Outdoor Activity Week 2010 LATEST OAW2010 NEWS......
Thrillseeker Update, with some further great invitations.
- Most interesting is the furtherance of the cross-platform promotions,
increased publicity opportunities and the intention to include the
whole Thrillseeker into the main BBC activities search system
'Activities Finder' later this year, which means success: it becomes
permanent... - Obviously Thrillseeker will not work for all, all the time. The trick
is to use it when it does fit your plans. The hit-rate on the
activities searches has now reached 50,000 plus per week and continues
increasing.
The ThrillSeeker team are thrilled to confirm that the campaign has been extended until the end of September
Start uploading your summer events now! This extension has been achieved thanks to some fantastic new opportunities for promotion…
- Countryfile have confirmed they would like to promote ThrillSeeker twice a month until the end of September. This will start from July. Every mention on Countryfile equals 30,000+ unique users visiting the Event Finder.
- Secret Britain, a brand new four-part series on BBC One, to be broadcast in the summer (Sunday evening at 9pm - tbc). The series, which focuses on walks, will be presented by Julia Bradbury and Matt Baker. Each programme will carry a promotion for ThrillSeeker.
- ThrillSeeker is still receiving regular promotion across the BBC Homepage, genres pages (e.g. News, Sport and Science) Weather and Local pages.
- ACTIVITIES: Over 1,000 live activities still listed - that's in addition to 1,000+ that have already happened.
- STATS: To date, over 200,000 unique users have visited the website: bbc.co.uk/thrillseeker
- Downloads are doing fantastically well too, with over 63,000 having been downloaded to date. Check them out at: bbc.co.uk/thrillseeker/downloads
- RESOURCES: There are still a few pocket guides left, order yours via email: thrillseeker.feedback@bbc.co.uk. Please put RESOURCES in the subject line.
Great success with 11,000 participants over the week
......better by 4000 than last year. Of course having the BBC on board did help a little.
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- The www.bbc.co.uk/thrillseeker website is still live and available for free promotions of adventure events, free adventure booklets and posters to help your promtions. Those who attended the IOL Media Training Day in Birmingham will be pleased to know the BBC Local Radio and postcode web-search opportunities are now fully integrated in the Thrillseeker web-site
- The photograph shows the OAW2010 launch of the new Lambourne End OEC climbing wall by Lord Petre, Lord Lieutenant of Essex. Beneath the wall is our extensive caving complex - it takes two groups of 12 - and they are soon to string a zip-wire from the top. It is set up so that groups can abseil from the top down into the cave. Next year they flood a valley to create a lake, and all inside the M25!
- Here is a short update from the BBC Promotional Team:
SOME EASTER HIGHLIGHTS: PRESS & PROMOTION
Local radio and regional TV
Promotion occurred right across the UK throughout Easter on both regional TV and Local Radio. This was thanks to some fantastic work by our Learning Project Managers and Broadcast Co-ordinators. Promotions featured Julia Bradbury, Gever Tulley and a range of partners. - Campaign was also promoted on Radio 1’s Jo Whiley Show and Countryfile. Countryfile have also asked to do an additional promotion for the campaign on Sunday 2 May. BBC Homepage, featured ThrillSeeker several times over Easter.
- Campaign also promoted from BBC Schools and CBeebies. Also, currently being promoted across BBC Science, Health, Sport, and Weather. I’ve attached a few screengrabs. From next week it will also be promoted across BBC News.
- ACTIVITIES
With two bank holidays coming up and the weather getting warmer, we’re keen to keep adding activities. If you have any big moments, celebrations or events coming up do let us know and we’ll do our best to get them promoted. Usual rules apply i.e. organisations wishing to run these activities need to be part of an associated body. - RESOURCES
New set of downloads available, see: www.bbc.co.uk/thrillseeker/downloads
There are a few pocket guides left, order yours via email: thrillseeker.feedback@bbc.co.uk.
Please put RESOURCES in the subject line.
Best regards The ThrillSeeker Team and Ian Lewis at Campaign for Adventure
BBC ThrillSeeker well supported by Parliamentary Group
The All Party Parliamentary Group on Adventure and Recreation has
thrown its support behind the BBCThrillSeeker campaign to be launched
this Sunday on BBC 1 Countryfile.
