Profits for Nonprofits: Internet Marketing Strategies for the Falls of the Ohio

While enjoying the many tourist attractions throughout the Kentuckiana region, which includes the city of Louisville and the neighboring Southern Indiana cities of Jeffersonville, Clarksville, and New Albany, you probably do not think a lot about the historical and cultural significance of many of the unique features that this Midwest region has to offer. Somehow, such recognition typically does not occur away from the location of interest. If someone does think about the significance of the attraction they are visiting, chances are they will not be thinking about the potential impact it could have for future generations once they arrive back into their normal routines.
Whether you visit Mammoth Cave National Park or E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park, the likelihood is that you are not thinking of the challenges that the nonprofit organizations behind the scenes have to face in order to help preserve and support the attractions that we all love to go visit. One attraction in particular that currently needs the support of the community is the Falls of the Ohio.
Many of the attractions around the region are operated by nonprofit organizations. The financial and developmental success that these organizations have characteristically depends upon how effective its marketing strategies are (Hill 60). As we continue to move forward into the “Information Age”, where much of the population is gathering information via the Internet, several nonprofits are adjusting their strategies by developing web sites (Klein, “How to Use Social Media”). However, a web site can only take a non-profit so far in regards to marketing its attraction to the community. The rise in popularity in social media has made it almost mandatory for an organization to adopt a marketing strategy designed to take advantage of this trend. Without an effective marketing strategy, a non-profit can fall short of receiving the community support it needs to preserve and develop their attraction or landmark, as is the case currently at the Falls of the Ohio.
In this paper, I will argue how the implementation of an effective marketing strategy for the Falls of the Ohio Foundation, the non-profit organization at the Falls of the Ohio, will help build awareness of the Foundation’s programs throughout the community which will increase funding, prosperity, and growth. As with many non-profit organizations that are suffering from the current economic turmoil that the evil banking cartels in this country have screwed us into, the Falls of the Ohio Foundation is trying to survive using traditional marketing strategies, which in turn are only producing marginal results. Without the design and implementation of an effective marketing strategy, the Falls of the Ohio Foundation might not achieve many of their goals set in their current “Crossroads Campaign” project, a $9.5 million project that would redesign and replace all exhibits and ultimately expand the Falls’ Interpretive Center.
In order for an announcement to raise public awareness for the Falls of the Ohio, a design to improve exhibits and strengthen the connection between the Interpretive Center and the outside fossil beds had to be finalized. The Falls of the Ohio Foundation has kept a tight lid on the project that is designed to replace exhibits with “state-of-the-art immersive experiences emphasizing four key themes of the region’s scientific, cultural, and natural history” (Cummins, “Falls of the Ohio”). As a crossroads of water, land, time, and life, the Falls is definitely an educational type of facility dedicated “to promote educational initiatives for a better understanding of this unique natural resource” (Cummins, “Falls of the Ohio”). Many children in the region visit the state park on field trips as well as attending interactive summer camps.
The “Crossroads Campaign” is one of the largest, if not the largest, projects that the Foundation has had to deal with in the 17-year history of the Interpretive Center. The campaign calls for two phases. The first phase calls for raising $6.5 million, which will allow for the redesign and replacement of the 17-year old exhibits currently at the Interpretive Center and an establishment of a $1 million endowment. The second phase campaign goal of $3 million will allow for the expansion of the Interpretive Center, including a second floor exhibit gallery/community room (Cummins, “Falls of the Ohio”).
The individual overseeing the operations of the campaign is Dani Cummins, executive director for the Falls of the Ohio Foundation. “The life-span for most museum exhibits is 10-15 years. We are approaching 17 years now, so it is definitely time for improving our exhibits”, said the former Jeffersonville High School English teacher who started her career with the Foundation in 1991 as a volunteer (“Personal Interview”). To date, she has helped the Foundation raise more than $3 million for the new exhibits from many major donors around the area including Brown-Forman, Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County, and the Town of Clarksville. “The Indiana Department of Nature Resources has donated $500,000”, she said (“Personal Interview”).
As the campaign seems to have started successful, the dreadful economic crisis has already forced the Foundation to push the 2011-projected completion date to 2013 (Cummins, “Personal Interview”). For the campaign to come to fruition, the Foundation has now turned to community groups throughout Kentuckiana for additional financial support.
“We have started to go public with the campaign by holding a press event and through our annual ‘Rock the Rocks’ fundraiser,” she said. “Rock the Rocks” is the Foundation’s seventh annual benefit that features dinner, bourbon tasting, handcrafted beers, a silent auction, fossil bed hike, and viewing of the center’s film, original exhibits, and new exhibit plans. “This year all the proceeds will go directly towards benefiting the Crossroads Campaign”, said Cummins (“Personal Interview”). A “mammoth” red banner hangs off the front entrance of the Interpretive Center advertising for the “Rock the Rocks” event. The theme, “A Mammoth Event”, is in celebration of the Center’s mammoth moving to its new location in front of the auditorium and the installation of a hanging blown glass sculpture in the Interpretive Center Rotunda. Construction is already underway in the Rotunda in preparation for the upcoming fundraiser. The Foundation decided the Rotunda’s renovation should be the first element of the plan completed to entice visitors and donors into wanting to see more.
Since the Foundation started the “Crossroads Campaign”, their marketing strategy has been limited to advertising at the Interpretive Center and on the Falls of the Ohio’s website (Cummins, “Personal Interview”). This is particularly intriguing because they are focusing their marketing strategies where people go that have some knowledge about the Falls. In order to effectively market the “Crossroads Campaign”, the Foundation should branch out into nonprofit niche markets and social media marketing.
Social media and networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter, allow organizations to market their services and products to specific niches (Scott). Generating a Facebook or Twitter page would allow individuals to “like” or “follow” an organization which can then cause a “snow-ball” effect when friends of that individual view via status updates that their friend has “liked” a particular page causing them to follow suit (Klein, “How to Use Social Media”). The organization can also posts events and fundraisers to its page and invite all the individuals who have “liked” its page to attend. This method of marketing is very cost effective since memberships to social networking sites are generally always free (Hill).
