Perreault−McCarthy: Basic
Marketing: A
Global−Managerial
Approach, 14/eBack Matter Video Cases © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2002the following data regarding the number of girls served by the
Girl Scouts in each membership category:
Category Girls Served in the Category
Daisy 1 of every 8
Brownie 1 of every 4
Junior Girl Scout 1 of every 7
Cadette Girl Scout 1 of every 25
Senior Girl Scout 1 of every 73
To better understand customers and the competing de-
mands on their lives, Girl Scouts USA is beginning to do
extensive market and customer research among young girls.
During the fall of 2000, GSUSA launched the Girl Scout
Research Institute, a research and public policy information
center focusing on the healthy development of girls. Through
this Institute, the GSUSA hopes to develop a large database of
information on girls, with the additional goal of positioning
itself as an information resource and expert on girls.
Within this competitive market, the GSUSA uses a variety
of plans and strategies in order to attract new girls. The na-
tional website offers an overview for interested girls; however,
it is not very interactive and has limited recruiting value.
Nationally prepared brochures and literature are also avail-
able. Often these can be useful as stuffers in store, mall, and
other point-of-sale display units. But many councils choose to
localize and personalize these efforts. For these councils, most
of the recruitment and marketing efforts are planned and de-
veloped at the local level. Local websites, school visits, locally
prepared fliers, recruiting efforts at malls, churches, and other
similar local activities lend a more personal touch to their
recruiting.
Specific to certain types of competition, GSUSA has re-
sponded with a changing product mix. Each year, Girl Scouts
adds to its diversity of activities and merit badges, all awarded
for participation and mastery of particular tasks. With the in-
crease in girls participating in sporting activities, Girl Scouts
developed GirlSports,a program offering senior Girl Scouts
from around the country a chance to spend a week during the
summer developing certain sporting skills. During the 2000
version, 26 girls met in Oakland, California, with local ath-
letes and trainers, learned 13 extreme sports, and met with and
studied with ESPN fitness experts and Olympic athletes. An
expanded version of GirlSportsis being developed to include
over 100,000 girls competing in nearly 2,300 different sporting
events in over 300 councils.
Another trend identified was the increasing interest of girls
in the sciences. As a result, the Girl at the Centerprogram was
developed. This is a science and technology program in which
local councils can take advantage of partnerships between the
Girl Scouts and over 31 science museums, encouraging fami-
lies and girls to explore and to learn more about the sciences.
Girl at the Centerand the GirlSportsprogram are examples of
how the Girl Scouts organization is forming partnerships with
others to make their programs relevant and successful.
Girl Scouting uses several methods to appeal to volunteers,
both to attract them and to keep them motivated and in-
volved. To attract volunteers at the national level, the website
offers valuable insight as do the nationally prepared brochures
highlighting the benefits of volunteering and the many ways of
doing so. But again, the local councils often develop their own
marketing efforts. Parents are targeted by maintaining a par-
ents’ network and involving parents in meetings and events.
When the local council has events at malls or churches, the
council staff involved makes every attempt to sell volunteer-
ing to adults as much as they do scouting to young girls.
Additionally, many local councils work with area organiza-
tions in an attempt to generate volunteers. Universities,
schools, the local housing authority, and other volunteer-
based organizations have proven to be excellent sources of
interns or other types of volunteers.
To keep volunteers motivated and involved, GSUSA na-
tional offers a variety of adult development and training
opportunities. These include programs at the corporate train-
ing center, a number of online training offerings, and
certification programs that support and enable the volunteers
to improve their abilities to perform their functions.
The third stakeholder group consists of the community at
large. Efforts to interact with this stakeholder group can be
planned, and suggestions are made at the national level; how-
ever, many of these efforts involve personal contacts and
one-on-one relationships with donors or other partnership tar-
gets. As a result, many of these efforts are developed and
conducted by people at the local council level.- Compare strategic marketing planning by the Girl Scouts
with planning by for-profit organizations. What are the
similarities? What are the differences? - What changes would you suggest to improve the planning
process in the Girl Scouts?
Volkswagen’s New Beetle*Volkswagen management was very surprised at the reaction
to their latest design study, the Concept 1. Unveiled in Detroit
at the North American International Auto Show in January
1994, the car was an instant hit with the public. Throngs of
people crowded around the viewing stand to get a close look at
what VW designers had created, a 90s version of the much-
loved Beetle. The original Beetle had been sold in the U.S.
from 1948 to 1981, and is still sold in some countries such as
Mexico and Brazil.
Automotive design studies are used to gauge public reac-
tion to styling and design ideas. The overwhelming response
to the Concept 1, which closely resembled the looks of the
original Beetle, prompted VW to study what was behind the
strong consumer response. They wanted to know if the favor-
able response was because of the uniquely identifiable profile
of the Beetle, the fond memories of the millions of U.S. Beetle
owners, or simple nostalgia—a desire to be carried back to a
“different” time.
It was clear that the Concept 1 touched the buying public
at the auto show. The number of phone calls and letters to
U.S. Volkswagen headquarters was so overwhelming that VW
management promptly put a product-development team into6706 Video Cases
*This case and the script for the accompanying video were
prepared by Professor Jim Burley.