Another Text Scheme

Politics aside, Obama's campaign made a giant stride forward this year in terms of how he reinforced and solicited a connection from his constituents. One of the ways his campaign did this was by asking supporters to text their name to a certain number during mass gatherings. Once supporters did that the campaign entered them into a database and kept them in the loop via frequent updates. With all the opportunities we will have in the coming year including, as another post suggested, a color guard at the Super Bowl this would be a terrific chance for us to bring some lost Scouts into the fold.
Imagine, the call is put out at the Super Bowl for all former Scouts to text their highest rank to '555-555-5555.' Instantly you have reestablished a connection with a working phone number to someone who was a Scout. Maybe 20 percent of the viewing audience will respond but that's still 20 or so million people perhaps. Respondents could then be invited via text to fill out a centennial survey online where further biographical information could be shared. These lost Scouts could then be included in the entire year of 100th anniversary celebrations and be made to feel welcome in the Scouting family once again. They could be called to serve as a volunteer or might be more receptive to future calls to support local councils. At the very least we would have gathered some statistical data and perhaps build a new communications delivery infrastructure which bypasses traditional more costly and imprecise media methods.