[Nfb-web] Poor Marketing & Communication Efforts

[C. Smyth]

Everett,



I am in total agreement with you about people identifying in the beginning 
what letters or abbreviations stand for in their messages, and I like the 
way you stated it.



It would be nice to know what a fully sighted person sees on the page, but 
the point is that the entire page should be accessible to all.



Charlene





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Everett Gavel" <EverettG at SuccessfulAdaptations.com>
To: "NFB Webmaster's List" <nfb-web at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "NFB Fundraising Mailing List" <nfb-fundraising at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 3:05 PM
Subject: [Nfb-web] Poor Marketing & Communication Efforts


> Hello,
>
> Since they've now given me nothing more than a bit of
> frustration, I'm going to use "the CTEVH Conference" as
> an example of how *not* to market your chapter or
> events.
>
> In the October '07 issue of the Braille Monitor, in the
> "In Brief" section, it said:
>
>
> "2008 CTEVH Conference Ready to Go:
> The forty-ninth annual CTEVH Conference will be here
> before you know
> it. The upcoming conference will be held at the Los
> Angeles Airport
> Marriott from February 28 to March 2. The Ready To Go
> theme encompasses the
> spirit of this year's conference, which will aim to
> provide attendees with
> the tools and motivation they need to hit the ground
> running in 2008. At
> the conference you will learn about the latest trends
> in software and new
> federal procedures; hear about the latest research;
> explore topics of
> interest to administrators, related professionals, and
> parents; and learn
> about the latest teaching methods and tools. If you're
> ready to explore the
> dozens of workshops available and meet other
> professionals and volunteers
> who share the goal of improving the education of
> students with visual
> impairments, then the 2008 CTEVH Conference is for you.
> Registration
> packets will be mailed by November 1, or you can
> register online at
> <www.ctevh.org/conference.htmafter January 17. To
> receive additional
> information or to request a registration packet, please
> call Christy
> Cutting, conference registrar, at (702) 293-7625 or
> email
> <conferenceregistrar at ctevh.org."
>
>
> Now, I'll tell you, I can't be the only one who doesn't
> know what "CTEVH" stands for.  Since it was in the
> Braille Monitor, I'm going to guess the VH stans for
> Visually Handicapped.  This is terrible, yet all too
> typical, marketing.  Perhaps they think because they
> are used to the acronym, that everyone else in their
> supposed industry must surely know them, too.  So it
> seems.
>
> I went to their Web site to find the full, written-out
> name.  I didn't.  There doesn't seem to be a banner or
> logo at the top, as is the norm.  Though there did seem
> to be some blank space at the top so maybe their logo
> just took forever to load?  There was no outline of a
> graphic though, and I do have DSL so it should've
> loaded in the time I spent there, no matter what.
>
> Additionally, there wasn't even the name at the bottom,
> in the copyright notice.  That "company" name was just
> as vague and uninformative.  On the top-fold of their
> home page, they say, "CTEVH Is. . . A Unique
> Organization of. . . blah, blah, blah."  More diatribe,
> that is so normal in the nonprofit arena. Still, no
> name.
>
> I have now read a notice that was meant to inform and
> motivate and excite people.  I have gone to and read
> through some of their home page of their Web site.  I
> still do not know who "CTEVH" is.  And I'm much further
> down the road of not caring now, because of their poor
> marketing and communication skills.
>
> My point here is, please, don't do this with the NFB,
> with your chapter, or affiliate.  Make sure that, as
> normal common-sense protocol says, you spell-out the
> name the first time it's mentioned, with the acronym.
> Then use the acronym every time after that if you want.
> But in the beginning, say the name for God's sake.  And
> for our sake.  Your Web site logo says the name in
> full, visually.  But if you don't have Alt-text saying
> the name behind the logo, then write it out in the
> first fiew lines at the top of your pages text.
> Everywhere else you can use the NFB acronym.  But in
> the beginning, spell it out.  It's that simple. In your
> promotional pieces such as this text ad to get us to
> want to register, though space is tight in advertising,
> they should have said the name right at the top, first.
> And even if they make the mistake there and don't do
> that, it surely should be spelled out somewhere on
> their home page.
>
> Also, in marketing your events and chapter, do not be
> so vague as they are above.  They talk pretty,
> mentioning hitting the ground running, and the latest
> research, yada, yada, yada.  They do not once mention
> the organization's name.  The closest they come to lett
> ing someone outside their circle know what they
> actually stand for is when they say, "volunteers who
> share the goal of improving the education of students
> with visual impairments."
>
> Okay, that gives me a clue I might be interested. Yet
> I'm still not sure who this is talking to me through
> their print ad, and through their Web site.  Don't make
> that same mistake.  Be smarter.  Be clearer in your
> writing, in all your communications.  You'll draw
> people in then, rather than push them away.
>
> This marketing and communication screw-up might be the
> fault of one or two people put in charge.  It might be
> this "Christy" that we're asked to contact.  But due to
> this one (or more) possible person, this looks bad on
> the organization.
>
> That's another point I want to make.  Be careful what
> you do in the name and with the name of the NFB.  It
> does reflect as a whole, to those who don't yet know
> us.  I don't know the organization above, for whom
> Christy is the contact person.  But it's not Christy
> I'm frustrated with as much as the organization, for
> letting such poor marketing go out in their name.  The
> same happens, or can happen, with the National
> Federation of the Blind.  You do something on a shabby
> level, and it can hurt the NFB's efforts as a whole.
>
> Just do your best, be aggressive in your marketing and
> assertive in your actions, and most of all, be clear in
> your communications!  Be the best you can be, with and
> for the National Federation of the Blind, not just "the
> NFB."  (smile)
>
>
> To Your Success!
> Everett
> www.everettgavel.com
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Nfb-web mailing list
> Nfb-web at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-web
>
> __________ NOD32 2646 (20071108) Information __________
>
> This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system.
> http://www.eset.com
>
>