Marketing Coordinator's News
I came on board as Marketing Coordinator earlier this year. There are unlimited opportunities to gain exposure and I've tried to find ways that would best get MCRS out there. I explored many areas to get an idea of where I might start.
One of my first projects was to get the word out about our adoption events and our Bunny Basics Classes. I targeted the local newspapers first. We now have these events posted in the online versions of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Minneapolis Star Tribune. We also have postings in the Pet Potpourri section of the Saturday print edition of the Star Tribune. In addition, our events are also found on BunSpace.com.
Another goal was to get some publicity on Star Tribune's Pet Central section that used to run in their Saturday print edition and was available online. Thanks to the wonderful efforts of Karen Skewes, we got an article printed titled "A Rabbit in the House." It appeared in the August edition. Unfortunately, that section was discontinued in early November. So if any one knows of another print medium like this that we could submit articles to, please let me know.
All year I have been trying to get some publicity through Chuck & Dons. I am still interested in pursuing getting our name in their newsletter in some way. So far we have had two successful store educational events at the Lakeville and Northfield Chuck & Dons stores. I hosted these with the help of great volunteers and their spokesbunnies. I hope to have our name on a list within their network so that we can get invites to come by the store managers, since they pretty much determine what events are held at their individual stores. If anyone is interested in hosting one at a Chuck & Dons store in their neighborhood, let me know and I will give you the details. My ultimate goal, besides the store exposure, is to get an MCRS spokesbunny or two as a guest columnist in the Pet Perspectives column in their quarterly newsletter.
Several months ago MCRS was contacted through email by news anchor Beth Jett with the FOX 21 News station in Duluth, MN. Beth Jett has a weekly segment called "Animal Tails" that runs during their Friday night newscast, and she was interested in doing a segment on rabbits as companion animals. After much discussion, she and I decided that we would talk about bunny basics followed by an agility program. Several volunteers joined me, as well as our agility bunnies. The program is scheduled to air, Friday, December 5th in the Duluth viewing area. We hope to return in the spring to continue the bunny segment.
Last but not least, you can now find MCRS on BunSpace.com. I was introduced to this website by our President, Joanna Campbell. I had never heard of it before. For those who are not familiar with BunSpace, you should go check it out. It is like MySpace for humans, but it is for bunnies only. You can set up a BunSpace page for your bunny or bunnies. I have posted MCRS events on it and they will show up when you call up your bunnies' page. I hope it will give MCRS more visibility overall and especially to those who are not part of MCRS. I highly recommend checking it out!
There are many more things to do and projects to accomplish as we start 2009. If you have any ideas or suggestions, let me know by emailing info@mn.companionrabbit.org.
Shelley Chirhart
MCRS Marketing Coordinator
UPDATE
The FOX News Duluth piece about bunnies on the Animal Tales segment -- featuring several MCRS alumnus bunnies -- will actually be airing on Friday, Dec. 26th. It was bumped back by news on Minnesota's moose population (about which a summit was just held in Duluth), and a segment on the new Pet Daycare at MSP Airport for those travelling over the holidays.
Permanent Link
One of my first projects was to get the word out about our adoption events and our Bunny Basics Classes. I targeted the local newspapers first. We now have these events posted in the online versions of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Minneapolis Star Tribune. We also have postings in the Pet Potpourri section of the Saturday print edition of the Star Tribune. In addition, our events are also found on BunSpace.com.
Another goal was to get some publicity on Star Tribune's Pet Central section that used to run in their Saturday print edition and was available online. Thanks to the wonderful efforts of Karen Skewes, we got an article printed titled "A Rabbit in the House." It appeared in the August edition. Unfortunately, that section was discontinued in early November. So if any one knows of another print medium like this that we could submit articles to, please let me know.
All year I have been trying to get some publicity through Chuck & Dons. I am still interested in pursuing getting our name in their newsletter in some way. So far we have had two successful store educational events at the Lakeville and Northfield Chuck & Dons stores. I hosted these with the help of great volunteers and their spokesbunnies. I hope to have our name on a list within their network so that we can get invites to come by the store managers, since they pretty much determine what events are held at their individual stores. If anyone is interested in hosting one at a Chuck & Dons store in their neighborhood, let me know and I will give you the details. My ultimate goal, besides the store exposure, is to get an MCRS spokesbunny or two as a guest columnist in the Pet Perspectives column in their quarterly newsletter.
Several months ago MCRS was contacted through email by news anchor Beth Jett with the FOX 21 News station in Duluth, MN. Beth Jett has a weekly segment called "Animal Tails" that runs during their Friday night newscast, and she was interested in doing a segment on rabbits as companion animals. After much discussion, she and I decided that we would talk about bunny basics followed by an agility program. Several volunteers joined me, as well as our agility bunnies. The program is scheduled to air, Friday, December 5th in the Duluth viewing area. We hope to return in the spring to continue the bunny segment.
Last but not least, you can now find MCRS on BunSpace.com. I was introduced to this website by our President, Joanna Campbell. I had never heard of it before. For those who are not familiar with BunSpace, you should go check it out. It is like MySpace for humans, but it is for bunnies only. You can set up a BunSpace page for your bunny or bunnies. I have posted MCRS events on it and they will show up when you call up your bunnies' page. I hope it will give MCRS more visibility overall and especially to those who are not part of MCRS. I highly recommend checking it out!
There are many more things to do and projects to accomplish as we start 2009. If you have any ideas or suggestions, let me know by emailing info@mn.companionrabbit.org.
Shelley Chirhart
MCRS Marketing Coordinator
UPDATE
The FOX News Duluth piece about bunnies on the Animal Tales segment -- featuring several MCRS alumnus bunnies -- will actually be airing on Friday, Dec. 26th. It was bumped back by news on Minnesota's moose population (about which a summit was just held in Duluth), and a segment on the new Pet Daycare at MSP Airport for those travelling over the holidays.
Permanent Link
