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Memo

To: Wayne Perry, BSA National Executive Board Member

From: Bryce Boothby, BSA Marketing & Communications

Date: October 16, 2012

Re: Strategic Approach to Hispanic Population

I am writing to you in regards to our current Hispanic American outreach program.

Background

In a 2010 census survey there was a rise in the Hispanic American Population. In fact, 50.5 million out of 308.7 million Americans have Hispanic origin. This is a 9.7% increase since 2000. The rising Hispanic population has low representation in scouting and appealing to this community could strengthen the BSA’s position as a youth enrichment organization.

Having recently altered our membership policy to include people regardless of their sexual orientation now would be a perfect time to truly emphasize our dedication to diversity. A comprehensive outreach program for Hispanic Americans and Latinos could be a valuable and worthwhile endeavor as 35% of Hispanic American/ Latinos are under the age of 18. This represents 17.7 million youth who are potential BSA members.

Issue

While there is an extensive and growing Hispanic culture in the United States, there are five potential hazards when launching a global initiative. They are:

1. Not researching a culture’s (& subculture’s) practices and norms

2. Assuming that the same marketing channels impact an international audience

3. Miscommunication via translation errors

4. Not differentiating between markets and regions

5. Not taking into account competitors marketing strategies

Proposed Initiative

We have developed a detailed outline on how we would respond to said hazards and launch a successful Hispanic American/ Latino outreach program.

In order to combat negligence of Hispanic culture we have put together a portfolio focused on understanding the Hispanic culture. You can find it here. The portfolio outlines common terminology as well as cultural traits and why BSA would be effective in the Hispanic community. This will ensure that we are knowledgeable of cultural differences and eliminate communication errors as a result of translation. It may also be helpful to bring in someone with Hispanic background to sift through our advertisements in order to catch any small translation mistakes.

In the past we have also maintained the view that the same mediums for outreach would be effective towards various markets. White American males are often encouraged to join scouting by their parents. This is the case because many Americans have family members or know someone who is in scouting and have had a close connection to the organization. With this market, familial word of mouth is a successful marketing strategy. However, Hispanics that are new the United States do not have this same familial scouting lineage. Our research has shown that they believe scouting is an organization reserved for wealthy white Americans. In order to combat this view point yet still utilize word of mouth we will target various Hispanic communities such as:

• Hispanic-owned community newspapers and TV stations

• Hispanic small business owners

• Churches with a large Hispanic population (e.g., Roman Catholic Church)

This plan will allow us to enter these communities through word of mouth and emphasize that the BSA is about commitment to the community, not a retreat for wealthy white Americans.

We have also begun to separate markets and regions. On the last page of this portfolio, we outline the various regions where there is a Hispanic market. Different regions will require unique strategies to promote word of mouth referrals. However, we still believe word of mouth is the most effective tool to drive young men into the organization.

To cover the last bullet aspect of potential global initiative pitfalls we will look at two Hispanic organizations, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), and Local chapters of the National Council of La Raza and research their outreach programs. These organizations have been highly effective in recruiting Hispanic youth so they will serve as a model for the BSA to follow.

Based on our research we believe that there is a market for the BSA in the Hispanic American/Latino culture and the model mentioned above will serve as a solid foundation on which to begin. I would appreciate your approval to move forward with this initiative and hope to hear from you soon.

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