Coverage:

Rotary Signage on the Building Front, Flags, internal Living Room signage

Articles in local media included:

http://www.talamua.com/a-house-of-hope-for-the-abused-children/
http://www.talamua.com/justice-vui-wont-tolerate-indecency-against-children/
http://www.samoaobserver.ws/local-news/projects/544-pm-opens-house-of-hope

Rotary Club of Apia Facebook Page: 
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.338891482868298.77277.256088727815241&type=1 - this has a number of pictures of the project.

Full Local Television coverage of Opening Day and Tour of the House of Hope.

A message for all Rotarians

New Zealand Rotary has a reputation for excellent, effective coordinated public image activity that other countries are trying to emulate.  The following is a continuation of this:

A message to all New Zealand Rotarians

(Please advise your members at meetings, in Bulletins or on web sites)

Rotary International has generously provided us in Zone 7b with a Public Relations Grant to assist in promoting Rotary in our community.  A national committee representing each District has devised a publicity campaign over February/March.  You are encouraged as a Club to supplement this campaign with your own local media activity.  This can be paid advertising, generating public interest through special high-profile projects and events or through personal promotion by your members by inviting the community to your Club meetings.

This media campaign involves:

Ø  Television                           12 February – 30 March (TV3)

Ø  Radio                                    19 February – 30 March (Newstalk ZB, Easy Listening, Hauraki and their other networked stations)

Ø  Billboards                           4 March – 6 May (Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin)

Ø  Online Marketing            19 February – 25 March (TV3 online, NZ Herald, Stuff, Yahoo, Facebook, msn.co.nz)

We are fortunate to have Rotarians who are professional PR people and have donated their time and talents to come up with this extensive campaign.  A substantial feature of this campaign is the additional ‘free’ media slots that will provided as the media houses continue to generously  support Rotary.

What can your Club do to increase the impact of this campaign?

Ø  Tell your Club members through your meetings, Bulletins and websites/Face Book pages of the dates.

Ø  Promote the 0800 4 ROTARY phone number in your community – this will be referred to in the campaign

Ø  Approach your own media outlets – giving them articles of interest and good photos

Ø  Look at ways to create a special impact around 23 February – Rotary’s official ‘birthday’

Specific profile suggestions:

1.       A number of New Zealand Clubs have already subscribed to is the Global Swimarathon – raising funds for Polio.  This is a novel way to raise profile and funds for Polio – especially as the event in New Zealand will be on Sunday 26^th February at 1am!!  For more details go to http://rotaryswimarathon.org/

2.       Arranging a projected light display and project End Polio Now onto one of your local buildings – this is done annually world-wide

3.       Have all Clubs in your District involved in an outdoor project or activity on the weekend of 25/26 February – why not have a community tidy-up (beach, roadside, local park)

4.       Be creative and have fun serving the community in a public way

5.       Purchase Polio pins through RDU as part of their Pin it for Polio campaign

6.       Consult your own Club media people for ideas

This will all go a long way to further reinforce and support the national media campaign.

In your advertising you are encouraged to also use "Want to play a part?" as the call for action plus 0800 4 ROTARY and your Club name. Each week a spot list will be circulated which will include bonus spots, however ‘fillers’ or ‘charity spots’ will not be advised as these are at the channel's discretion. 

For more details visit our Public Image Blog or the NZ Rotary web site.

We all have the privileged responsibility to market Rotary to those in our community.  Remember - each individual Rotarian’s actions count.