Business of Curling: Guess What’s Right Around The Corner!

Another off-season is fast coming to a close and the next curling season is right around the corner. It is generally at this point of the summer (if not already) that Board of Directors and managers are busy planning for the fall recruitment of new players / customers. The Canadian Curling Association would like to help you out with a series of posters for you to use to help create awareness and to promote your own open house or trial opportunity. The posters build on the success of last season’s television commercials featuring Johnny ‘the Hammer’ Chow, Mary ‘Bullseye’ Dobbin and Robert ‘Clutch’ Stevens. Click on the names and you will see what they will look like. Click here for a version en francais. A package will arrive at your mailing address in the next couple of weeks with 18 posters (six of each version). Curling centres in Quebec will receive identical versions in French. (Anyone requesting additional posters can get the high resolution PDF from the CCA for re-printing). Finally, the posters include a logo and web address for www.startcurling.ca (www.debutezlecurling.ca). This web site has been set up as a resource for new players to our sport to get more comfortable before they throw their very first stone. Click here for a web version of the logo that you can put on your web site. When potential new customers Google your web site, they will then be able to access this information. You can also click here to access a template planning guide, which has been proven successful at many facilities. Good luck and let us know how you make out! New Commercials for 2011-2012 Speaking of last year’s commercials (aired throughout the Season of Champions on TSN), the CCA’s plan for 2011-2012 is to continue their individual stories. Last year’s versions resonated well with fans of curling and it made sense to continue showing new curlers in a club environment making shots (On Purpose!) and having fun. We hope you will enjoy the new versions and watch for their debut during the Canada Cup broadcasts on December 3-4. View last year’s commercials on YouTube: Johnny ‘the Hammer’ Chow Mary ‘Bullseye’ Dobbin Robert ‘Clutch’ Stevens Social Media One of the previous Business of Curling blogs spoke to the lack of a social media presence at the club level. Experts say that if you aren’t on Facebook, you don’t exist. Therefore, it makes tons of sense that every building should have some sort of presence with social media. Your members may know all about you, but the new customers don’t and they look for information using this method rather than traditional means; i.e. yellow pages. Fast forward to today and we are catching up. A number of clubs now reside on Facebook and do very well spreading the news of their activities and I am sure they are enjoying success. But we have a long way to go. Saying that, we are currently preparing a simple how-to-guide to show you how to accept and embrace social media with tips and best practices to make this work for you without burdening you with hours of work. Watch for it in the next couple of weeks! Check out these Facebook pages: Langley Curling Club (BC) Cornwall CC (PE) Ottawa CC (ON) Good curling!!