In these unprecedented times, the spirit and ingenuity of bell ringers around the world has really amazed me – I’ve enjoyed the puzzles shared in the Ringing World and across social media; the creativity of ringers using technology to “gather” so they can continue ringing and the emergence of platforms such as ringingroom.com is just fantastic; and not forgetting the virtual pubs popping up with ringers using video conferencing to meet socially. It has certainly emphasised to me the many different aspects of our exercise that attract new recruits and keep us ringing.
At a recent Communications & Marketing Workgroup meeting we discussed the action plan and activities needed to deliver the updated CCCBR strategy. I wanted to share a brief update on two of these activities.
#RingingReturns – You have hopefully seen the message from Vicki Chapman, PRO about this campaign. Whilst we recognise that the majority of ringers will be back in the tower at the first opportunity and need little encouragement from Central Council, Associations and Guilds, we did think it was important to maximise the downtime we find we now have. We’d love to see people learn something new or set a new challenge for when we return to ringing – sharing your performances or achievements on Bellboard and on social media.
In my opening paragraph I referenced some (but certainly not all) of the things that attract and retain ringers and whilst these are important inputs into recruitment and retention activities they are only one piece of the puzzle. As a priority this year the group will focus on marketing insights activity to get a better understanding of our “customers”, whether that’s potential new recruits, general public or organisations we could partner with. These insights will be used in the design and update of our publicity and marketing materials. It will also inform future recruitment campaigns and our social media activity.
If you have time to spare and you are interested in getting involved in the above, then we’d love to hear from you. In addition, we are always on the lookout for enthusiastic volunteers to help with our social media activities – publishing content, responding to queries, etc so if you can help please get in touch.
I wanted to finish with the good news that Phillip Orme has taken on the Bells on Sunday liaison role. It’s great to have him on board and I know he’s keen to get lots of new material for the BBC, so once #RingingReturns I’m sure he will welcome any opportunities to showcase excellent ringing.
Louise Nightingale
C&M Workgroup Lead