BBC Learning is launching a brand new, multi-platform campaign to
encourage individuals and families to try out a new adventure
activity. By joining forces with BBC One?s Countryfile and a range of
external partners, the ThrillSeeker campaign will enable people to
search out exciting events taking place across the UK. External
partners include adventure sports governing bodies, voluntary youth
organisations, schools, colleges and adventure providers. READ MORE HERE.
OAW Success after success and for all IOL members to share through the BBC ThrillSeeker
- After wonderful success with OAW09 and its 5600 events, we have been honoured by the BBC. They have offered an opportunity to link ‘OAW-2010’ with the shortly-to-be-launched BBC ‘ThrillSeeker’ web-pages.
- The plan is to create an adventure version of ‘Breathing Spaces’ using the BBC web site. This is an invitation for all involved in outdoor adventure to promote what they are doing and to offer events to aspiring adventurers.
- The pages will be searchable geographically, by activity and by level of activity, thus post-code, canoeing and advanced should allow providers to promote their offerings and potential clients to find the right activity, in the right place at the right level. This is a great opportunity for the adventure world to promote itself and create support greater participation. Key target areas are families and progression from first-timers to improving ability. The list of partners is already building and a full article will appear in Horizons in December.
From Ian Lewis, Co-ordinator, Campaign for Adventure
DropZone update (January 2010)
We are expecting the campaign to be extended until June, which will allow a much longer slot for promoting your activities. Within this timeframe, we still intend to run a big DropZone week over Easter (2-11 Apri 2010l). This will link into and promote the 2010 Outdoor Activity Week.
- PROGRAMMES
We are still on track for campaign launch on Countryfile on 31 January.
With an expected audience of 6 million for Countryfile alone, we are keen to ensure a solid raft of activities are present in the ThrillSeeker database for that week - particularly the first weekend 6-7 February. With that in mind, it would be fantastic to have as many of your activities as possible in the ThrillSeeker database ahead of launch. If you need support in making this possible, please come back to us. For info, we are now expecting the DropZone programme itself to be broadcast in mid-February. Additional promotion to include regular BBC Homepage promotions and dedicated campaign promo between BBC One programming. - THRILLSEEKER
When entering your data it is worth bearing in mind that around 85% of online journeys start with a search (e.g. using Google or similar search engines). The title of your activity/event and the description you supply will be picked up by search engines so make sure you include the words that the public are most likely to search for. - Event title: Take a 'what is says on the tin' approach.
Description: Use the description to sell your activity/event - keep it short and to the point. Between 20 and 50 words is ideal. Start with the most important information so people know what to expect. Ask yourself "would I want to click through"?
Here's an example
Title: Seashore Safari Beachcombing
Description: Come beachcombing at the edge of the Helford River as the tide recedes. We'll be looking for crabs, sea-anemones, seasquirts and other mysterious creatures. The seashore safari will be led by Cornwall Wildlife Trust's Marine Conservation Officer Ruth Williams and the Helford Marine Conservation Group. - ACTIVITIES
Walking - As a incredibly popular Tier 1 activity, Clare Tomkins will be overseeing the manual input of core walks to ensure around 10 per region, per week. These walks will be selected from our existing Breathing Places partner's activities. Clare will contact partners directly to ensure they are happy that their walks are included. Of course we still welcome the input of additional partner walks.
Additions to the existing list: Ice skating and snowboarding.
- RESOURCES
The campaign pocket guide (containing campaign info and a selection of partner activities for younger children) is available to order from 20 January (English & bilingual). Please order via your local Learning Project Manager or the core team at: dropzone.feedback@bbc.co.uk. Please put 'Resources' in the subject line. - PROMOTION
Once you have registered your activities on the ThrillSeeker database we can issue you with campaign logos and posters to promote your activities. Again, email the team to confirm your requirement.
Outdoor Adventure Week 2009 smashes targets
Outdoor Adventure Week 2009 exceeded its target of 5,000 events UK-wide. For more on the success of OAW 2009 click here
Some background to OAW
In 2008, 2900 events around UK were organised by centres, schools, clubs and communities. There were 1200 forest events, and 1000 events linked to camping and other overnights. There were events for ‘Wild Women’, and fund-raising abseils, sleep-outs and picnics….these things happened in your area and they both raised the profile of the organisations that got involved raised awareness of the outdoors. All increased participation and some mademoney, too. The idea throughout is to have local people do it for themselves, but using the OAW09 national publicity.
