West Tarrytown Volunteer Fire Department Questions

1. Who should be West Tarrytown Volunteer Fire Department primary Target market for the campaign to recruit volunteers? Please provide a detail description

2. What should be the marketing objectives for the marketing plan?

3. What should the specific promotional objectives be for Cheynes plan?

4. Given the marketing and promotional objectives and the budget that he has to work with, what promotional methods should Cheyne include in his promotional strategy to achieve objectives and why?

5. What should the copy thrust (key message) be for the promotional program?

Cheyne Morgan raced out the front door of the Target store where he worked as soon as his beeper sounded. In his pickup truck, he heard the call on his special radio scanner: Highway 18 Fire Department, there is a grass fire at the old McCullough place. Thats a mile down the old dirt road just past the Wilson house. The directions might appear cryptic to someone who had not grown up around West Tarrytown, but it was all Cheyne needed to know. Upon arriving at the fire, Cheyne quickly pulled on his fire-retardant bunker pants and boots. He left his Nomex hood, helmet, and fire pants in the back of his truckhe would not need them for this fire.

Less than 10 minutes from the time the call was placed, Cheyne and 20 other members of the West Tarrytown Volunteer Fire Department (WTVFD) had arrived at the old McCullough place. They were able to put out the fire in less than half an hour, but not before a football-field-size patch of grass was scorched. Their quick response saved the neighbors barn and kept the fire from spreading to a nearby forest. A third straight year of drought has the crew on high alert.

Cheyne threw his gear in the back of his truck and headed back to finish his shift at Target. He had worked there as a department manager for two years, ever since he graduated from the local state college with a marketing degree. As he drove, Cheyne thought about what WTVFD chief Fran Holland recently asked him to do. Over the last few years, the fire department had more to do but fewer people to do it with. So Chief Holland asked Cheyne to draw up a marketing plan to recruit new volunteers.

Cheyne had already started to gather information for the marketing plan. From an online search he found that WTVFD was one of an estimated 30,000 volunteer fire departments in the United States and that these departments had almost a million volunteers. Cheyne was surprised that more than 75 percent of all U.S. firefighters were volunteers. West Tarrytown, a small city of just over 100,000 and hours from a big city, had only volunteer firefighters.

There are 48 firefighters currently in the WTVFDdown from 55 five years ago. Although there was a surge of interest in the year following the terrorist attacks in 2001, only a few of those volunteers remain. Over time, WTVFD has found that about half of new recruits quit before their three-year anniversary. Those who remain usually stay with the department until they cant keep up with the jobs physical demands. Fran Holland has been chief for the last three years. She replaced long-time chief, Ken Reeb, who retired after being with WTVFD for more than 40 yearsthe last 10 as chief.

The current volunteers include 44 men and 4 women; more than half of the force is older than 40 years old, and Cheyne is 1 of only 5 volunteers younger than 30. Almost all of them started volunteering while still in their 20s or early 30s. The crew represents all walks of life, and their ranks include a lawyer, a real estate salesperson, a college professor, a carpenter, a stay-at-home mom, and a few guys from the local factory. Many entered firefighting for the thrill of it or because they hoped the experience might help them land a paid firefighting job in a bigger city. But most of the crew stay with it because they feel good about giving back to their community, view it as a hobby, and enjoy the camaraderie with the other firefighters.

Being a volunteer firefighter is much different than Cheyne thought it would be when he started. Last year he counted 238 hours volunteering for WTVFD, but less than a third of that was actually responding to emergencies. And fewer than half of the emergencies were actual fires. He spent about a quarter of this time in required training and drills. He had to be trained for the many different possible calls, including car accidents, hazardous chemical spills, and terrorist attacks. Another 20 percent of his time was spent in meetings and a similar amount helping with fund-raising. Depending on financial needs, WTVFD holds at least four fund-raising events a yearsome years six or eight. These include annual activities such as a chili cook-off, pancake breakfast, and booth at the county fairand as-needed events such as pie auctions, turkey shoots, and basketball tournaments.

The biggest requirement to be a volunteer firefighter is the willingness to make the time commitment. Cheynes time commitment and allocation of hours is typical of all the firefighters at WTVFD. Volunteers have to be able to attend at least 80 percent of the twice-monthly drillsscheduled on the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month. Firefighters also have to live or work near the town of West Tarrytown so they can quickly respond to emergencies. They also have to be at least 18 years old and have a valid drivers license. Page 628There is a physical ability test to make sure that firefighters can stand the rigors of the job. Although one doesnt have to be a weightlifter, the job requires volunteers to be in good physical shape.

WTVFD has never really had a marketing strategy or any formal promotion efforts. Most of Cheynes fellow volunteers heard about WTVFD through word-of-mouth. People are always curious when a volunteer firefighter runs out the door from work or suddenly leaves a party. These occasions give volunteers a chance to tell others about what they do. Sometimes those questions bring someone out to see drills and to apply to become a volunteer. One of Cheynes high school friends was a volunteer and he encouraged Cheyne to join up while Cheyne was in his junior year of college. But still, awareness of volunteer firefighting in the West Tarrytown area is very low. When Cheyne tells friends about his volunteer work, most are surprised and think the town has full-time paid staff fighting fires.

Cheyne thinks his marketing strategy should focus mostly on promotion. From his studies he remembers the AIDA model and integrated marketing communications. WTVFD does not really have an advertising budget and right now only a one-page informational website. He is pretty sure he could get some money to build a more robust websiteespecially because one of the recent recruits would do the work for free. Cheyne also wonders if his plan should focus only on gaining new recruits or if current volunteers might also be the target of new promotion. Cheyne also considers how and what he should communicate to his target market. He knows he will have limited funding for his efforts. Should he consider starting a Facebook page or blog? Maybe a website would be betterbut what kind of information would be on the website? What about advertising or information sessions? Who should be his target market?