The Young Professional 1 - Arizona Parks and Recreation Association

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that receive no government funding and must fundthemselves through their own revenue. In summary,most activities, excluding fitness/sports/aquatics andsingle service member programs, must now operate ata break-even or profitable budget. When the fundingdifferences are omitted, there are many similaritiesto a city parks & recreation department such as thefacilities, parks, and programs offered.Now is an opportune time for young professionalsto become involved in military recreation. As aprofessional already working outside the military,there has never been a greater need for partnershipsfor the military with community parks and recreationdepartments. Combined events, shared facilities, andpossibly even shared staffing are all possibilities asmilitary recreation departments should be seekingmore than ever to become more effective and efficient.Seeking at an installation in your area would bethe first step in beginning this process. Don’t havean installation in your area? There are nationalguardsmen, reservists, and retirees throughout thecountry that might provide a perfect audience, tobecome involved. On the flip side, professionals andstudents seeking jobs might be a little intimidated andeven discouraged with the current hiring freeze withinthe government. Although this does provide challenges,there is still work that needs to be done and qualifiedindividuals are still highly sought after by recreationdirectors. Contacting an installation in regards toemployment is still a great avenue as you might beinformed of different opportunities which aren’t highlypublicized. Another great way to begin forming bridgesto a job is through the Armed Forces RecreationNetwork within NRPA. This network is comprised ofsome of the most experienced and influential peoplewithin the military recreation field and are more thanhappy to guide any motivated person towards a careerin provided services for the military.Robert (Bo) Hutchens is a recreation managerat Naval SUBASE Kings Bay, GA. He is alsocurrently the Young Professional Representativeand Southern Region Rep for the ArmedForces Recreation Network (AFRN) for NRPA.robert.e.hutchens@navy.milUsing Branding To Provide Agency Continuityby Tatiana Chalkidou & Michael BradleyDuring the last 10 years many concepts have emergedregarding branding, as evidenced by a variety ofacademic and trade publications. This occurred inan effort to provide businesses and agencies with anedge that will add to their competitive advantage.Unfortunately thought, when discussing brand-relatedtopics with managers it often becomes evident thatthey are sometimes under the impression that thebrand simply stands for the logo and the way this logois communicated through different channels, and fornothing else. However, branding is something muchmore! If done effectively, branding can provide agencycontinuity!Speaking from experience, if you are a manager in theparks and recreation field, you are in the “experience”industry. As a manager your job may be to providestimuli that will result in users’ experiences. Speakingof users’ experiences, typically a brand is created andmanaged through these experiences – the points atwhich the agency interacts with users and potentialusers. These points of interaction include traditionalmarketing activities (including both visual and verbalcommunications) and all the services and operations ofthe agency. But branding is much more than marketing,because the unique power of the brand lies in its abilityto transfer user loyalty across services. And user loyaltycreates user continuity. In this way, branding can provideagency continuity. If you want to capitalize on agencycontinuity, here are some tips:Tip #1: Branding was never one person’s game!Branding must involve by nature a variety of professionals.With that said, understand that apart from the individualresponsible for branding (in absence of a brand manager),there are plenty of other staff (in sales, advertising,promotion, customer service, legal, finance, humanresources) and professionals that have to work seamlesslytogether to create unique brand experiences. Simply put,branding was never one person’s game, but a processof bringing together different professional with variousprofessional functions.Tip #2: Find your Brand Champion!Yes, branding is not one’s person game. However, it canbe so much helpful to the process if you can identify theone person who can act as your brand champion withinthe organization. Furthermore, branding is about movingPage 11 | The Young Professional
