Winter 2010 - NGBs
Welcome to the first edition of our newsletter for 2010.
It's hard to believe we're approaching the end of another financial year, but we are!
This means it's time to think about how you are going to report your activities to your key audiences so that they understand the value of the work you are doing. We highlight our work in this area with one of the County Sports Partnerships - perhaps it will inspire you to think about how you're going to tackle your Annual Report project.
With time ticking on, this time next year, we'll be talking about the Olympic and Paralympic Games being next year! With that in mind we've got an idea for a project that will start to focus everyone's attention on what the Games mean to your sport.
And on the subject of 2012, are we on track to secure a meaningful legacy? We take a look from a marketing perspective - with the aim of starting a debate on our forum.
We hope you find it an interesting read - please let us know what you think.
Best wishes,
Ricky
Ricky Coussins
Managing Partner, Coussins Associates
In this edition:
Its Annual Report Time Again!
Producing annual reports is a very time consuming business. One of the services we offer is to take the entire process off your hands, from when you first have an idea of what you want until you have the finished product in your hands, whilst you retain complete control of all of the content.
We can look after:
- Preparing the creative brief for all to work from
- Writing copy
- Managing the design process and liaising with the designer or designing it all for you
- Proofreading
- Sourcing print suppliers and obtaining competitive quotes
- Managing the print process
- Fulfillment to deliver it into the hands of your target audience
The start point is for you to decide what you want the Annual Report to do. It’s very nice to have a glossy document full of your achievements, but what are your key messages for your partners, potential partners, funders, other key stakeholders and your staff and Board?
If this sounds familiar then have another look at our article on 360° Marketing. Your Annual Report is one of the main opportunities to make the case for the work of your Partnership or National Governing Body.
Once you have established what you want to say and who to say it to we can advise you on the best format to achieve your objectives.
And in terms of copy, you can supply it written, or in bullet points, or just tell us what you want to say and we can write it for you!
We produced PRO-ACTIVE West London’s Annual Report, and Partnership Director Simon Lister was pleased with the finished article. As he put it, “It was great not having to deal with designers and printers, we just had to respond to Coussins with our ideas and amendments at various stages, we appreciated their advice and it gave us more time to get on with what we should be doing – working with our partners.” We were delighted with the report and have asked Coussins to produce this year’s as well."
So if you are starting to think about producting a report, and would like us to quote for its production or just want some early input, for some free advice, please contact Angela Lewis on 0208 392 1118 or at angela@coussins.co.uk.
Countdown to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
With less that 900 days to go to go until the Opening Ceremony of the biggest sporting event this country has ever seen, no doubt you have plans in place to capitalise on the increased interest in your sport that will undoubtedly result from your athletes competing on home soil.
Whatever stage you are at, Coussins Associates have developed and successfully delivered a highly effective and professional low cost package that will:
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Complement your existing plans
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Contribute to the London 2012 Legacy
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Encourage and inspire young people to take up your sport
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Showcase your sport's talent
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Let your funders know how well your sport is progressing towards London 2012
Want to know how? Well, we call this package Towards 2012 and it will simply, but powerfully:
- Showcase talented sportspeople that have the potential to compete in the London 2012 Olympic Games or Paralympic Games
- Profile past Olympians and Paralympians with a connection to your Partnership
- Run a PR campaign to promote the project and good news along the way
- Develop materials (including video) for web pages/website/microsite featuring the sportspeople and all other aspects of the project
We will deliver this as a complete package for you, including completed profiles and stories, an inspirational DVD, and web ready copy, or we can tailor a package to suit your individual requirements.
And National School Sport Week, which is fast approaching at the end of June, will provide a fantastic launch opportunity to promote your sport to young people through this project. Miss ouit and it'll be a whole year to the next one!
To find out more, please contact Angela Lewis on 020 8392 1118 or at angela@coussins.co.uk
Join The Debate - A Legacy or a Lost Opportunity?
When history judges us at some point after 2012, will we be able to say that we contributed to something worthwhile or will there be a collective sigh accompanied by ‘if only…’?
People talk about the fact that no country has ever been able to significantly increase participation in sport and physical activity, but it’s more accurate to say that there is no evidence that this has been achieved.
The Department of Health have examined whether previous large sports events have managed to do this, and the DCMS have researched the ‘potential of mega events to influence people’s attitudes and behaviours’, including in relation to physical activity but despite all of this there is still no conclusive answer.
If planning alone was a measure of success then we can all start slapping each other on the back now.
The DCMS have its objectives and plans, Sport England have theirs. In London the Mayor (through the GLA) has his too, as do most or all of the other regional development agencies.
- But have the plans reflected the findings from the research?
- Have we got some innovative ideas to package sport and physical activity in ways that are attractive to different markets?
- Are we in danger of treating young people as a homogenous group? Some of our Olympians say they were inspired by previous medal winning exploits, Lord Coe for example, but for the average young person who may not possess quite the same levels of drive and determination, winning Gold may seem too far out of their reach. So the message that you too can be an Olympic hero in the future may not resonate with everyone. We need to show that you do not have to be the best in the world to experience the enjoyment that a (hopefully) lifelong involvement in sports can bring. So segmentation will be an important part of the marketing process.
- And, most importantly, bearing the above in mind, is there a joined up marketing and communications plan outlining how to inspire people, particularly young people, to become more active?
But, no matter what the answers to all these questions the big one still remains:
Will the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games inspire a generation of more active Britons or will they simply ensure that we enjoy sport from the comfort of our armchairs even more than we do now?
What do you think? How do you think we can ensure a meaningful legacy? Are we making progress or is it an impossible dream? Join the debate here.
