Public Relations/Publicity

I think a major problem that chorus faces at Hingham High School, and Hingham in general, is that music definitely comes in 2nd (or 3rd) behind sports and/or academics. Unfortunately, we aren't going to change the entire mindset of Hingham within the next year (or even the next 5), so what we have to start doing is really stressing how much fun and awesome chorus is. This means appearing on the Friday Show and coming off, not just as "We need guys to join chorus!", but as "Join chorus! We sound awesome, we sing fantastic music, and we learn stuff yet still have a great time!". I am not quite sure how, exactly, we are going to convey this in one 20-second TV broadcast (maybe we should do a 3 week segment, something like "Adventures in Rm. 197"? We could film it during warm-ups, then when we're really animated about something, and then when we're all warming-up/panicking for the concert...and then the camera could quick flash to us performing at the concert, and the video could fade to black with the words "Stop by Rm. 197 sometime and see what chorus can offer you". Or something of that nature.). Taking advantage of the various news sources at the high school, I feel, is key. Even though it does help, putting up small, very simple posters around the school that read "Men sing. Join chorus." is not even close to enough. I think we should find someone who is talented in Graphics class to make up a poster for chorus, much like how we do for Talent Expo, would be a really great idea. This way, the poster is eyecatching, possibly colorful, and a lot more attention-grabbing than a 8.5" by 11" sheet of paper with 4 words on it. (I would offer to make the poster myself, except I don't take graphics and have no skill with computer art techniques.) We should also take advantage of the high school newsletter that gets sent home to parents every month. Maybe we can place an advertisement in it...something cute and amusing, as it is statistically proven that people remember funny ads a lot longer, and a lot easier, then they remember normal, sane ones. In conclusion, we really have to take advantage of the many news sources available at the high school, because repetition is key to our recruitment process; if we bombard them with verbal, audible, and visual reminders that chorus is fun, people will start to sign up for it.