people – internal staff, suppliers, top management,outside partners and other stakeholders, thus the successof branding largely depends on the performance of theperson who integrates the team. The branding championmust behave like an enthusiastic entrepreneur, taking arisk, teaming up the right people, sharing the vision andmotivating them to collaborate. If you are in charge ofthe branding project within your agency, ask yourselfthis “Are you passionate and enthusiastic enough? If yes,“Are you convinced that the project will succeed? If theanswer is no, then you just need to find the right personfor the job. A successful branding process requiresinternal support from someone who is respected andwho can build consensus and drive change within youragency, so do not exclude anyone when looking for theright one.Tip #3: It’s all about same pages!Let’s assume that you are this branding champion. Beforeyou sit at a table with your colleagues for a kick-offmeeting of a branding project, ask yourself whether allthe members are on the same page. If the answer is no,the meeting will be a waste of your time. Take a stepback and get them on board. In doing so, devote someof your time to share your vision with each department’manager, or higher officers, and the reasons why theyshould seamlessly collaborate for the sake of branding.Furthermore, if your agency has gone through a strategicplanning process, it will be much easier to define brandobjectives because you will know where the organizationis and where it wants to be; and how it will achieveits mission in the future. In the absence of a strategicplan, research needs to be conducted to include allstakeholders, both internal and external in order to get athorough picture of the agency.Tip #4: Break outcomes in small pieces!Unfortunately yet true, the process of creating asuccessful brand identity can seem daunting. That mayrange from changing typefaces, colors, and overalldesign approach in your agency’s brochures, website, annual reports, and more. Approaching the taskin phases creates clear expectations for outcomes atspecified intervals. Therefore, do create an organizationalmarketing calendar that outlines the steps you want toaccomplish and who is responsible for each.Tip #5: Play according to your budget!When it comes to branding in particular, not all agencieshave the same resources. For example, healthcareorganizations and universities have sophisticatedbranding programs that have been refined by heavycompetition and decades of experience with both inhousecommunications teams and professional brandingagencies. In contrast, local community agencies usuallylack the funds to create thoughtful branding programs;however, those agencies which have the funds to do soeasily stand out among competition.Tip #6: Use Benchmarking!Regardless of the sector, competition among agencies canbe fierce. Yet, you can benefit by conducting a competitivereview. Take for example an Excel file and create headingslike: Agency’s name, URL, Services provided, Audiencesreached, Key Message Points, Social Media outlets (ifapplicable) and many more. Then, search in the WWWabout agencies that have similar program areas. Write theinformation down. Furthermore, you can even take screencaptures of each agency’s homepage and logo. In this way,you can compare the language, the colors, the typefacesused. A comprehensive review can help you see whereyour agency stands among the rest in the same sector.Tip #7: Consistency, consistency, consistency!Sometimes, when talking about steps agencies can take toimprove their branding, this may include only updatingits logo in order to leverage the recognition of its primaryprogram. If you decide to update your agency’s logo keepin mind that using same typefaces, colors, and overalldesign approach you create consistency that will visuallytie your agency to its programs.In conclusion, branding is the process of creating a uniqueexperience of the brand that the user can enjoy at everypoint: the service, the advertising, the promotions, thepublicity, the website, the front desk officers and manymore. Consumers no longer expect to find experiencesand entertainment just at the movie theater. It can be justaround the corner; in your own park or rec facility!Tatiana Chalkiidou, Ph.D is a freelanceconsultant for the Municipalities ofNikea and Agios Ioannis Renti (Greece),working on park-management andplayground projects.tatchalk@gmail.comMichael J. Bradley, Ph.D. is anAssistant Professor in the Recreation& Parks Administration program atEastern Kentucky University.michael.bradley@eku.eduPage 12 | The Young Professional
Page 1 and 2: The Young ProfessionalIssue 1, Volu
Page 3: CONTENTS346789101113151719202123252
Page 10 and 11: Visit a Park Dayby Chris Lucas & Je
Page 14 and 15: AGENCY HIGHLIGHTFACILITYQuillian Re
Page 16 and 17: An Anaheim Reflectionby Jennifer Up
Page 18 and 19: Dear Steven, Advice NeededA new par
Page 20 and 21: Procrastination!by Tatiana Chalkido
Page 22 and 23: The method to our madness: As the S
Page 24 and 25: Staying passionateon and off the jo
Page 26 and 27: AGENCY HIGHLIGHTFACILITIESEast Recr
Page 28 and 29: she and her company were the right
Page 30 and 31: supervising full time staff who run

The Young Professional 1 - Arizona Parks and Recreation Association

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