HOW TO TALK ABOUT SCOUTING.

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1 1: 2: 3: Be prepared Why we are all Scouting communicators 4: Be clear 5: Who we are and what we do Be relevant The right message for the right audience 6: Be inspiring 7: Scouting in pictures Be consistent How we look 8: Be positive and challenging 9: How we talk Be inclusive Showing our whole Scouting family Be surprising Challenging misconceptions about Scouting Be seen We re special; let s prove it HOW TO TALK ABOUT SCOUTING. WELCOME We all know how hard it can be describing Scouting to someone new to us. You want to say something positive, accurate and inspiring but often find yourself wondering where to begin. After all, there are so many activities, badges, sections and ways of doing things. How do you boil it down to just a few sentences? This is where this handy new guide comes in, and the good news is that you don t need to be a communications expert to use it. It s just simple, friendly advice with an emphasis on practical support for you as a volunteer. You ll find: A ready-made word bank to help you describe the different parts of our work (see page 7) Hints and tips on striking the right tone when writing about Scouting (see page 15) Advice on how to choose images (see page 11) Facts and figures to use in your communications (see page 18) Useful quotes (see page 22) Definitions of Scouting in 30, 70 and 150 words, for when you need to describe us in a hurry (see page 24) Information on how to access the Scout Print Centre where you can create and personalise posters, flyers and banners quickly and inexpensively (see page 14) Not only does this save you starting from scratch every time you need to create a communication, it helps us create a consistent, positive image of Scouting locally and nationally. It all helps build up recognition for the Movement and a better understanding of the work we do. And when that happens, more people support us, meaning Scouting can reach even more young people. Good luck with creating inspiring communications and thank you as always for the time and energy you give to Scouting. Wayne Bulpitt, UK Chief Commissioner 10: B-P and Bear Grylls Quotes and inspiration scouts.org.uk/brand

2 4 1: BE PREPARED. Why we are all Scouting communicators QUESTION What is a brand? Answer: Simply what appears in someone s head when you mention a company, charity or organisation. This could be a particular set of values, a logo, font or set of colours. So you re chatting with someone in the queue at the Post Office. Mentioning that you have just returned from Scout camp, they ask you that difficult question. So what s Scouting all about these days? Your mind goes blank. There are so many amazing things, it seems impossible to pick just one... This guide will help you answer that question and perhaps inspire them to get involved. Remember, if we all give a similar answer to this question to friends, colleagues, parents, journalists and others, we can really improve the perception of Scouting and increase our support. Use this guide to explain Scouting to parents, friends, potential volunteers and supporters. It will cover: Who we are What we do What we look like including our logo, colours and fonts What tools and resources are available to help you Scouting is about Everyday Adventure. Scouting offers fun and friendship, challenge and everyday adventure to 400,000 girls and boys across the UK. We have a positive impact on young people, our 100,000 adult volunteers and the communities in which we live.

3 6 2: BE CLEAR. Who we are and what we do QUESTION Can you sum up Scouting in two words? Answer: Everyday adventure We offer over 200 different activities to girls and boys, indoors and outdoors, both creative and adventurous for everyone and at every level. We challenge young people and adults to stretch themselves, discover new talents and reach their potential. Our approach is informal, youth-led and sociable; Scouting is an enjoyable hobby and a social life with a purpose. Scouting helps young people and adults get to know new people, work well together and develop positive, meaningful friendships. Scouting is a charity that has a positive and practical impact on: Young people - providing opportunities to grow in confidence and develop life skills Adult volunteers - positively impacting adults in their professional and personal lives, providing the opportunity to develop skills such as training, management, and communications Society - providing practical benefits to local, national and international communities. This also supports wording in the Scout Promise to help other people.

