Like everything in this world 'Clubs' are changing the way
they interact with the public. Back in
the day, maybe 10 years ago, clubs were very social and very face-to-face. If you were part of a car club, you would
drive your classic car to a meeting once or twice a month, see all of your
buddies and chew the fat until it was time to go home. If you were part of a flying club you would
fly airplanes and tell stories to other pilots.
In 1965, when Pacific Flying Club opened it doors, that was the vision; for
Canadian Pacific Airlines pilots to have a social venue to come to and fly
airplanes. But the advent of social
media has changed everything - from the way clubs connect with their members to
the way they deal with tragedies.
Involving people in club activities has taken on a new format. People no longer leave the house to go to a
meeting or event without taking a cell phone or tablet. No longer can a company
expect their customers to take the time to come to their stores and spend hours
researching a product. No longer can clubs expect members to stay connected and
involved, clubs must keep them connected and involved using social media.
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| Treavling pen in Denver, CO. Thanks to Paul Gagnon |
Enter “The Traveling Pen”.
This idea was born from a combination of a few different situations and
ideas. The seed was planted with Travelocity’s
Roaming Gnome. In short, the neighbor of a gnome collector
stole one of the neighbor’s gnomes and took it traveling. While traveling, he anonymously sent pictures
of the gnome in exotic locations back to the neighbor. This idea was tweaked by the students, staff,
and members of PFC. Everyone had a PFC
pen in their flight bag; they also had 3 in their car, 7 at their house and
another 10 in random places around their lives.
If you spent time at PFC our pens would find a way into your life. And finally the story that inspired this idea
to sprout... a true story: A PFC instructor with a young family decided to
order pizza from there local pizzeria.
But their daughter wanted "stuffed crust" from Pizza Hut. So as a treat they ordered a stuffed crust pizza
from Pizza Hut and had it delivered.
When the pizza arrived, the PFC instructor paid with credit card and to
sign the receipt, the pizza delivery person handed him a PFC pen. When asked where he got the pen, the delivery
person said, "I don’t know, they are all over work!"
So in late 2011 we launched the PFC Traveling Pen
(#pfctavelingpen if you’re a Twitter user) and it has since blossomed into an initiative
that has gathered over 200 photos from students, staff, and members. Since the launch the pen has traveled the
world to places as far away as Egypt, China, Las Vegas, Jamaica and Yellowknife
to name just a few!
So join in the best social media event aviation has to
offer. Take a picture of you and your PFC
traveling pen in interesting or unique locations and post them to our Facebook
page, Pacific Flyingclub, or on twitter @pacificflying. You can also email them directly to me at
dmartens@pacificflying.com.
As always...Fly Safe!
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