1. What are the marketing messages? Is “Knowledge is Power” our new message?
At this point, Cooperative Extension has not developed any external marketing messages. We will focus our work based on the four focus areas we have identified and we will use “Knowledge is Power” as part of our working tagline. We will further define our marketing messages as we bring our Marketing Director on board.

2. Is Knowledge is Power the new Extension logo or slogan?
“Knowledge is Power” is a tagline we are using. The Extension logo, the red and blue bars, has not changed.

3. Are the Knowledge is Power banners available for checkout by the counties? If so, what is the procedure to request them? How are the rollup marketing posters available?
The Knowledge is Power banners are available for checkout. Check with Jennier Mitchell, Communication Services, at 919.513.3045 for additional information.

4. What are the most effective and inexpensive marketing techniques or how can we secure funding for marketing?
Our programs are mostly free, but people don’t know about them because our marketing is strangled by budgets. For youth programs, marketing should be to volunteers and to youth—two separate audiences with different goals. The Marketing Committee is working to plan and develop strategies you can use to market your programs and activities. Once the marketing director is on board, these will be further defined. All the activities we are doing now to let people know about our programs and activities are marketing. Some of them cost money. Many others are free. The committee will examine all that’s being done now and develop a more centralized effort that allows us to the get the greatest amount of exposure for the work we are doing and to focus our work to those things covered in our mission.

5. When will we hear the marketing strategy? How do you plan to improve the marketing of CES? How are you going to market CES at state level?
The work you just described will be the major work of the new marketing director. A search committee, chaired by Dee Shore at NC State and Robin Adams at NC A&T, has been named, a draft job description has been developed and the team is working to have somebody identified by early October.

6. Will any marketing staff be assigned to market our district?
This is the kind of question that will be answered by the marketing director. We don’t want to go too far down this road without bringing on the kind of expert we need to plan and plot our direction.

7. Are you placing any communication specialists in the West District?
This is a decision that will be made by the marketing director. This person will look at our needs and make determinations about where staff needs to be allocated.

8. NC State Brick on NCCE Website Template – when will this change to reflect ‘One Extension’ and include NCA&T?
We need one letterhead to reflect both institutions and not two and SC 3/14 Everett Davis - If our logo is to stay as it is, why do we not use it on business cards and letterheads to increase our identity and visibility? And SC 3/14 Will we have one unified name for our organization? Currently, we have NC Cooperative Extension Service (NCSU), and NC Cooperative Extension Program (NC A&T SU), and when we are both mentioned together it is NC Cooperative Extension. Could the name NC Cooperative Extension be used interchangeably to avoid this confusion? These are the kinds of question that the marketing director, working with Drs. McKinnie and Ort, will answer. But these questions cannot be answered in a vacuum. They will require the input of top administrators at the two institutions.

9. What are the specific duties of the new positions?
1) Evaluation specialist or director; 2) marketing specialist or director. A draft job description for the marketing director has been created and is being evaluated by the human resource departments at NC State and NC A&T. Once they have classified the job, the description will be widely available. The search committee has been charged with conducting a national search to find the best marketing person they can find. This person’s primary task will be to develop, plan, implement and measure the systems’ marketing efforts.

10. When will the Marketing Director begin work, and where will this person be housed?
The search committee has begun its work and is working to identify a candidate by early October. Once they person is on staff, they will have an office at both NC State and NC A&T and answer directly to Drs. Ort and McKinnie

11. Will the Marketing Initiative/Marketing Director develop templates for both counties and campus to use so that reports have a professional look?
Marketing materials will be developed so the system is able to deliver consistent messages. If this includes using templates, these will be created and provided in the kind of format all staff can access and use.

12. Because the 4-H clover is so well known and 2nd most recognized logo (second to Red Cross)-wouldn’t it be good to link the clover to the Extension logo? Perhaps to show it underneath the Extension logo?
Once decisions have been made about the use of the Cooperative Extension logo, a stylebook will be updated to outline its use and the use of all other secondary logos.

13. Will Extension change its logo? Will marketing materials, such as publications, be developed and available at the county offices? And SC 3/14 Will the logo change?
At this point, the logo has not changed. We may change how and when the logo is used. If and when this occurs, all staff will be provided clear instructions on how and when to use the logo. For now, the red and blue bars remain the Cooperative Extension logo.

14. Are there any other states developing marketing plans similar to our “creating one identity for Extension” and what are some of their findings, conclusions, challenges and solutions? And are there any other states developing marketing plans similar to our “Creating One identity for Extension”?
Cooperative Extension systems across the country, particularly those in states with two systems, are examining our work here in North Carolina closely. In some cases, we are ahead of what others are doing, and we are being looked at as a pioneer in these efforts.

15. Two years ago the marketing initiatives were introduced. When will we see evidence of these efforts in our county?
We have not introduced any external marketing initiatives. We have identified some internal focus areas that we are using as we develop our programs and that can be used to help us better focus our work so that we are doing those things where we have expertise and where we can get the greatest impact.

16. In October we heard in the Ort/McKinnie letter that our core message would be food, agriculture, and natural resources. Now we are adding youth and families. Which is correct? Changes were made to the original message to allow for a broader definition of the work being done by Cooperative Extension and the needs of the state. We feel we are uniquely qualified to provide the solutions in these areas.