Guerrilla Marketing

I'm not sure where September has gone, but I'm finally starting to feel like I'm getting a better handle on how everything works and how all the pieces fit together. I'm getting a better grasp on the programs and material. I'm not getting lost around the city as often.

I helped work a booth last week at Take a Loved One to the Doctor Day, a health fair in Toledo, which was my first real event interacting with the public and putting my knowledge and OBB schpeel into practice.

There weren't many people there, but, with the help of my uberknowledgable VISTA leader, I was able to talk with several agencies that seemed really excited that something like OBB existed and interested in the possibility of becoming new sites. Yay!

I've also been having fun with guerrilla marketing.

Everywhere I go, I think about whether someone there could use Ohio Benefit Bank info. I've started noticing all the places where people might see a flyer, including bar bathrooms. Why not? So far I haven't had anything with me in bathrooms, but I try to tack a flyer on every bulletin board I see or discreetly drop one on the newspaper rack or a window sill every time I go inside a gas station.

A guy in a gas station parking lot who asked me for $2 got the $2 along with a "Feel Like You're Drowning?" OBB brochure. I thought he might be annoyed but he seemed interested, so that was cool. His good reaction buoyed my spirits!

However, I still make tons of mistakes. As soon as I start feeling more confident, I do something stupid and get deflated again. But I'm trying to shake it off and press on. I am by no means feeling completely confident, but I'm cautiously optimistic that day will come.