4 8 FINDING THE RIGHT WORDS. It can sometimes be hard to find the right words and phrases that describe our values. Here are some you can use in your communications. Scouting is about... Everyday adventure and challenge Over 200 activities International opportunities Exploring Possibilities Active Safe Indoors and outdoors Everyone and at every level Overcome Teamwork Leadership Volunteer Responsibility Take part Fun and friendship Exciting Enjoyable Positive Rewarding A social life with a purpose Friendship across borders and different background Positive impact Happier, more confident young people Life changing opportunities Developing tomorrow s leaders A more promising future Life-skills for boys and girls Professional skills for adults Empowered adults and young people WHAT YOU SEE WHAT WE DO WHAT WE DELIVER Active citizens Global awareness and impact Achievement Youth participation Results, success and recognition Community development A charity that has a positive and practical impact Everyday adventure and challenge, fun and friendship Personal development A positive impact on society AT A GLANCE Our essence: Everyday Adventure Call to action: Be prepared What we deliver: We challenge our members to experience fun, friendship and everyday adventure to help them reach their potential and have a positive impact on society Tone of voice: Positively challenging Our behaviours: Fun, Friendship, Diverse, Values-based, Trusted

5 10 3: BE RELEVANT. The right message for the right audience Different aspects of our brand will be relevant to different people. For example our message about fun and adventure will be much more appealing to young people aged 6-14 (Fig 1.). Materials aimed at young people aged would continue to focus strongly on adventure and challenge, fun and friendship. The positive impact becomes increasingly prominent (Fig 2) Our message about fun and friendship we know is important when attracting new adult volunteers (Fig 3). The evidence of our positive impact we know is important to potential donors (Fig 4). Key: Everyday Adventure Fun and friendship Positive impact FIG 1. young people aged 6-14 FIG 3. adult volunteers FIG 2. young people aged FIG 4. POTENTIAL DONORS While it is important to represent all aspects of our brand, think about who you are speaking with and tailor the emphasis accordingly.

6 12 4: BE INSPIRING. Scouting in pictures When talking or writing about Scouting, try and capture the energy, passion and commitment of our young people and adult volunteers. Often the best way of doing this is in pictures. Don t forget your images need to reflect fun, challenge and adventure. Go for active rather than grip and grin and football team style shots. You know the ones we mean!

7 14 5: BE CONSISTENT. How we look Our colour Palette Scout Purple Pantone 2597 Scout Green Pantone 377 Scout Mauve Pantone 2425 Scout Orange Pantone 166 Scout Blue Pantone 7469 Scout Grey Pantone 430 Scout Black Pantone Printers Black HERTFORDSHIRE So everyone knows we are part of the same Movement, it s vital we share a similar look and feel. Our logo We now use the single colour purple logo to represent Scouting. You can create your own local version of the logo free of charge at The Scout Association s Print Centre at Our full brand guidelines are also available at the same place. It is important we do not crowd the logo; it should be given sufficient clear space around it (the height of the fleur de lys on all sides) and it should appear on a plain, uncluttered background. Our fonts As well as our logo, we use a coporate font, called The Serif: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTU VWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopq rstuvwxyz This is used mainly in designed documents such as annual reports, posters and flyers. Headlines on documents are most commonly produced in The Serif Black in uppercase. However you can also use Arial and Frutiger for headers and body text. Use our print centre So members do not need to go to the expense of buying the font, we have created a wide variety of on-brand templates available free of charge on the print centre. You can access this by logging in at and choosing Print Centre from the My Tools menu. You can select a template for a poster for example, enter your own details and create a PDF. You do not need to own a copy of the font to use this. If you cannot find a suitable template then communications@scouts.org.uk and we will add it to the list of items to develop. Branded Word templates are also available at For normal body text in newsletters and letters, please use Arial, which is available on most PCs. Colours We also have a fixed set of colours (our colour palette). Again this helps the public recognise us at a glance. For all resources aimed at people outside Scouting we use Scout Purple (Pantone 2597) and Scout Green (Pantone 377) as these colours are already associated with Scouting. The other colours form our secondary pallete and are used for clarity and variety in Scouting publications. These are Scout mauve (Pantone 2425) Scout orange (Pantone 166) Scout blue (Pantone 7469) Scout grey (Pantone 430) and Scout black (Printers Black). QUESTION Which logo should I use on our Scout HQ? Answer: The single colour, purple version QUESTION Why do we put the logos and titles on a six degree angle? Answer: It is simply to help us stand out from the crowd.

