News & Notes January 2008

PACD to Develop Marketing Plan for Conservation Districts

Conservation district members believe that more emphasis should be placed on marketing and have included this as a PACD Strategic Goal. To achieve this goal, PACD is in the preliminary stages of developing a Strategy for Marketing Conservation Districts. PACD is working with a consultant, Eric Eckl of Water Words that Work, who has experience working with a variety of natural resource-orientated groups and agencies including the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, American Farmland Trust, and the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds.

In November, a marketing survey was sent to each conservation district to determine what benefits districts expect from a marketing plan and what audiences should be targeted. Eric will review your responses and determine if additional follow-up is needed.

The next steps in developing the marketing plan include:

January/February - Confirm goals and audiences for the plan with the PACD Education and Outreach Committee Marketing subcommittee
February/March - Measure attitudes and awareness of target audiences
April - Review relevant marketing plans and campaigns from others
May - Brainstorm menu of potential marketing activities, select subset of activities to pursue
June - Develop plan
July - Provide presentation at PACD/SCC Joint Annual Conference

"Once a marketing plan is developed, PACD and its members will have a clear vision of how they are perceived by those whose opinions matter -- and a detailed roadmap for how to move those perceptions in the right direction," said Eckl. PACD will keep its members informed as the plan progresses.

New Addresses for PACD Listserves

In early 2008, PACD will rename four of its listserves (directors, managers, watershed specialists, and environmental educators) in order to decrease spam. A notice will be emailed to members of each list prior to the change.

Since directors and associate directors change each year, a new subscription form must be completed by the district in order to subscribe anyone to the 2008 directors' listserve. Forms are available at http://www.pacd.org/about/directorslistserve.htm.

Please contact PACD Communication Specialist Shannon Wehinger at 717-238-7223 x18 or shannon-wehinger@pacd.org with any questions or if you wish to subscribe to a listserve.

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