MEMBER CLUB

2016 MARKETING PLANThe Olympics provides gymnastics clubs with a unique opportunity to capitalize on the interest that millions of viewers will take in our sport. With some thoughtful planning and marketing ideas, you can use the games in Rio as a springboard to vault your business into even greater success!

Of course, strategizing, planning, developing and executing a marketing plan can feel more challenging than running a marathon. So, USA Gymnastics Club Services is here to help from the “starting mark through the finish line”!

Beginning in December, Member Clubs will have special access to a complete marketing plan that can be tailored and customized to meet your clubs needs. These monthly calendars will suggest what plans you should be making for future months as well as provide ideas for marketing vehicles, including digital marketing, traditional marketing, social media marketing, internal marketing and more. Additionally, there will be links to handouts, worksheets and other resource material that will help you develop and execute a market-ing plan worthy of a gold medal!

Finally, there will be great information on the Member Club site on how your club can host an official Olympic Day 2016 Event with the USOC, plus some valuable information on legislative changes in some states that could affect your club and how to get to know your legislators now so you can influence their opinion positively about the value of your business for the families of the communities they represent.

While each month will provide dozens of ideas on how to prepare your club, coaches and curriculum for the Olympic boom, how to connect with and retain your current clients as well as attract new and returning students, we wanted to give you a quick highlight reel of what you can expect from USA Gymnastics’ Olympic Marketing plan:

DECEMBER 2015After some quick tips to get your holiday sales into overdrive, grab a cup of hot cocoa and curl up in front of the fireplace with your favorite pen and a blank notebook, because December is all about helping you get organized for marketing your club in 2016. From defining who your customer is to making master lists of tasks to be accomplished, your prep work this December will give you a head start on the Road to Rio!

JANUARY 2016It’s not just time to ring in the New Year but also time to celebrate ringing in the Olympic Year! January’s plan is chock full of ideas to dive into 2016, building the awareness and excitement that the Olympics are coming. Save the date and start your plans for International Gymnastics Day on Saturday, September 17, 2016.

FEBRUARY 2016February is a month traditionally dedicated to friendship, love and all things that pull at our hearts and so will this month’s focus. Ideas will include promotions on what it means to be an Olympian, great moments in Olympic history as well as ideas for building these ideals into programming and special events.

MARCH 2016The beginning of March brings the Nastia Liukin Cup as well as the AT&T American Cup (WAG and MAG) both that provide great op-portunities to get your clients introduced to the athletes who are vying for spots to represent the United States in Rio. This month also includes ideas for St. Patrick’s Day, Spring break camps, Passover and Easter.

APRIL 2016In April the Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships (WAG, MAG, TNT and RG) are a great chance to introduce clients to the world of Tumbling & Trampoline as well as Rhythmic gymnastics. Ideas to incorporate these themes into your lesson plans as well as expla-nations on the various histories each discipline has in the Olympics will be shared. Plus, ideas on planning your summer camps. Finally, the official countdown to the opening games begins on April 27 when there are 100 days until the flame is lit in Rio and plan-ning for International Gymnastics Day 2016 gets into gear when your club can activate its participation in IGD 2016 and download the tool kit filled with great tips, including how to involve local politicians in your special day!

MAY 2016In May the weather turns warm in most parts of the country and many families begin to consider moving on to outdoor activities until the fall season returns again. So this month will focus on retaining your students for the summer months. Additionally, making plans for your pro-shop for the Olympic boom as well as hiring and preparing staff and customer service team members are all part of May’s activities.

JUNE 2016June is chock full of gymnastics events that are all part of the Road to Rio! The Secret U.S. Classic/Men’s P&G Gymnastics Champi-onships, USA Gymnastics Championships (TNT and Rhythmic) and Men’s Olympic Trials/Women’s P&G Gymnastics Championships all happen in June! Plan to celebrate Olympic Day on June 23rd, 2016 and be part of the celebration with the USOC. Help support Team USA at https://donate.teamusa.org/page/contribute/teamusafund

With so much gymnastics to cover, June will be a huge month for social media, public relations and reaching out to local news sourc-es. It will also be the time to make sure your facility is ready for the Olympic bump.

JULY 2016Let the fireworks of the fourth carry your club into an all out sprint of patriotism as we head down the final leg of the Road to Rio! We hope to see you in San Jose in July for National Congress and the U.S. Women’s Olympic trials. July is the month for a full blitz in direct marketing, social media marketing and internal marketing to bring the excitement of the Olympics to a fever pitch and encour-aging everyone to enroll now before the games begin!

AUGUST 2016The games are finally here! This month’s focus is on keeping the excitement of the Games going, reporting on the times the gym-nastics will be aired and the results, getting those new families enrolled and hosting events to attract new and returning customers.

SEPTEMBER 2016The kids are back in school and your gym is full of new and returning kids. September’s focus is a combination of assessment on the success of the Olympic push and strategy to maximize the areas that have the most momentum. It is also a time to connect with these new customers so they remain customers for life! Celebrate International Gymnastics Day on Saturday, September 17th and go social with your photos to celebrate.

OCTOBER 2016May October bring all of your new athletes learning lots of “tricks” and you getting to enjoy the “treats” that your hard work reaped by planning and executing this marketing plan! But don’t be “ghoul-ish”, your work isn’t done quite yet. With all these new clients who are in love with your gym, October is the month of word-of-mouth marketing.

NOVEMBER 2016Hopefully we all will be “giving thanks” this month for a huge increase in enrollment over last fall’s! So November is the month to give thanks to your clients and your staff as well. This month’s marketing efforts will focus on gratitude with a dose of turning our attention to getting ready for 2017 because after all, Tokyo 2020 is just around the corner!

For monthly calendars and handouts, visit the Club

Services section on the USA Gymnastics website.

From the left-hand navigation,

click on “Resources”

Click on the “Marketing” button on the top of the page to access more useful materials.

Author— Anne Josephson, Josephson Academy of Gymnastics (JAG)