Group Purchases by Associations, Clubs, Corporations and Institutions

"How to Organize a Group Purchase" An interview with Reno Estigoy, State Farm Activities Association of Salem

View the electronic flyer State Farm Activity Association of Salem used to promote the discount (Portable Document Format (PDF) file)

Tally the Orders - This easy-to-use spreadsheet helped them keep track of their orders (Portable Document Format (PDF) file)

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The State Farm Activity Association is independent of State Farm Insurance. It was created to provide entertainment and value to the over 500 employees and 200 retirees in Salem, Albany and Woodburn, Oregon. Activities offered have included rafting trips, sporting events (Salem and Portland), Rose Festival Hillsboro Airshow, raffles, family holiday parties and a free fishing day.

The Association makes decisions on group purchases through a volunteer committee which operates year-round. It is generally a 5 to 6 week process for the activity to be researched, approved and ticket sales to be completed.
Once the committee decides on a venue, such as the Oregon Zoo, they start the process with a mass email (intranet) to employees and retirees. They also an article about the event/ venue in their monthly newsletter. Flyers are posted throughout their facilities. For the Oregon Zoo offer, Reno Estigoy, created a jungle motif display in the Salem cafeteria. He rounded-up stuffed animals from employees’ workstations and then added brochures and posters supplied by the Zoo.

Reno then collected information from interested employees such as name, contact and the number and type of tickets needed (everyone had the option of purchasing Zoo railroad tickets). He created a spreadsheet to calculate the information for the group purchase. Everyone was sent verification (via email).
He is in the process of creating a program that will allow this order process to be done online.

At the specific cut-off date for purchase, Reno and the Association made a purchase of over 150 Oregon Zoo admission tickets. The next week, Reno disbursed tickets at each facility. Reno advised that everyone who ordered actually paid for the tickets. Even if a few folks had opted not to purchase, the tickets could have been returned to the Zoo for a full refund.

This group purchase allowed State Farm employees and retirees a full 20% discount on Oregon Zoo admission and railroad tickets. Families were not limited to a specific date or length of stay and the tickets are valid for up to a year.It was such a success that the Association placed another order a few weeks later.

Reno advises that success of this program is based on selecting a popular, family venue, communicating the offer through a variety of media and displays, ease of ordering and purchasing tickets and plenty of lead-time.
“However, the true success of any program is measured by the fun enjoyed by our co-workers and families.”

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