Girl Scouts Squash Online Innovation

Just another sad case of a traditional business model not embracing ecommerce. <sigh>

There’s not one person I know who doesn’t wait for Girl Scout Cookie Season… Thin Mints, Samoas, Taglongs and more!  But, wouldn’t it be fantastic to be able to order them online, while still helping out your local troop?

Today, Newsweek featured an article about 8-year old Wild Freeborn, who, with the help of her tech industry father, put together an easy online pre-order site to help sell cookies in the local area.  Being part of the digital marketing industry, it’s fantastic to see a young Girl Scout and her father using a little innovation when selling cookies, which are traditionally sold door-to-door.  However, other local girls and the Girl Scouts of America didn’t see it that way, and quickly put a stop to it.

The official word from GSA was, “The safety of our girls is always our chief concern. Girl Scout Cookie activities are designed to be face-to-face learning experiences for the girls.”  Have they read the news lately?  These days, door-to-door sales are probably not the safest method for distribution, often limiting your sales potential to neighbors you know (or, as we all know… the parents end up taking the order form to work).  The reprimand of this girl shows that the GSA lacks the desire to evolve as commerce does, and the necessity for the girls to learn about the applications of emerging technology.

The Girl Scouts shrunk the cookies and boxes, and raised the price this year.  This is purely indicative of the slowing sales over years past.  Besides cutting back on product, one would assume that they would also begin to embrace alternative revenue methods… and reward the girls who are innovative enough to pioneer these paths.  Instead, Wild Freeborn was met with complaints from other Girl Scouts and their parents.  She also received a talk from the GSA regarding “the ethics of cookie sales”…. which all seems a bit ridiculous.

For a program designed to teach young girls to be resourceful, innovative, and entrepreneurial… they seem to be stuck in a time warp.  Times are changing, business is evolving, and GSA needs to adapt for long-term success.

Read the full article at Newsweek.com:  The Cookie Crumbles