From the editor's cauldron

By John Petterson

Best-kept secret syndrome

Public relations officers and bulletin editors, you know what the secret is. Not only do you allow it to hang around in the shadows and recesses of your chapter meeting rooms, but you are also hiding it from the public. I frequently read about it in the bulletins that you send me; it is stated often at conventions and COTS. Everyone, it seems, talks about how barbershopping is a best-kept secret.

My question is: Why?

Why is this such a frequent topic of articles and conversation? Do we talk and write about it so often that we now believe ourselves that it is a best-kept secret? Sometimes it seems as if we even take pride in our best-kept secret.

Perhaps it's time we take a different approach - and it won't be easy to change the bad habit.

How many times have we, myself included, heard the lines, "I didn't know you guys were here. You are really good. How come I haven't heard you before?"

Then we answer, as if reciting from some type of a brain recording, "Our chapter's been here a long time. We're the town's best-kept secret."

That was your golden opportunity to say something like, "I can't believe you haven't heard about us. Our annual show is always at the City Auditorium in May. I'll be sure to have tickets for you next year." Or, "We sing in several of the area churches each summer. Would you like to sing with us? I'll be happy to pick you up and bring you to our chapter meeting."

There are countless ways to avoid the secret excuse and seize a golden opportunity to talk up barbershopping, where you go, what you do and, if talking with a man, invite him to a chapter meeting. If it's a woman, ask if her husband sings and if you could ask him if he would attend a chapter meeting with you.

What can you do as a public relations officer or bulletin editor? Am I ever glad you asked!

Start at the source - your chapter - by writing articles about how to respond to the best-kept secret syndrome. Once you've done that, public relations officers, increase your efforts in getting information about your chapter into the hands of your local media. Find any reason, no matter how small it may seem, to tell the media what your chapter is doing.

I've said this many times before and I'll say it many times in the future, public relations is like advertising - you have to keep hitting 'em with it. You cannot let up.

Stay with it and share your successes and failures with us through PROBEmoter. Failures? Yes, let's learn from our mistakes, too. They can be just as powerful of a teacher as the successes. ?

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