8 6: BE POSITIVE AND CHALLENGING. How we talk 16 Just as a person has their own way of speaking, so too does Scouting. Although we are made up of over 500,000 different voices, when we speak as a Movement it should be with one voice. This will help us make ourselves heard when we want to talk about important issues like improving young people s lives, volunteer recruitment and providing safe and exciting adventures. THE WAY WE TALK needs to: put our personality across quickly and effectively we are fun, friendly, challenging and adventurous help us articulate our ideas in clear, inspiring and persuasive ways help us stand out from the crowd Remember, the way we speak is part of what makes us who we are: positive, challenging, friendly, informal and surprising. It expresses our values as a Movement that is committed to providing fun, challenge and everyday adventure to young people of every background. We call this tone of voice positively challenging. It s positive because we believe we can change lives for the better because we are confident about our ability to provide everyday adventure because we re optimistic about the future. It s challenging because we re honest that our work is not always easy and there s always more to do because we know that people have misconceptions about Scouting that we need to challenge because we want to challenge negative perceptions about young people. Here s an example of our tone of voice in action: You re not paying for a canoe; you re funding a future. We don t just climb mountains, we move them. You can t change the world in a day. But together we can. Up to much on Thursday? Fancy 30 million new friends? HOW WE TALK: Positive Challenging Friendly Informal Surprising HOW WE TALK your checklist 3 Don t write long, descriptive paragraphs, use unexplained abbreviations or include unnecessary detail. 3 If a picture can say something better than in words, then use a picture instead. 3 Scouting is fun and adventurous this should be reflected in your copy too. 3 Don t just write to fill up space on a page. 3 Believe in what you say and say what you mean. 3 Focus on great ideas and positive results, although don t be afraid to point out areas where we need to do better. 3 Be simple and truthful. 3 Do follow our style guide which is available at 3 Remember, our voice should be positively challenging - we are positive about the future but challenging ourselves to make it better for young people.

9 18 7: BE INCLUSIVE. Showing our whole Scouting family 8: BE SURPRISING. Challenging misconceptions about Scouting If people in your area still think that Scouting is all knobbly knees, big hats and woggles, why not surprise them with a few facts. Did they know that Scouting has been growing for the last seven years, that most people are no more than a mile from their nearest Scout meeting place and that we offer more than 200 activities? Scouting is for girls and boys, young and old, all faiths and backgrounds. Anyone who accepts Scouting s principles can be a Scout. Are you doing everything you can to promote this? The Scout Association s Black, Minority and Ethnic (BME) membership is growing (to 4.7% in 2009/10) but there is more work still to do before Scouting fully reflects the diversity our local communities. DID YOU KNOW? There are now more than half a million members of Scouting in the UK Scouting in the UK has been growing for the last seven years More young people do adventurous activities as Scouts than with any other organisation Each year Scouts spend over two million nights away from home doing adventurous activities. The youngest person to walk to the South Pole was a Scout Each year Scouts tackling the Queen s Scout Award walk the equivalent distance of once around the world. 11 of the 12 people to walk on the moon were once Scouts. John Lennon and Paul McCartney were both Scouts (inspiring a better quality of campfire song) You are never more than 10 miles from a Scout Meeting Place The Scout Association is part of a worldwide movement of 31 million Scouts

10 20 9: BE SEEN. We re special; let s prove it There are a wide variety of tools and resources to help you project a positive and adventurous image of Scouting. At your next presentation, why not show the video Think you know Scouting? Think Again. It s Scouting in a nutshell and puts forward a succinct case for the need for more adult volunteers. You can also show Think you know Scouting? Take a closer look", which presents the positive impact we have in our communities. Download both from You ll also find: Scout posters, flyers and banners that your can personalise and print, log into our print centre on using your normal username and password Video, including messages from Bear Grylls, Chief Scout, to use in your local communications. Branded Word templates Meeting place signage, stationery, calendars and photo-books. Our full design guide can be found at Images (including cut out images) It s our passion for Scouting that will enthuse others; let s talk to people outside Scouting and your enthusiasm will inspire others to join the adventure. All of the above can be accessed at Feedback & questions Please communications@scouts.org.uk THINK AGAIN.

