At USA Swimming’s annual #SwimBiz conference, TAC Titans, Buffalo City Swim Racers, Rockford Marlins, Marietta Marlins, Crawfish Swim Club, King Marlin Swim Club, and Sunkist Swim Team were each honored for their outstanding marketing efforts, social media and sponsorship in six different categories. The conference had a record number of entries this year, highlighted by 18 nominees for the Best in Social Media category.
The swim clubs were honored with the following awards:
Best in Social Media
Marietta Marlins (Marietta, Ohio) was awarded Best in Social Media because of their consistent social media strategy focused on unique and engaging content. The club’s “Try it and Like it” campaign was extremely effective, creating 25 tryouts and 20 new members.
Best in Sponsorship
TAC Titans (Cary, North Carolina) earned Best in Sponsorship after the team raised more than $10,000 in cash and in-kind sponsorships since June 2016, including support from local restaurants, health services, TYR and hotels. Their new 28-foot videoboard was used for sponsor programs to boost sales, and a FloSports partnership for live streaming of five major events, generated more than $15,000 in one event alone from ad sales.
Best in Fundraising
Best in Fundraising was awarded to the Rockford Marlins (Rockford, Illinois) after the team partnered with city visitors bureau to serve local parade as hot chocolate vendors with proceeds benefiting the team. They also hosted a “12 Days of Christmas” cash raffle resulting in donations and social support, raising $17,500 in swim club funds over the year.
Best in Multicultural Marketing
The Buffalo City Swim Racers (Buffalo, New York) were honored with this award because of their grant driven program that offers free year round learn-to-swim and competitive opportunities as incentives to encourage low-income and minority youth to perform in the classroom.
SwimToday Award
Cultivated after USA Swimming’s SwimToday program to grow participation in the sport this award went to the King Marlin Swim Club (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) for the team’s use of effective and original recruitment and retention programming with incentives for swimmers. KMSC raised membership by 35 percent in 2016, partially thanks to their Purple Cap Program, incentivizing recruitment for swimmers on the team.
Marketing Club of the Year
The Marketing Club of the Year award was presented to the clubs who showed marketing excellence in all categories. This award was broken down by team size.
- 1-150 swimmers: Marietta Marlins (Marietta, Ohio)
- 151-300 swimmers: Sunkist Swim Team (Flowood, Mississippi)
- 301+ swimmers: Crawfish Swim Club (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) and the King Marlin Swim Club (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
“These seven clubs have done an excellent job creating a name for themselves through their marketing efforts,” said USA Swimming Chief Marketing Officer Matt Farrell. “We want these teams to inspire other swim teams to follow or invent their own create marketing campaigns and make swimming a better experience overall for new and existing members.”
The third annual marketing conference #SwimBiz featured presentations on social media, advertising, branding, communications, sponsorship and local promotions for teams, as well as round table discussion and networking opportunities.
To find out more about the #SwimBiz Marketing Awards visit www.usaswimming.org.
About USA Swimming
As the National Governing Body for the sport of swimming in the United States, USA Swimming is a 400,000-member service organization that promotes the culture of swimming by creating opportunities for swimmers and coaches of all backgrounds to participate and advance in the sport through clubs, events and education. Our membership is comprised of swimmers from the age group level to the Olympic Team, as well as coaches and volunteers. USA Swimming is responsible for selecting and training teams for international competition including the Olympic Games, and strives to serve the sport through its core objectives: Build the base, Promote the sport, Achieve competitive success. For more information, visit www.usaswimming.org.
News courtesy of USA Swimming.
I’m just an old duffer who swims 2200 yards three times a week. The folks at Triangle Aquatic Club (where I’ve swum when I’m in the Raleigh area) are absolutely welcoming. Nice facility…even nicer staff.
Crawfish Aquatics, Baton Rouge, LA – marketing club of the year. Go Crawfish! Dig Deep!