Girl Scouts of the USA

CRT/tanaka provides public relations counsel to Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA), the world’s largest girl-serving non-profit organization. The agency has supported the 97-year-old organization’s ongoing efforts to move away from its image of “cookies, crafts and camping” and reposition itself as the world’s premier leadership experience for girls and a relevant voice for girls today. CRT/tanaka has spearheaded several projects in conjunction with GSUSA’s rebranding campaign, including an award-winning launch of the Girl Scout Research Institute and a revenue-generating repositioning of the Girl Scout Cookie Program. The agency’s cookie campaign resulted in an 11 percent increase in press coverage, with most coverage incorporating GSUSA leadership messaging.

In addition, CRT/tanaka has provided GSUSA with issues management expertise as it gradually reduces the number of local Girl Scout councils from 312 to 109 in order to make Girl Scouting as effective as possible. Throughout the realignment process, the agency has advised GSUSA on internal relationship management and external communications. The organization credits CRT/tanaka’s counsel for the lack of negative press coverage surrounding the local council mergers. The agency also has provided media training to GSUSA spokespersons and has conducted crisis communications seminars for many of the organization’s local councils.

REPOSITIONING GIRL SCOUTING

Challenge

Girl Scouts of the USA is the world’s preeminent organization dedicated to helping girls develop character and skills for success in the real world. A client for nearly a decade, GSUSA has tasked the agency with establishing Girl Scouting as the premier leadership experience for girls; positioning Girl Scouting as contemporary, relevant and diverse; minimizing the impact of “crisis” situations/sensitive issues and assisting GSUSA’s communications team in building internal support for its work.

The agency’s GSUSA tenure has coincided with a period of organizational turmoil as senior leadership began taking action to transform a shrinking, bureaucratic 97-year-old organization into a nimble, flexible, diverse, contemporary, relevant leadership experience for girls. Challenges included entrenched perceptions and declining membership. When people think of Girl Scouting, they think of cookies, crafts and camping. And membership numbers, down 1-2 percent per year for the past 10 years, are expected to continue declining as GSUSA works to put in place the long-term changes needed for growth.

Solution

CRT/tanaka has served as an issues counselor, helping GSUSA to manage communications for the council realignment process, which is reducing the number of Girl Scout councils from 312 to 109 in 2009. Currently, the process is nearly 90 percent complete. The agency also provides media expertise, including conducting proactive media outreach to position Girl Scouting as the premier leadership experience for girls as well as communications training for national and local spokespersons. In addition, CRT/tanaka works with senior managers to develop thinking around the promotion of GSUSA programming and the re-branding of Girl Scouting.

Results

• The agency played a key role in increasing media coverage of the Girl Scouts as a leadership experience. Press coverage with leadership messaging has increased steadily, including an 11 percent increase for the year most recently measured, including placement in the New York Times, People, BusinessWeek and Time Magazine.
• The agency executed the most successful publicity campaign for GSUSA’s girls’ self-esteem program – uniquely ME! – gaining exposure for the program’s spokesperson with Seventeen, Teen Vogue and Alloy among others.
• GSUSA has completed nearly 90 percent of its local council mergers without significant negative press coverage, and the communications department credits the agency for this success.
• The agency served as a valued partner for the most successful Girl Scout Research Institute study launch to date, which included a well-attended audio news conference and agency placements in outlets such as CNN and businessweek.com.