Communications Officer: May 2021

Major projects completed

  • Designed and produced the visual identity (logo and branding) for the Service Instigator Public Service Announcement campaign.
  • Produced Volunteer Fare monthly newsletter.
  • Draft of refined communications plan and activities based off of audit findings, to be presented at June Communications Task Force meeting.
  • Organized and executed AmeriCorps Seniors Week awareness campaign by producing a week of content to help communicate the impact of programs, which was distributed on the website, social media, and e-newsletter.
  • Coordinated, packaged, and mailed packages to attendees of the AmeriCorps member conference, including required certificates and door prizes. This responsibility became the Communication Officer's after the Development Associate's contract expired in April.
  • Website updates to make public meetings more accessible to the public, including adding direct links to meeting video streams of Task Force meetings through the end of 2022 calendar year.
  • Acquired 2022 AmeriCorps PSA and coordinated with Maine Association of Broadcasters to begin run on broadcast TV.
  • Developed plan for AmeriCorps programs to utilize the "do it yourself version" of the 2022 PSA campaign provided by the federal office to help expand awareness and support recruitment efforts.  

Issues to be aware of

  • MAB miscommunication and match implications:
    • Overview
      • Due to a miscommunication with the Maine Association of Broadcasters (MAB), MAB incorrectly told radio stations to pull all radio creative after the month of March. The source of the miscommunication can be tied back to the Service Instigator PSA campaign, as MAB incorrectly assumed that the other radio spots would be pulled and replaced with Service Instigator messaging. However, the three radio spots pulled (AmeriCorps recruitment, Maine Ready disaster volunteering and a general message on volunteering) are ones that were marked for use throughout the life of the campaign by the Communications Officer.
    • Short-term expectations
      • The Q2 match report (April, May, June) will only include results from June
    • Resolution
      • The Communications Officer connected with MAB to establish a detailed creative delivery plan through the life of the 2021 contract.
      • Radio PSAs returned to air before Memorial Day weekend.
      • Due to the miscommunication, MAB generously offered to extend our Public Education Program contract two months, and it will now conclude Nov. 30.
      • Conclusion: The original contract called for seven full months of airtime. Despite the two-month gap, the contract will still be seven full months with Oct. and Nov. replacing April and May.
  • Service Instigator PSA production delay: Commissioners are making their best effort to reach out to and coordinate participation with volunteers and recognizable individuals, but efforts to get buy-in have been tougher than anticipated. Because of that, the campaign is still delayed. The Communications Officer will find time in the early part of the month to assist with reach outs and then look to quickly turn around production by mid-month.
  • MVF Duties: With the departure of the development associate, the Communications Officer will handle some of their duties until a replacement is found.

Major focus of effort in the next month

  • Producing a summary report of Q1 match from the Public Education Program with Maine Association of Broadcasters.
  • Working with Grant's Officer and AmeriCorps programs to bolster recruitment efforts
  • Collaborating with Communications Task Force to compete the production process of Service Instigator PSA campaign and move into the distribution phase.
  • Establish plan for Service Instigator branding and resource page.
  • Convert Service Instigator PSAs to radio PSA.
  • July edition of Volunteer Fare monthly newsletter.
  • Finishing FY22 budget.

Other activity

  • None to report. Thanks for reading!

Prepared by Communications Officer Bryan Roche