As the 2017 sheep show and fiber festival season begins, BLU would like to remind our members of the advertising dollars spent promoting the breed and the breeders during the year.
Since 3 of BLU’s stated goals are promotion related:
To engage in the education and promotion of Bluefaced Leicester sheep,
To provide interested people with information about Bluefaced Leicester sheep and their products,
To promote interest in the Bluefaced Leicester breed of sheep wherever possible in order to attract new breeders for the propagation and well-being of the breed.
the board feels strongly that a large portion of the budget each year should be spent on promotion and advertizing.
Here is a list of the shows and festivals where advertising dollars were spent in 2016. These events have traditionally been attended by BLU members, either showing sheep or BFL fiber, or as vendors in fiber shows.
Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival – $350.00 This includes support for the working herding dog demonstration given by long time breeder, Nancy Starkey, using BFLs.
Vermont Sheep & Wool Festival – $40.00
Shepherd’s Harvest in Minnesota – $30.00
Because the 2018 BFL national show will be held during the Black Sheep Gathering in Oregon, the board will be placing ads in the Black Sheep Newsletter each of the next 4 quarters. Each ad will be $99.00.
Additionally, ads are planned for the Michigan Fiber Festival and for the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool festival in 2017.
Besides promoting BFLs at shows, there are also ads placed in the major sheep magazines – The Shepherd and Sheep! both have paid listings in the breed section of each magazine, at a total cost of $80.00 per year. A special ad costing $350.00 was placed in the SpinOff Magazine in their winter issue which featured Bluefaced Leicester wool. The Banner magazine provides space for notes from breed associations at no cost – a great benefit!
The board would like to invite any member who attends a show or festival with their BFL sheep or fiber to submit a request to advertise at that show. We’d also like to remind you that BLU has banners available to borrow if you’d like to promote the breed registry at events. Besides banners, there are also promotional materials available to print here on the website. (click on “about BLU” and then on “Promotional Materials”)