- For 2009, we want double the events. You are invited to use this free opportunity to
- Challenge people to do something today they have never done before.
- Raise your profile by joining what people are doing for OAW09.
- Get adventure ideas from young people, parents, local activity providers such as bike hirers, outdoor centres, event promoters, communities, sports clubs, schools, local councils, fitness centres, community groups….all are welcome to join OAW09
Examples: lifestyle change and just doing something different. Check the web for ideas. It may be simply using your feet instead of the car, or biking somewhere special or eating or sleeping in the garden. The weather looks ok!
Think various budgets [picnics and walks are free, boating and climbing costs something, and adventure parks cost a little more]. Museums and art galleries less.
Some ‘heavier’ angles: Plenty of research has shown that people grow in their self esteem through adventure and this has been proved to show:
enhanced personal and social involvement, communication skills, more healthy, enhanced mental and spiritual health, enhanced spiritual, sensory and aesthetic awareness, personal confidence, increased awareness, and of course a greater sense of fun!.
The 2008 event was launched in London – 3 MPs climbed an ice wall!![Lembit Opik LD, Julian Brazier, Cons, Lord Allen Haworth, Lab], and in Cumbria, Brathay Hall Trust broke World Records - Man’s and Woman’s first 10 marathons in ten days running the 26 miles around Lake Windermere!
Contacts: Local contacts you might ‘light touch’ and set yourself up as the ‘orchestrator’ of ‘Outdoor Adventure Week’ in your organisation, area or region – a great promotional move. Ian Lewis, coordinator for Campaign for Adventure on behalf of the Outdoor Council will be available to help. [07802 423502] email: ian@campaignforadventure.org see also www.campaignforadventure.org
IOL are pleased to support the second year of this excellent initiative and hope that both members and non-members will become involved.
The Activity Week organisers are actively looking for places/centres who are running something unusual during that week that we could cover with the national media. The core of the initiative is to equip people locally to gain their own coverage in their own local networks.
photo by Tom Sibbald
Adventure activities provide the ideal opportunity to make children ‘risk aware’ by involving them in practical decision-making in challenging environments.
Lord Adonis
Activity Week Index |
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Outdoor Adventure Week Aims
(Achieve, Promote, Contribute)
- To achieve a greater understanding among the general public of the scope of outdoor provision and the benefits of participation, with the aim of increasing demand.
- To promote the value of the outdoors as a venue for healthy exercise, fresh air, recreation and appreciation of the rural and natural environment.
- To contribute to achieving a balanced view of risks and benefits and to promote an adventurous approach to life.
How to get involved...
- If you run a centre. Write to those on your mailing lists and other contacts and encourage them to get involved in the week; by going out into the outdoors for a responsible adventure experience! Run a special day or week at the centre where individuals and families can come and try an activity and challenge themselves. Invite the media to visit you on that day. A media pack will be available from the EOC, free of charge, to help you attract some interest. Use a quote from your own centre or from this web page to promote a special event.
- If you are involved in education. Encourage your school to be doing something adventurous in the outdoors this year. Book a week at a centre. Produce leaflets showing the opportunities that are on offer in your local area. Invite the media to visit some of your initiatives.
- If you are a teacher. Find out if your school organises trips away or day events in the local area that introduce the outdoor environment to children. Look out for the Manifesto for Learning Outside the Classroom and promote more opportunities for young people to learn through a controlled adventure experience. For details go to: IOL LotC web page, or
www.teachernet.gov.uk/learnningoutsidetheclassroom - If you are a parent. Encourage your children to sign up for something this week. Try out a ropes course, walk the hills, take to the water, contact a local activity provider for more ideas.
- If you are a young person. Get on-line and find something that will challenge your life and be really fun!
English Outdoor Council (EOC)
- The Outdoor Adventure Week is an EOC initiative. It is both administered and implemented by Jim Hammett and Ian Lewis of the EOC.
