Crested Trumpeter Corps

About the Crested Trumpeter Corps

For more than 70 year for music, fun and connection for young and old. The corps from the Kampen area consists of over 100 members, divided into three divisions: Kamper Trompetter Korps, Jong KTK and the KTK Music Kidz. During the corona pandemic in 2020, the Kamper Trompetterkorps started the Socie App. 

Modern trendsetter

The Crested Trumpeter Corps is a youthful corps characterized as distinctive and modern. The corps is a trendsetter and wants to do things differently than other corps. The corps is doing this by choosing contemporary music, having new uniforms designed, renovating the corps building, having a presence on social media and using an App for communication. 

The Crested Trumpeter Corps has chosen the Socie App for this purpose. The Socie App is managed within the Corps by the media team, which includes Erik and Reemond. They arrange, plan and place everything in the App. Also the messages from other departments such as the board, of which Henry is the chairman. 

Why did the Crested Trumpeter Corps start using the Socie App?

We started the App in the Corona era to keep people up to date on things going on in the association. At that time, all of the App groups were forming and at some point it was no longer manageable. So we were looking for something that was more organized and where messages could be sent internally.

The nice thing is that we sort of by necessity started with the Socie App and now use it for everything. We no longer send E-mail to members, everyone also just knows, if I want to know something, I can go to the App. 

What do you guys use the Socie App for? 

All the information is in the App, our performances, calendar, media, videos, links and groups by division. We also included our donors, who we call friends of the KTK. Donors can also now easily see when we perform and rehearse. As a result, since we have been doing this, more people have been coming from outside and that works great.

Which modules do you guys use the most?  

We mainly use the share your moment module, the “messenger” as we call it ourselves. We divided these by division. We also make great use of the calendar module. In addition, we enjoy sharing movies and videos. We ourselves use the membership list a lot, it is not public, but for ourselves it is useful to keep track. We also still use the birthdays module as a board, so we can send a message to congratulate members. Furthermore, we use the sponsor module. What we especially like in the App is that in addition to a place for us, there is also space for our sponsors. As with the posts, under a post a sponsor is always shown in the App and the sponsors rotate automatically so we don’t always have the same sponsor there. So with one message, we inform everyone and put the focus not only on ourselves, but also on our sponsors.  

How do you manage the Socie App?

From the media team, especially me (Erik) and Reemond are working on it. We are an active corps, and therefore daily engaged in something in Management. Especially with little things like posting and adding people. We often do this simply through our phones. Then we open a web page and log into it to make adjustments to the App. What I personally also like is that I can go straight to the App afterwards to see what the result is. The media team is the only team working with the App. We often get messages from the board, for example, of this or that needs to be placed or changed in the App and then we can adjust it with just a few clicks via the phone. However, the App does need to be properly maintained by ourselves to remain relevant, this is basically easy to do. The amount of content we have to post does sometimes make management a challenge, but as long as we plan it well, it is manageable. 

How do you like the Socie App?

Very good, excellent App. Nice overview. Nice that you can categorize everything, including groups and such. What I also really like is that before we had the App, I used to miss messages from time to time, but not anymore. With the Socie App I just get notified, this also keeps me as a board member constantly up to date and aware of what is happening within the corps. The messages alert me to everything that is going on and therefore I can take better action on things going on. 

What is the App called with you?

Just the Socie App.

How do you ensure the App stays relevant with your members?

When you sign up, we immediately ask for an e-mail address and then we add members right away. In addition, the App is actually mandatory for our members, without it you know nothing and can do nothing. For new members, this is also told in the introductory interview. This immediately puts everyone in the App and keeps them up to date on all the posts we make. Furthermore, members have recently been able to invite others to the App themselves. We indicated that if you still know someone for the Corps, you can invite them yourself through the App. That’s going pretty well. In this way, we have now been able to add our fans to the App. 

What does the Socie App give you? 

The Socie App gives us space for our sponsors. Upon contact closure with sponsors, we tell them that they also have a spot in the App and their name is also constantly mentioned in posts in the App. Beyond that, it mostly provides better communication. 

We used to have a system, similar to a telephone tree, where messages had to go from board to section heads and then to members. In the process, people forgot messages or were forwarded late and things were missed. Now everything comes through, nothing is missed and we get better responses to actions among members. One kind of drawback is that this means we as a board don’t have to be as present at rehearsals and so on to relay messages, so we have more distance from the members. On the other hand, people who miss a rehearsal are also informed with the App. 

What do your members themselves think of the App?

They had to get very used to it at first, but because you have everything at hand with the App, we never hear, “I didn’t know that” or “what about this?” anymore. Everything can be found in the App and they like that now. What we also see is that because of the App members feel much more connected to the corps and, for example, more is now being recorded about the corps by members themselves. We cannot be at all performances and competitions, but members know that they can also take their own photos and share them in the App. In the beginning this took some getting used to, but now you see that members to performances are often quick to share photos via the App. Furthermore, we find that those photos, for example, also make the App more attractive again to people who were not there, who can still enjoy it via the App. Or if you’re on the sidelines, sharing photos can help members feel more involved in the corps again. 

What is striking is that very quickly, we have become very dependent on the App. We recently had a calendar item with the time wrong, then it goes wrong and we immediately get all our members all over us, but the good thing is that if we change this time we can immediately send a notification that we have changed it. This immediately brings everyone back up to speed on the change. 

Another thing I like about the App as a member myself is that it keeps you current in the association. You know what’s happening, don’t have to miss anything anymore. Through notifications and messenger, for example, we keep the lines of communication short. This keeps us engaged and connected. 

Do you recommend the Socie App to other music societies?

Yes, I always proudly show it to people. For example, a while ago I was sitting on a stand and then I started up the App and someone asked “what is that. Then I showed them the App. I got nice reactions to that too, they thought it looked professional. Because the App looks good and it works well, we also take pride in using it and being able to show it off. That’s why we definitely recommend the App, because we really like it. 

In addition, within our association Socie has really become a household word, “go on Socie” and “do it through the Socie” we hear regularly. Furthermore, Socie’s service is also really top-notch, often a response within a day and you also just get on with it right away. That combined with the fact that you guys also keep the App updated and regularly come up with new things in the App that are useful to us, makes us definitely recommend the App.

Pictured: Henry Dalsem (President), Erik van Oene (Media Team) and Reemond Last (Media Team).