Getting out of the outreach rut

Do you ever feel you’re mindlessly repeating the same outreach methods?  Wristbands, emails, brochures?  With 1.5 million nonprofits in our country and 119 new ones being added daily, you need creativity to cut through the clutter.  Here’s a three-step questioning process to do that:

1. When is your audience in a time, place or state of mind where they are mostly likely to take action?
Say you’re promoting healthy living.  When do people decide to get active?  When they’re choosing between the stairs and the escalator.

2. What vehicle would break through the clutter in that context?
Say you’re with an anti-smoking cause.  People smoke outside because they can’t inside - this sure gets the point across. (Thanks to Nancy Lee for sharing the next two on the social marketing listserve.)

3. How can you connect the look and feel of your organization to that vehicle?
I like this one - a flyer that looks like a pink tutu.  Perfect.

Try it and see where it leads you.