More Than Just Cookies, Crafts & Camping

After Nearly 100 Years, Girl Scouting Gets a Makeover www.girlscouts.com

Thinking Thin Mints when you hear there?s news about the Girl Scouts? Well, that?s about to change. Girl Scouts of the USA is thinking outside the cookie box, making itself over in an effort to stay relevant in a world that?s become increasingly complicated for today?s girls and young women.

In recent years, membership in Girl Scouts across the country has declined as girls and moms have assumed that Girl Scouting is all about cookies, crafts and camping. Since its founding in 1912, Girl Scouts has grown from 18 members in Savannah, GA to more than 3 million girls and adults nationwide. However, over the last five years, girl membership has declined by more than 10 percent to 2.4 million. Girls today are plugged-in multi-taskers coping with challenges ranging from cyber-bullying to body image issues to pressures to grow up faster than ever before. And they don?t necessarily want to wear green polyester. Appealing to this technologically advanced, fickle demographic is no easy feat. Recently, the Girl Scouts appointed their first-ever chief marketing officer, Laurel Richie, and set about make big changes: among them, highlighting some of the activities that aren?t usually seen as being part of the Girl Scouts stereotype.

Laurel Richie, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for the Girl Scouts is talking about:

What will the new Girl Scout look like, from the new logo to the new uniform?

What does a Girl Scout do? What do the Girl Scouts do for girls? How is the organization helping girls build leadership skills today?

Girl Scouting today, from the age-old activity of selling cookies to new activities including financial education, international travel, and Habitat for Humanity. Overlooked opportunities Girl Scouts offers, including camping in Austria and rafting in Costa Rica, environmentalism, entrepreneurship, and new ways to make the world a better place.

Girl Scouts? rebranding and breaking away from the cookies, crafts, and camping stereotype.

Organizational changes and why streamlining from hundreds of local councils down to a lean 112 was a must.

About the talent: Laurel J. Richie is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Girl Scouts of the USA. She has great passion for the mission of building girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place, and is committed to giving every girl the opportunity to benefit from the leadership experience that is unique to the Girl Scout Movement. Richie is responsible for Girl Scouts of the USA’s brand, communications, publishing, marketing, and Web-based initiatives.

This interview is provided by Girl Scouts of the USA

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