- The EOC is the umbrella body for providers in the outdoor world.
- The aim of the programme is to raise awareness of the benefits of outdoor activity and learning. The intention is to provide support and experience for promotional activities undertaken by providers.
- The plan is that support is provided by the EOC for new and existing outdoor education and learning activities, and together with the providers of these activities, such opportunities are used to promote the benefits of outdoor education and learning.
This can be shown as follows:
- The process of promoting the benefits of outdoor learning and education from additional outdoor sessions is difficult to achieve.
- The EOC have recognised the special promotional skills needed to achieve this, and now plan to work closer together to enskill providers in the marketing and promotion of these activities in order to achieve greater awareness of the educational and learning possibilities of outdoor and adventurous activities.
- There is a lot of such educational and learning work that goes on without any degree of general awareness of the benefit it brings both to individuals and society as a whole. The Outdoor Adventure Week is all about achieving such awareness - for society, policy-makers and funders.
‘Activity Week Promoter’ 
- An ‘Activity Week Promoter’ is someone who ‘champions the cause of outdoor learning’ through promotional activities running alongside a particular activity during OAW week.
- Given certain standards, all that is required on the part of the outdoor activity provider is a commitment and willingness to undertake the main aim of the Outdoor Adventure Week, which is:
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“raising awareness of the value, purpose, and need for outdoor adventure activities in society”.
- The role of the ‘Promoter’ might be within a paid job role or it might be an entirely voluntary effort; either way it is vital to the better future of Outdoor Adventurous Activities.
photo by Tom Sibbald
Support
- The Outdoor Adventure Week can be built on the back of existing events or can be used to create a new event with an ‘Outdoor Adventure Week’ link. Support for the promotional side is built in by the EOC.
- This media training course in Birmingham is highlighted now on the English Outdoor Council website. Hard copies are also available.
- The area where the the EOC contribution is greatest is in the development of material, supporting and enskilling outdoor providers in the promotion and marketing.
Marketing and Promotion
- The key to the success of the Outdoor Adventure Week is in the marketing and promotion of events by the Promoters
- In explaining what the programme is about, how it works, and what is involved in being a promoter, this manual aims to give some idea of the ways in which this can be achieved.
- Remember, the aim of the game is to tell people about what is going on and what you are doing - at a local, regional, and national; and in any special areas which will help promotion.
- This is not a monopoly on good ideas... you will have your own plans and ideas, some you have used before, some new, some yet to be thought of.
- We hope this manual will both help to start you off and to check some points as you go along. If you've never been involved in a campaign like this before you may need a little help to see the opportunities to move with the others and to really locate the best ways to promote your activity in and through the community.
- There can be no excuse for letting your activity be overlooked just because you are too busy doing it. This is not acceptable in today’s climate of competition for funding, clients and choices.
- Nationally the EOC will aim to profile the campaign in the media and use a celebrity to do this.
photo by Ian Cresswell
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Campaigning
- The question is 'what makes a successful campaign?'.
The answer is: ideas. - All that is required is a little imagination, and a lot of effort behind the one you think will be successful.
- Some are simple and quick, others may take more planning, time and energy.
- Pick the activities that will work for you and are compatible with the resources you have available. Some will be more relevant than others.
- For example, some activities will be of interest to the local media and can be used to generate wider publicity through editorial. Others may be less obviously newsworthy, but could suit special situations and media needs. Be ready with an idea or three!!
- Later on we will look at how to get media coverage. It isn't a step-by-step guide as getting coverage on TV, radio and in the press isn't an exact science - but it should help you avoid some of the common pitfalls which can prevent a potentially good news story ending up in the wastepaper bin.
Campaign Success
- The success or failure of a campaign is often down to the amount of planning which is done before hand. So start planning now and give your campaign the success it deserves!
Planning
- Start by writing down your aims, objectives, target audience, priorities and the message you want to get across. Once you have defined these, you can work out how best to achieve them.
- Make your aims clear, achievable and realistic.
- Research your target audience as far as possible and consider what events, materials or activities are likely to have the greatest impact.
- Work out how long the campaign will take to organise, remembering that things often take longer than you think.
