Craft your curling club’s brand identity with Business of Curling symposiums

Is your curling club fun and innovative? Or tired and out-dated?

An upcoming series of symposiums presented by Curling Canada’s Business of Curling program is giving clubs the tools they need to develop a powerful brand, consistently applied, with the goal of reimagining the way people, think, feel, and talk about curling in pursuit of attracting new participants.

In partnership with Curling Alberta, CURLSASK and Curl BC, a weekend symposium on The Brand of Curling will be offered April 11-13 in Red Deer, AB; May 3-4 in Regina, Sask. and June 6-8 in Kelowna, B.C. The events will feature presenters Krista Kerth, Founder at Dan Brands; Jeph Maystruck, Chief Interrupting Officer at Strategy Lab; and Danielle Inglis, Social Media Coordinator at Curling Canada (with more experts on topics such as diversity and fundraising to be added in the coming weeks).

Bobby Ray, Curling Canada’s Senior Manager of Club Development and Member Services, says a brand is more than a club’s logo.

“It’s bigger than that. It’s your identity,” says Ray. “How do you change the way people think about your club or talk about your club to their colleagues, friends and fellow community members? That’s the main goal of these symposiums.”

He says some clubs don’t currently have a consistent brand because they might not fully understand how to develop one or because a rotating volunteer base means the brand changes as the leadership does.

“We want clubs to know that their organization has its own brand personality, its own brand identity that you inherit when you become a leader of that organization,” says Ray.

“When you post on social media, or you send an e-mail, or do any communication with your curlers, it’s through a voice that belongs to the club. It can be fun, or it can be serious, the keys is that it is by design.”

The symposiums will allow participants to be hands-on when crafting their brand. They will learn how to use their brand in various ways from bringing it alive online to leveraging it for fundraising campaigns. Representatives who attend will walk away with a brand identity or a framework they can bring back to their club.

The way curling clubs talk about themselves has evolved and the clubs that have been most successful at engaging new curlers have embraced new trends, says Ray.

“Our leading clubs understand what people expect from a curling experience today, compared to the past, or even the future. It is different. Brand is standing in the way of clubs and the audience they covet, but do not yet have.”

Previous symposiums have focused on topics such as Changing the Face of Curling (a national symposium on diversity, equity and inclusion in the sport) and The Future of Curling (focused on what the sport will look like in 10-20 years).

Along with the chance to gain valuable insights from experts in the field, the symposiums will also give club representatives the opportunity to share their ideas and network with their peers.

Each weekend symposium will also feature Business of Curling Essentials, a series of 101-level presentations on essential information, including finance, governance, human resources and tips on how to deliver exceptional curling experiences.

The Business of Curling program has helped curling clubs adapt to the ever-changing environments in which they operate for the past 30 years. As well as the symposiums, The Business of Curling program also offers informational resources on their website, and opportunities for clubs to work with a facilitator on strategic planning.

“Our strategic planning services are more affordable than going to the market for it and we’ve trained facilitators that know curling club business really well,” says Ray.

The Brand of Curling symposiums are open to representatives from any club affiliated with a member association of Curling Canada. Learn more about the sessions, and how to register, in Red Deer, Regina and Kelowna.

More symposiums on The Brand of Curling will be added to additional locations next spring.