11 22 10: Quotes B-P and Bear Grylls. and inspiration Bear Grylls adventurer, author and TV presenter, is our current Chief Scout. Here are some quotes which you can use in your materials. Baden-Powell (B-P for short) was the Founder of Scouting and our first Chief Scout. He believed that Scouting was about adventure for young people of all backgrounds. He was also convinced that by working together we could make the world a better place. Here are some of his thoughts on Scouting. The open-air is the real objective of Scouting and the key to its success. Life without adventure is deadly dull. If the right spirit is there, it can knock the im out of the word impossible. Good humour is as catching as the measles. Every Scout ought to prepare himself to be a good citizen of his country and of the world. It is something to be good, but it is far better to do good. Scouting s 500,000 members are an inspiration. It s great to see it. It s all about friendship and fun and adventure people who might not normally have the chance for adventure. Scouts are shining lights in their communities. Every child has the right to an adventure. Life is about grabbing opportunities. The prizes don t always go to the biggest, the best and the strongest they go to those who persevere. These are simple life lessons that Scouting teaches. Two things matter in life: following your dreams and looking after your friends. This is what I love about Scouting. It s about doing great things, loving and enjoying the great adventures and helping others to do the same. Scouting provides a second family to lots of young people. It s a safe place where they can aspire and grow.

12 HOW BE PREPARED TO TALK FOR ABOUT ADVENTURE... SCOUTING 24 I NEED A QUICK DEFINITION OF SCOUTING... Scouting offers fun and friendship, challenge and everyday adventure to 400,000 girls and boys across the UK. We have a positive impact on young people, our 100,000 adult volunteers and the communities in which we live. Scouting offers fun and friendship, challenge and everyday adventure to 400,000 girls and boys across the UK. We have a positive impact on young people, our 100,000 adult volunteers and the communities in which we live. Offering over 200 different activities from abseiling and archery to drama, street sports and water zorbing, Scouting helps 6-25 year olds grow in confidence, achieve their full potential and become active members of their communities. Scouting offers fun and friendship, challenge and everyday adventure to 400,000 girls and boys across the UK. We have a positive impact on young people, our 100,000 adult volunteers and the communities in which we live. Offering over 200 different activities from abseiling and archery to drama, street sports and water zorbing, Scouting helps 6-25 year olds grow in confidence, achieve their full potential and become active members of their communities. This is only possible through the efforts of 100,000 volunteers who also enjoy the fun and friendship of Scouting. Trusted by nearly a million parents each week, the Movement welcomes members from all backgrounds, faiths and cultures. Special emphasis is placed on bringing the Scouting programme to young people who currently do not benefit, particularly those in inner cities, those in rural areas and other disadvantaged groups. The Scout Association is a registered charity in the UK and part of a worldwide movement of 31 million Scouts working for peace and global friendship.

13 Feeling sociable? Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are some of the most powerful ways to communicate our values and inspire more people to join the adventure. Remember how we speak online is just as important as in person or on paper. Think about who is listening in on your conversations about Scouting - the world is listening, not just your Scouting friends. Avoid Scouting jargon Include at least two of our main brand values Use our tone of voice - positive, challenging and surprising Include a call to action or link so people know how to get involved Use exciting and adventurous images and video Use our single colour purple logo Tell inspiring stories and speak from the heart THANKS FOR READING AND GOOD LUCK! scouts.org.uk/brand Copyright 2012 The Scout Association Registered Charity number (England and Wales) and SC (Scotland) Incorporated by Royal Charter