Could Creative Marketing Concept Click With Kids?

Welcome, Michael. The enthusiasm on this topic is fabulous, isn't it?!

I'm glad someone contacted you. It was on my "to do" list that is a mile long.



Aimee

WHAT AN AWESOME RESPONSE!




SOUTHPAW, I recall seeing your gorgeous self-designed album pages and understand that you're a very talented pro. If you can peel off some time -- when we get to the design stage -- that would be incredible!


AS you point out, we've much work to do before we begin designing our award-winning flexible digital app for display. A WYSIWYG CMS is a must, so non-HTML writers can do maintenance.

I AM WILLING TO ACT AS PROJECT MANAGER

I'm not a technical guy, but I do have heavy experience developing marketing plans, managing marketing communications programs, and development of creative content.




Michael, welcome! What a stroke of good fortune for you to chime in! One of our key questions is to determine what APS is currently interested in doing in order to engage kids. Another key question is would APS welcome working with the team from StampCommunity.org (SC)? I suggest we set up a meeting to discuss your goals, APS's youth activities, and how APS may intersect with the SC concept.




51studebaker -- Don, you are 110% correct. You're preaching to the choir. Before we start technical planning, we need to answer some basic marketing research questions (I'm hoping Mr. Bloom can provide much of this). We need to use the marketing reality about our young target audience to determine our strategic approach. When we feel confident about what we need to communicate, then we can begin planning the technical structure that can best deliver within our budget.

I suggest we learn more about what APS is attempting, and what Michael may be interested in. Then we can share that step with the SC team in order to set an agenda for next steps.

Additional points I'd like the team to ponder:

> Engaging more kids to enjoy stamps is vital. Some adult collectors or SC members seem to think that new collectors will simply happen without us taking action. That's a recipe for speeding up the shrinking world of stampers. In 2007, APS survey indicated that 70% of members were 60 years old or older; only 2% were under 40 years in age.

> A national or international kids program would require promotional resources beyond a posting on the APS website. Like southpaw indicated, "The creative is the easy part." Having a marketing sponsor that can absorb promotional and operating expenses would be an ideal approach.

> Organizations such as ASP should be helpful supporters -- in fact, APS states its mission to begin with #1: To promote stamp collecting to people of all ages. But lack of resources has been a major past obstacle. The 2015 APS budget seems to indicate about 1% toward youth programs.

I'm very impressed with the interest in this program.

Not only you seems to like to start many treads about the same thing . But do you really have to spam me with emails to promote your treads . Really

Hey area66,

No harm meant! Just ignore my enthusiasm. Based on numerous shared SCF threads, you're on my "friends" list. If you consider my personal email to be spam, I'm happy to remove you from that list. What can I say? I'm a marketer :-) And I'm marketing this concept in order to determine if it has merit.

I understand that you're cool to this concept, but I will invest some time and effort to consider the pros and cons of a highly creative outreach to kids. My gut says there are plenty "nerdy" type kids who could get into a fun kid's community that's designed and supported for them -- not old fart philatelists like me.

It would be great to get youngsters involved in philately just like the good old days, I am considered a youngster in the society that I belong to, and I'm in my mid forties the next step up are three or four guys in their fifties and then, well then its just over the top. We do have a junior section though, maybe ten kids max ranging from primary to secondary school and that's about it. These are children or grand children of members in the society and none of them come from non collecting backgrounds, they never come to the society meetings, and we only see them once a year (if that, at the annual Christmas bash where they get their certificates if they entered any competitions, and its usually one of dad's or grandad's side collections so they don't really count)
So, I'm actually wondering if a web site or phone app for kids really is the thing to be looking at or should it be part and parcel of an attempt on the ground. I mean, how many kids actually use stamps today or dare I ask, how many of them know what a stamp is. My kids do, its small pieces of paper that keeps the old man occupied and out of their way, you guessed it, they don't particularly care although my daughter did try to collect lion themed stamps (it lasted a week and she was just trying to be nice and not hurt my feelings).
It would be more constructive I think if the kids were physically exposed to stamps rather than having a virtual experience. Somebody needs to introduce them to stamps, show them stamps and to discuss stamps with them and most of all they need to be able to source stamps cheaply and all the time otherwise their interest fades. Its not easy competing against 'Halo', 'Call of Duty' and 'Fast and Furious' which is on going, continuous, graphic, loud and 50 kids in fifty different countries can play and interact with each other from the comfort of their bedrooms.
So if we want youngsters to 'get into' stamps as much as they do for their computer games we have to make it really exciting and to be honest, I'm really finding that difficult to do right now.