Hill states, “People trust others’ opinions” (60). Marketing the Falls Foundation through networking allows other people to basically advertise with no cost to the Foundation. Nonprofit organizations are in a “feel good” industry causing others to “pass along positive comments while building friendships that last a lifetime and beyond” (61). Networking through social media sites are rapidly becoming more commonplace than traditional marketing strategies and as technology continues to progress, it seems essential for any organization to jump on the “bandwagon” and not be left hitchhiking on the “Information Super-Highway”.
Another reason to dive into social media is to help raise awareness of the Falls among the future generations throughout the community. Everybody understands that “Father Time” stands still for nobody or no thing. This concept seems important nowadays for the fact that most youth seem to enjoy spending time with technology instead of experiencing the culture around them. The Falls is one of the most historically and culturally significant landmarks in the Kentuckiana region and continues to provide children with activities and learning opportunities with many programs like the Teen Archeologist Camp (Cummins, “Personal Interview”).
“Some teens join the Archeologist Camp because that’s what Indiana Jones does”, said Cummins (“Personal Interview”). “Though they don’t experience the dangers and things that Harrison Ford does, they really do have a lot of fun during the camp” (“Personal Interview”). Even without the whip and fedora, children ages 11-15 can spend the day living the professional career of “Dr. Jones”.
As social media continues to rise as the go-to strategy for organizations to market their services, not everyone is particularly keen to the idea that organizations should spend most of its time using the medium. Ivan Misner, founder and chairman of business networking organization BNI.com, says that “many organizations spend way too much time using social media. They expect immediate results, which they’re not going to get” (qtd. in Klein “Stop Wasting Time”). Misner’s argument is strong based on his assumption that when organizations spend time using social media, they venture away from the aspect of marketing and end up wasting hours by getting caught up in other distractions that can come with using social media, such as messing around on YouTube.
The issue that Misner brings up can be related to organizations having too many social media tools at their disposal. It can be beneficial for an organization to create accounts with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, however, Misner believes that inexperienced users will go to each site separately and update their page separately (Klein, “Stop Wasting Time”). I can see his logic in how this strategy can cause the person who is tasked with this job to get side-tracked, but there are also tools available which can eliminate this problem. There are many great services available which can help leverage an organization’s time spent on social media by combining all of the organizations’ social media together. Ping.fm, Seesmic.com, and Hootsuite.com are a few services that can ping everything together with one updated message instead of having to go to each site and typing the exact same thing (Klein, “Stop Wasting Time”).
On top of marketing for potential donors and visitors, the Foundation could also use the medium as a way to educate the community on the historical significance that the Falls of the Ohio has to the region. While the Falls is generally known for its archeological significance to the region, it was also the start to the greatest American expedition in history. A bronze statue sits just outside the Interpretive Center on the banks of the Ohio River depicting two men with pioneer-styled hats shaking hand. The two men are legendary frontiersmen Meriwether Lewis and William Clark before they ventured off West to explore the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. While many locals are aware that that epic journey originated in Clarksville, there are many others who have been misinformed into believing the journey started in St. Louis. Whatever the belief, there is no question about how pivotal of a place the Falls is in regards to Lewis and Clark. Stephen Ambrose described the famous handshake as “the defining moment when the Lewis and Clark Expedition began” (74). Ambrose’s recalling of the 1803 event at the Falls inspired Elmer Hoehn and Phyllis Yeager to bring Ambrose’s statement to life. A project was created by the two to design a statue that would commemorate Lewis and Clark’s historic meeting at the Falls (“Lewis and Clark Statue”).
Outstanding community support is vital for any nonprofit organization. Even if an individual is unable to donate money, which can seem understandable during these critical financial times, the can always donate their time and help volunteer at the Falls and help ease the burden that has been placed on the Foundation. Most of the volunteering opportunities are posted on the Falls’ website and bulletin boards located at the Interpretive Center. Again, unless someone ventures to one of those locations, the potential for meeting and exceeding specific goals can go unfulfilled. By communicating volunteer opportunities through social media sites, the Foundation can reach out to an unprecedented amount of people that may take advantage of volunteering at one of the most authentic attractions in the US.
Volunteering is also one of the opportunities that just about anyone can do. In 2001, I volunteered 30 hours of my service to the Falls. Now granted it was not something that I was particularly looking forward to as I was closing out my senior year at Clarksville High School, but I am glad that I did. The work was nothing strenuous and there were many people, all different ages, colors, and creeds lending a helping hand. While working, we filled dozens of trash bags with debris and trash that littered the grounds of the fossil beds and areas around the Interpretive Center. If nothing else, volunteering allows people to get outside and enjoy the weather and get some exercise in the process. Opportunities are always available at the Falls, so it seems extremely beneficial to market and advertise those opportunities to a wide range of people through the use of social networking sites.
As the “Crossroads Campaign” continues to march on with the vision of emphasizing the region’s scientific, cultural, and natural history for future generations, continued support from the community is needed to help frame the story of our heritage and environment at the Falls. The implementation of an effective online marketing strategy can only help advance the challenge that faces the Foundation. Walking along the paths that Lewis and Clark once walked and where glaciers once laid has instilled me with the notion that this is a story for all of Southern Indiana, the Greater Louisville region, and the world. Don Munich, the Community Leader of Falls Preservation Efforts, has been actively involved with the Falls for over 50 years. After viewing the proposed Crossroad Campaign, Munich wanted others to recognize the vision of the campaign that will encompass land, water, time, and life:
A vision is not something that you arrive at overnight. 20 years ago, many people saw what they thought was the original vision for this area, to really enhance the natural beauty that rests here. This new exhibit project…these concepts…capture all of those ideas. This is the vision for the Falls of the Ohio (Cummins, “The Falls of the Ohio”).
The vision of crossing our geography, science, ecology, history, and culture paths will make the Falls a sought-after tourist and academic destination for everyone around the world. Many people within the community have made an effort to help the campaign reach its goal but with such a long ways to go, there is so much more to be accomplished in preserving this God-created wonder of our region. The Falls is a vital cultural and natural resource for our community and the generosity from our community will help make it remain part of our home for many generations to come.



