Every year, one week before the AGM, which this year is to be held in Torquay, Bilsborrow YFC holds its AGM warm-up party.
This year is to be no exception, and Friday 16 April is the date set in the diary for our club do. Last Thursday night, in the local pub of course, a few of our members met to discuss the event - namely its marketing, management, theme, venue, price - everything associated with the running of the event basically.
Following the AGM theme, the dress code is going to be past AGM themes and club shirts so I expect to see military, Wizard of Oz, and superheroes outfits in abundance.
Unsurprisingly I ended up coming out of the meeting with a large proportion of things to do. But fear not, I actually volunteered for the responsibility, as it appears a good university education actually comes in helpful when thinking up themes, creating slogans for club shirts, designing event posters and marketing matters!
Remember the 4 P's I was told at university - product, price, place and promotion.
Now the product is simple - a large group of young farmers having a party involving fancy dress and alcohol. Scene seems pretty foolproof there! Just need to delegate out the purchase of the alcohol (which shouldn't be too hard!), and the booking of the DJ who is an ex-young farmer and is excellent at getting the party started (and continuing late into the night).
The price follows a similar structure to other club do's in the area - with an incentive of offering a discount for pre-ordering tickets and a flat rate for drinks, the event is assured of a good turnout, and hopefully some club profit! I've made the ticket booking order form, and bought the wristbands, so the club secretary can take over on that now - well she has no choice really seeing as I put her name and address on the form.
The place is non-negotiable - Bilsborrow Village Hall. The location for many a good night, and which can easily hold 499 people. I have to apply for a Temporary Event Notice from the council, and this is a pre-determined maximum number. Hell of a party if we get that many!
Which just leaves the issue of promotion. Now having completed a degree in agricultural business development, with modules involving marketing and consumer behaviour, I reasoned I'd be quite good at this. So I made the poster yesterday which will be distributed to all clubs in the region, on our club website at www.bilsborrowyfc.webs.com, on the Lancashire YFC website, and somewhere else I seem to be forgetting...oh that's right, can't forget Facebook!
So the marketing mix has been initiated. The process of delegation has been set in motion. And the vice-chairman can take a breather - but I love it. This is what I joined YFC for.
Without realising it, club officers are learning how to run a business, and with the recent announcement of the launch of the AgriSkills strategy to encourage more young people into agriculture, events such as our club party offer ideal opportunities to make your mark and impress others.
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