I will do my best in English to express what I think, I'm 55 when I was young TV programming was boring, no computers, so I start to collect stamps, I also get interest in fish keeping and chemistry. I have a son of 13 and a daughter of 9, they always on their computers, I do have a 20 x 30 feet HO layout and they have no interest in it, when theirs friend come they like to make run trains for 20 to 30 minutes max. I'm also the Prefect of a high power rocketry club, same here friends of my son come once but after they don't come anymore, my son every time told me he lost time doing so, time he will better have spent on his computer. We have a local stamps club, I'm the youngest one. My daughter show interest in Oil and Acrylic painting, we paint often together, so if I have hope for the continuance of my stamps collection it's may be with her.



Computers reach my arm in 1980, I was 20, if I will have get one at 12 , did I will have start stamps collecting, probably not.



And let's be honest, how many young peoples on this forum are more interested on the values of their stamps than what is on the stamps, who is this person? what is this place on the stamps ? Scott price have priority over History and geography. I'm pretty sure if I ask my kids who is this woman on our $ 20 bill, they will have no idea, I will try tomorrow for fun.

Early in this thread, dcaraz1949 said, " ... Outside of the APS I assume there are other national and/or international stamp organizations. Is there an industry association that brings together dealers and manufacturers ..."

May I suggest that we really think big, and consider approaching the United States Post Office?

There is certainly a financial interest there in promoting stamp collecting among kids.

Off hand, I can think of a couple of booklet models that we could prepare to get their attention.

1) A game in which the child would find the different stamp in a group. Example: a #505 in a group of #499's; a horizontal coil in a group of verticals; a 12 perf in a group of 10's ... all with a site reference where an explanation of why the difference occurred. (A computer "hook".)

2) US History and Geography as shown by stamps, accompanied by more detailed text at a computer site.

I would be available for research in such a project.

area66 -- I agree with you and all the others who say "kids are not interested in stamps".
But I suggest we look at ways to maybe make stamps more interesting.

carlberky -- I love your "thinking big" proposal!
Makes sense: consider approaching the United States Post Office!

To make stamps competitive with popular exciting kids interests will be challenging.
A digital stamp game that's action-packed and playable on hand-held devices, tablets and PCs would I think engage some kids. Creating such a stamp game would require a financial sponsor. The development costs to produce a smart animated action game would require a significant money investment. Since kids are not investing much into stamps, I keep thinking any big idea needs to be sponsored by a major organization that currently markets to kids. Not sure the US Postal Service would value the kids market the way Disney does.

Several members have thought that promoting stamp collecting would have a more favorable result if efforts focused on BOOMERS rather than on KIDS.

Personally, I can see there are more immediate benefits if we were to focus on adult non-collectors who have more free time and more disposable income.

QUESTION?

Would it help for us to post a SCF Poll to determine the greatest support for development of
promotional ideas to KIDS or to BOOMERS?

I am getting sold on marketing to boomers because any gains with that demographic would = immediate business growth in stamp sales that could stimulate dealers, private sales, and manufacturers, and also boost APS and club memberships and show / auction attendance.

If we were successful in adding 1000 new adult stampers who averaged investing $5000 annually each, the hobby would see a $5 million increase. What say ye?

"... a SCF Poll to determine the greatest support for development of promotional ideas to KIDS or to BOOMERS? ... What say ye?"

I sayeth, the topic title speaketh all.

At this point, there are three pages of members expressing desire in interesting children in our hobby ... and we are now to consider turning our attention to creating marketing tools to attract Boomers?

I say "Nay", and have no interest in saving our hobby just to benefit stamp sellers. If we don't plant seeds, the forest won't grow.

I would like to offer my assistance. I had an extensive phone call with Dan covering a wide range of topics. I am the chairman of the APS Collector and Student Education Committee. This committee works directly with the APS Board, the Executive Director and the Education Director on all aspects of education including Stamps Teach, Young Stamp Collectors of America, StampBuddy, and many new initiatives. I am also on the Organizing Committee of World StampShow NY2016 and am putting together the Welcome to Stamp Collecting Pavilion. I don't have a lot of time for proactive blogging but I will do my best to react to any questions or suggestions and, when appropriate, introduce creative ideas to the APS. I'm also running for APS Director at Large so I can raise the awareness of the Board on matters of education and APS membership. Michael Bloom.