Random Tip 1413: Advertise! Advertise! Advertise!
With the first day of VBS just around the corner (for some of you the corner is a mere 75 days away) it is time to advertise, advertise, advertise! In other words, it is time to let the community know what you are up to.
In VBS terminology we usually refer to advertising as promotion, so here are six tips to keep in mind as you make plans to promote VBS 2014.
1. Start early. Promotion needs to be planned and put into action at least thee months in advance so for most of us that means NOW!
2. Put someone in charge. Do not leave promotion to chance or assume you personally will have time to put a plan together. Promotion is too important not to have someone responsible for it.
3. Know your target audience. Who are you specifically trying to reach? I know you say everyone, and while true, effective VBS promotion means choosing a target audience and putting all your efforts towards promoting to that audience in a way that grabs their attention.
4. Use a variety of techniques or methods. A banner is great but most people who drive by will never see it. Postcards are awesome but become one of many pieces of mail a family receives each week. Posters in store windows are fantastic providing everyone who walks by is not distracted by something else at the time. Effective VBS promotion requires all of these methods and more. No one method is so good it can stand on its own.
5. Be creative. The purpose of promotion is to attract and hold attention which means your information has to be presented in a way that is more creative than the next guy – and I’m not just talking about the Bible school at the next church down the street. Your VBS message is competing with every other message in town whether it be the little league car wash or the daily special at McDonald’s.
6. Make quality a priority. First impressions do make a difference and your promotion will be a powerful reflection of the quality of your event.
Jerry Wooley, @vbsguy, has served as Lifeway’s VBS Ministry Specialist since 2006.
I am the Children’s Minister at FBC Ozark. We are setting up a mini carnival in the neightborhoods on Friday and Saturday BEFORE VBS to get attention and hand out flyers, etc. We will also have registration table set up on site. We offer van pick up as well. We find that a van ministry for VBS makes a HUGE difference in attendance.
Also, I visit the school and invite kids to VBS before summer break begins.
We do door hangers in neighbrhoods and apartment complexes before the event as well.