Post on 26-Dec-2015
The MRS Consultancy 7th October 2014
Target Group
• Small rural town losing its identity• Squeezed by bigger brothers•On margins of media coverage•No local newspaper/radio
The MRS Consultancy 7th October 2014
Key features• Some initiatives such as a local newsletter and web
site have been launched.• Sustainability is the central problem– Funding/income stream– Activism by all the community on the ground– Content resources– Need for more ambassadors
But GOLD MINE – 2000 homes door to door every month
The MRS Consultancy 7th October 2014
Some issues The CLAs are volunteers, can be sporadic Illness
Family commitments Work
• Opinionated/entrenched attitudes– Need to tread carefully within the group.– Need to support the group in outside relationships with potential funders.– Be careful about competition or are they potential collaborators?– We did this in 2005 and it failed then…New media to extend customer base.
• Lower Ure News (LUN)– A news media, a community resource but also an income generator.– Editorial and business balance
The MRS Consultancy 7th October 2014
What happened?• CLA coffee morning
o 30 people with some interest in becoming CLAs
• Sign upso 3 CLAs on board with another who dropped out
and another “maybe/maybe not”
• Introductory workshopo Course structureo Feedback to tailor course for them and their
needs.
The MRS Consultancy 7th October 2014
Tailored training• Course structure
o Engagement o Researcho Marketingo Community reportingo Income generation
• Their needso More community reporterso Income generation through funding and revenue
• Revised trainingo We undertook all the component courses but introduced tools
which were appropriate to their situation and needs or which they would include in the piloting.
The MRS Consultancy 7th October 2014
The Learning
EngagementUse LUN and local events such as coffee morning and school/church socials to recruit CRs
“Our team of distributors work hard to deliver 2000 copies of Lower Ure News
Every month. If you would like to join them, please let us know.
All help is welcome!”
Lower Ure News March 2014
The MRS Consultancy 7th October 2014
The LearningMarketing
o Redesign and re-launch of LUN and web siteo Software training (WEA)
The MRS Consultancy 7th October 2014
The LearningIncome
o Funding through Erasmus+ bid for tourismo Ratecard with re-launcho Business plan (subject to revision)