Re: Marketing Survey
From: Diane Simpson (cohotheworld.com)
Date: Thu, 10 Oct 2002 21:42:05 -0600 (MDT)
Wow!  Thanks Peg!  What a great story!

We have actually been very successful with WBUR, but it's very expensive.
I'm looking around for other ideas. Who was the reporter at the Globe?
Are they still there?

--D(:^]
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>At Cambridge Cohousing, marketing was done by all of us, overseen by the
>Membership Committee.  (This was happening back in 1995-6 before "cohousing"
>was a household word around these parts.)  We posted one-page flyers in all
>the likely places: food coops, day care centers, schools, etc.  When it
>became clear that we were attracting mostly singles and older couples, we
>formed an ad hoc committee to examine strategies to recruit families.  That
>was when we developed a "home-made" brochure for distribution with all of
>the pertinent details as Sharon noted.  Photocopying costs were covered out
>of our small operating budget.
>
>Everyone worked at getting the message out and posting the brochures,
>distributing at community fairs, etc.  Word of mouth was very effective,
>especially family-to-family.  We also believed "if you build it, they will
>come" and they did!
>
>Our most successful strategy was working with a reporter at the Boston Globe
>which led to a front page article in the Saturday Real Estate section,
>showing the architect's rendering of the site plan.  By mistake, the article
>gave the time and place of an Introductory Meeting for prospective members,
>being held on the following day.  (Usually, we expected people to call a
>membership committee member for meeting info.)  An overflow crowd appeared,
>meeting was moved to a larger space and we still had people standing
>outside, so hastily scheduled another meeting for them 3 days later.  Some
>of the families who live here now remember being part of that overflow
>crowd!
>
>Peg Blum
>Cambridge Cohousing
>Cambridge, MA
>www.cambridgecohousing.org
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Diane Simpson" <coho [at] theworld.com>
>To: "Cohousing List" <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
>Sent: Thursday, October 10, 2002 9:31 AM
>Subject: [C-L]_Marketing Survey
>
>
>> Hi everyone!
>>
>> I am doing a survey to find out what is your marketing budget and process.
>> Is marketing administered by the membership committee or the business
>> committee?
>> Or is it it's own entity?
>> What has been your most successful marketing venture to date?
>> Least successful marketing venture to date?
>>
>> Thanks!!
>>
>> --Diane Simpson
>>    Jamaica Plain Cohousing in Boston
>>
>>                "The people around you define the quality of your life."
>>                    Ask me about Cohousing!   http://jpcohousing.org
>>  NEXT INFO SESSION: SUNDAY OCTOBER 13  BOWDITCH LODGING HOUSE,   5 P.M.
>>  82 GREEN ST. BOSTON, MA; 1 BLOCK FROM GREEN ST. STATION (TOWARD CENTRE)
>> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>>
>>
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>
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               "The people around you define the quality of your life."
                   Ask me about Cohousing!   http://jpcohousing.org
 NEXT INFO SESSION: SUNDAY OCTOBER 13  BOWDITCH LODGING HOUSE,   5 P.M.
 82 GREEN ST. BOSTON, MA; 1 BLOCK FROM GREEN ST. STATION (TOWARD CENTRE)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


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