- Calculate how much the campaign is likely to cost, setting yourself a realistic budget which you can stick to. Zero is OK if you have creativity!
- Find out if any other organisations in your area are planning similar events which might clash or overlap. If so, see how you can work with them instead of competing.
- Plan your activities step by step so you won't miss out or overlook any important links in the chain of events.
Execution
- Work out how things will work in practice and have a contingency plan in case things don't go exactly as you anticipated.
- Make sure you've thought of every eventuality - what if it rains, what if someone gets injured, what if more (or less) people turn up, who's going to do what, have you thought of facilities for the disabled?
- Decide how you're going to publicise your activities - think about advertising, posters, badges leaflets, incentives, events, balloons, displays, and the media. These can all be used successfully if carefully planned as part of the overall campaign. It is much better to use several at the same time than only one or several in a sequence.
- Get your activities into the media using some of the tips in the media section as a guide.
Evaluation
- Once you've carefully planned your campaign, work out how you're going to evaluate the results. How you measure results depends on the nature of the campaign.
- Aim to do it in a way which is more structured than trying to guess feelings or vaguely asking a handful of people what they think.
- Evaluate and monitor each activity as you go along if possible.
- Consider circulating questionnaires among volunteers, workers or the target audience.
- Work out how much you spent to see if you kept within budget.
- Ask yourself some searching question like, did we...
- get the media coverage we hoped for and if no, why not?
- complete the campaign within the agreed timescales?
- print the right number of leaflets or other materials?
- keep a record of interested people to follow-up on? - Work out how you could have done it better if you'd had the benefit of hindsight so you can learn from the experience.
photo by Max Norris
Keep it safe
- You will be responsible if you are the organiser
- You will need to manage the risks, as usual, both emotional & physical, of equipment and activities through your usual risk assessments.
The Media
- The creation of unpaid publicity is probably the single most important component of any campaign. Getting media coverage for an event can often mean the difference between getting your message across to a few hundred people or many thousands of people.
- But with so many representatives from a myriad of organisations competing to get their events and activities publicised, how do you make yours stand out from the crowd and get those all-important column inches or air-time?
- Some are better at getting media coverage than others - so if you're well practised in the art, skip over these pages and move straight on to the ideas for action. If on the other hand you have little or no experience of using the media, this brief guide should point you in the right direction.
- Getting media coverage isn't as difficult as you might think - but it helps if you know a few tricks of the trade. With a bit of planning, many local activities can be made newsworthy to local newspapers, radio and even regional television. After all, their bread and butter is local news, made by local people.
Local media
Take a bit of time to study your local media - find out what sort of stories are features and what kind of photos are used. Time spent in this way will be invaluable as it will help you tailor your story in the right way. Your local library should be able to help with copies of local press, as well as the addresses of radio and TV stations which cover your area.
Briefly, by local media, we mean:
- Regional daily and weekly newspapers - both paid for and free sheets
- BBC Radio and Independent Local Radio (commercial) stations
- Community radio stations/hospital radio/shopping centre radio stations
- Regional BBC and Independent Television (ITV)
- Community channels on cable television
A Newsworthy Story
What makes a newsworthy story? This is the 64 million dollar question!
- There is no easy answer to this as what may get coverage one week, may not get coverage another week, simply because of what else is going on at the same time. For example,, if there's a royal visit in your area or a major 'hard' news story like a serious crime, the local media will concentrate on that, leaving less space for your 'softer' news.
- If an event is by local people and for local people, there is a good chance that the media in that area will cover it - as long as you approach them in the right way - SO USE THE LOCAL PEOPLE APPROACH!! It is the initial CONTACT which often makes the difference between whether a story is used or not.
- It is a cliche, but a picture really does say a thousand words, so if you can make your event or activity visually appealing, then your story stands a better chance of being used, or perhaps used more prominently. Always think photos!
- If you are organising an event, can you make it fancy dress? Can you get a local celebrity to take part? Anything which makes your story stand out from the pile on the news editor's desk will help its chances of getting coverage. Once you've attracted attention with a picture story, it helps if you can back it up with some solid facts, like the results of a local survey.