Works Cited

Ambrose, Stephen. Undaunted Courage. New York: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group. 1997. Print.

Cummins, Dani. “The Falls of the Ohio Foundation Announces a Media Sneak Peek of
its Flame Run Hotshop and Gallery Commission: The Crossroads Campaign Final
Design Unveiling.” News Desk: Copies of Our Media Releases. 2011. Web. 18 Jun. 2011.

----. Personal Interview. 2011. 29 Jun. 2011.

Ewing, Jack. “Online Marketing: What Works?” BusinessWeek, 29 Sept. 2005. Web. 16 Jul. 2011.

Hill, Railton M. "A Social Marketer's Response to “The Development of a Promotion
Plan to Improve Public Awareness for a Non-Profit Agency”." Social Marketing Quarterly 12.4 (2006): 59-63. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web. 28 July 2011.

Klein, Karen. “How to Use Social Media to Promote Your Business.” BusinessWeek, 7 Aug. 2009. Web. 16 Jul. 2011.

----. “Stop Wasting Time on Social Media.” BusinessWeek, 8 Jun. 2010. Web. 28 Jul. 2011.

Scott, David Meerman. "Really Simple Marketing." EContent 29.10 (2006): 64.
Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web. 28 July 2011.

“The Story of the Lewis and Clark Statue: History Lives in Bronze.”
LewisAndClarkTrail.com. LewisAndClarkTrail, (n.d.). Web. 17 Jun. 2011.