In Part 1, we discussed the challenges facing Legions today. This blog discusses a recommended approach to building a resilient future – Next Generation Community Legion. Hopefully with the help of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, we will be able to make the Mt. Brydges Legion a “pilot” for all Legions to follow in 2021 and beyond.
There will come a
time in 2021 when the pandemic will be behind us and we will be looking for a
place to go once again to socialize with friends and family, enjoy live
entertainment, to laugh, dance, sing, dine, and connect with the local
community. Local bands and musicians
will also be seeking a venue to entertain people and recover from the
pandemic. And people themselves will be
seeking new ways to “support local”.
And as we all know, there is a network of
Legions out there, in every community anxious to welcome everyone
of all ages to their facilities, their community and local businesses.
This presents a glorious opportunity for
Legions to now try to reach and engage with a younger audience to help drive a
promising future for themselves and their community – a new life post COVID 19.
However, the Legions will need to change
their traditional model to align with the new world realities. They need to be
innovative to create a Legion that will last well into the 21st
century. Through collaboration with the market and partnerships with local
business/community, they need to repurpose themselves to become a Community
Gateway / Community Social Club…a new business model for a new life. The idea
of a Community Gateway Legion will ensure the value of Lest we Forget is indeed
carried on for future generations but in a totally new way.
Creating this change will obviously
require ongoing collaboration and partnerships with the new markets, the
younger demographics, as well. The
Legions will need let go of the traditional approach and become youth-centric,
let the younger generation drive the development of a new model.
Fortunately, research indicates that the
millennial generation embrace change. They want to make a difference. Their
greatest need today is for a sense of community. They seek a place of
familiarity, a place to share, to feel connected and to feel a sense of
belonging. They want to be part of something meaningful, a worthy cause, a
millennial experience.
The Community Gateway Legion, focusing on
millennial trend for community-based tourism, will drive a “near me” movement to
pull people from nearby urban communities out to explore, discover and experience
everything that small communities and Legions have to offer.
But how does the Legion get started with
this transformation?
During the downtime forced on Legions by
COVID 19 restrictions is the time to start looking for volunteers from the millennials
or local businesses who would like to prime the creation of the next generation
Legion: a Legion Ambassador program of on-line volunteer network.
Also critical is building the digital
platform to drive the digital transformation and modernization program necessary
for integration into the digital economy.
This includes;
- digital media marketing (with modern website) to provide
meaningful content offering a digital experience the market seeks,
- social media marketing of content to connect and be
discovered by the market in a fashion that drives SEO,
- digital modernization of the Legion with ecommerce, online
fund raising, online services to ensure a satisfactory digital experience for
consumers,
- Digital displays / technology utilizing digital screens to
meet the needs of a younger generation for a more relevant Legion; screens for
entertainment (sports), education (history/culture), inform, advertise,
promote, market community content (digital bulletin board) and so much more.
With the transformation and modernization in place, the
Legions will be able to leverage the power of digital media marketing to
connect with the younger audience and get them involved to collaborate on the
development of and support a new Legion, a new model, a new future and a new
life and grow a new generation of members – Legion Ambassadors and of course, growth in traffic.
The new model will align with today’s digital reality, drive
discovery of community content (SEO) and motivate people to get out to explore,
discover and experience everything rural communities and local Legions have to
offer. A model that will stay current
with the New Normal yet ensure the tradition of “lest we forget” is carried on
for future generations, but in a new and meaningful way.