SCOUTS
I have been involved in Scouting since the age of 6 and have always enjoyed the creative side of scouting, from being involved in multiple Gang Shows to capturing key events and activities. Since my return from University in 2014, I have taken on the role of Media Development Manager. Initially this role involved writing news stories and managing the County Website, however my greatest challenge when creating news articles for Solihull Scouts was the lack of content. To increase the content available and ensure the correct content was provided I took on another role to grow the production of content. This role involves completing the marketing campaign for an event, capture the content at an event, develop the creative content and distribute this through all of Solihull Scouts outlets (website, Facebook and Twitter). I am also in contact with the local press, writing press releases for events that have happened or circulating press releases for events that are taking place to entice the media to attend. This increase in workload is challenging but allows me to have complete control over the stories to ensure they are engaging and fit with the Scouts’ brand identity.
A snapshot of the Solihull Scout Website, full site can be found HERE
The Solihull Scout Website has recently gone through a refresh process to modernise its appearance and make it responsive for mobile users. The next step in development of the website will be to increase visual accessibility, user-interaction design and promote Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) for the website. To complement the website, I work on getting new content to spread across all our social media channels to engage our digital community.
Videos I've worked on during the 23rd World Scout Jamboree 2015
I was fortunate enough to go to the 23rd World Scout Jamboree in Japan, as an International Service Team (IST) member. I was part of the international media team filming the Jamboree as it unfolded. I was lucky enough to experience the event as the participants did by filming with them every day. It was the most challenging but inspirational two weeks of my professional career. In my current position I am stuck behind a desk setting things in motion, but in Japan I was able to just go out and film the adventure. The above video is one of 10 videos I worked on in Japan. (click in the top left corner of the video to see the other videos I worked on.)
Solihull IST in Japan
The giving of gifts or business cards is a cultural cornerstone of Japan. When me and 2 other Scout Leaders from Solihull were selected to attend the World Scout Jamboree as IST in Japan I made sure that we had on brand business cards and unit badges that we could swap or give away. We made a small miscalculation on the quantity of badges we would need, we ordered 2,000 for three of us which we then used to our advantage as we were able to use them for fundraising, swapping and gift giving. I only came home from Japan with a handful in my pocket.
