[Nordskogen] On the purpose of demos [long]

[Doug Hulick]

Greetings,

I've always believed that there were different demos for different
purposes. Some are to attract membership, some are to clarify to the
public just what we are/do, and some are to educate people about
history. Now, that isn't to say that you can't do all three at one
demo (in fact, all three are usually part of a good demo), but I think
that it is a good idea to determine what the goals are for each demo
so you know where your main focus is going to lie for the day.

When I was going to college *mumble* years ago in Illinois, our
biggest demo was during the first full week of school, when all the
student groups took a section of the Quad and tried to interest
new/returning people into checking them out. This, IMO, was a "Here we
are, we do cool stuff, come check us out if you can" kind of demo. A
little bit of everything, with people showing of crafts, a bit of
fighting, and low-key interacting with the casual public.

By contrast, when I was living in the Outlands, the demos we put on in
the local mall (right in front of the Sears, I believe) was a much
more concentrated membership drive, since we were a very small shire
and needed every warm body we could get. This was a "Look at us! Isn't
this cool? Don't you want to try it? SURE you do..." demo. We didn't
quite get in your face, but the flashier, showier aspects of the SCA
took center stage, as well as a fair amount of friendly, concerted
pitching.

The Caponis I have attended tend to strike me (and this is just my
opinion) more as a "We are the SCA, we do historical re-creation, come
see some of the interesting and historical stuff we have here today."
More period activities and look, more discussion of what was done "in
period", less of a hard push for membership. Fighting and the like are
more of an aside.

All of the above have things in common, and all are - to some degree -
defined by their venue (good luck getting a period feel in an enclosed
shopping mall :). But each had it's purpose and focus, too. In other
words, there was a sense of what we wanted to accomplish with the demo
before we arrived.

Rather than worry about what *every* demo should be, I think it would
behoove us to look at what "a" demo can be, with the understanding
that those definitions can and will change from one demo to another.
Decide on what we can or want to accomplish at Demo A, with the
understanding that the goals may be completely different two months
down the line at Demo B. Then let people know what we are shooting
for. This way, there are no (or at least, fewer) surprises, and
everyone can arrive knowing what is expected this time around.


regards,

Simon