- All journalists work to tight deadlines and it is worth checking what they are in advance as these differ from one publication to another. In any case, make sure you let newspapers and broadcasters know in good time that you are planning an event - a week or 10 days is ideal - so they can put it in the diar/ for the actual day and decide whether to cover it. They may also do an advance story, so you might get two bites of the cherry out of one story!
News Releases
- If you've got a news story you want to appear in print or on air, one way to let journalists know is via a news release that contains all the information about your event or activity.
- Don't waste time turning your story into a feature article. If the media is
interested enough, they will get one of their journalists to write one after getting more details from the contact person named on the press release.
A news release should:
- Be headed 'News Release' so journalists can see what it is at a glance.
- Have an informative headline, typed in bold capital letters. Don't worry about making it too clever - the journalists will do that.
- Contain the key facts in the first paragraph, namely Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.
- Have the most important information at the beginning - like an inverted pyramid - with the less important information further down.
- Be typed in double spacing with wide margins on one side of A4.
- Be clear, factual and free of jargon and 'flowery' language. Avoid long sentences and paragraphs.
- Be kept short. The whole thing need not be longer than 300 words - journalists will contact you for more information if they need it.
- Include a quotation from a relevant spokesperson.
- Have numbered pages and 'more' written at the bottom of each page instead of 'PTO'. Put 'End' at the bottom so there can be no mistake.
- Include at least one name and telephone number for journalists to contact for further information.
- Date it for the day it will be read to give it 'freshness', (ie. if you post it on the 1st, date it for the 2nd).
Photocalls
- If you want to invite the press to take a photograph, then you can organise a photocall. To do this, simply prepare a sheet with brief details of the event on it and send it to the media 7-10 days in advance. This should be headed 'Photo Opportunity' or 'Photocall' so journalists can immediately see what it is and act accordingly. In both cases, follow your note with a phone call to see that the event has got into the diary of forthcoming events.
Photographs
- Whether or not you invite the press to send a photographer to cover an event, it is worth arranging for someone to take a photograph for you, in case the newspapers photographer doesn't turn up. A professionally taken photograph is always preferable - amateur snapshots are rarely used unless the photographer is very good.
- Arrange to get the prints to the newspapers as soon after the event as you can - within 24 hours if possible. It is pointless sending photos a week or two after the event, as by that time the news will be stale and very unlikely to be used.
- Make sure the photo is properly captioned, with names and titles of everybody who is pictured (indicating left to right) and send it with a copy of your press release.
Interviews
If you send a news release to local radio or TV or invite broadcast media to an event, you could find yourself being interviewed. This could be live, recorded on location, in the studio or down the telephone.
The simple advice for interviewees is to be prepared with the message you wish to get across. Remember the following rules:
- Check the angle the interviewer wants to take and the first question you will be asked.
- Be prepared - arm yourself with the relevant facts and have a few statistics at your finger tips. Make a list of the three main points you want to make.
- Get your chosen message across as early as possible in the interview.
- Speak in short sentences, not long ones whose meaning could be changed in editing.
- Keep you language informal and avoid jargon.
- Don't be flustered by questions you can't answer. Steer the conversation to an area you know more about.
Other opportunities
- Don't forget, you can also get media coverage for other campaign activities, such as surveys or competitions, as well as events. The findings of surveys are newsworthy if they are about local people, particularly if the results are surprising.
- Competitions are more of a fun way to raise awareness of your campaign
messages, rather than news. Why not get local groups to participate whilst you sponsor prizes and ask the local paper or radio station if they'll run them?
EOC Support + Contact info
- As you can see, the opportunity for promoting your activity and the benefits of outdoor education and learning exist out there a plenty. The key is to work towards achieving this.
- The EOC appreciate the different skills required to do this, and that is why the Outdoor Adventure Week is a learning and development relationship. We plan to provide as much support as we can in order for our 'Promoters' to promote their activities - but real success has to come from a genuine commitment and willingness from participants.
- A special section of the EOC web-site is planned that will allow communication with other Promoters to highlight successes and share ideas. This will be used to reach a wider audience and further develop the programme. Together we can make it grow very large and very effective.
Again, welcome to the Outdoor Adventure Week and we look forward to working with you in making both our efforts a success.
Putting some spice into life….….linking promotional ideas and opportunities to Outdoor Adventure Week. |
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