{"id":252452,"date":"2017-04-20T11:17:53","date_gmt":"2017-04-20T18:17:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=252452"},"modified":"2017-04-20T11:17:53","modified_gmt":"2017-04-20T18:17:53","slug":"seven-swim-clubs-earn-marketing-award-honors-at-usa-swimming-swimbiz-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/seven-swim-clubs-earn-marketing-award-honors-at-usa-swimming-swimbiz-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven Swim Clubs Earn Marketing Award Honors at USA Swimming #SwimBiz Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

At USA Swimming\u2019s annual #SwimBiz conference, TAC Titans<\/a>, Buffalo City Swim Racers<\/a>, Rockford Marlins<\/a>, Marietta Marlins<\/a>,\u00a0Crawfish Swim Club,<\/a> King Marlin Swim Club<\/a>, and Sunkist Swim Team<\/a> were each honored for their outstanding marketing efforts, social media and sponsorship in six different categories.\u00a0 The conference had a record number of entries this year, highlighted by 18 nominees for the Best in Social Media category.<\/p>\n

The swim clubs were honored with the following awards:<\/p>\n

Best in Social Media<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Marietta Marlins (Marietta, Ohio)<\/strong> was awarded Best in Social Media because of their consistent social media strategy focused on unique and engaging content. The club\u2019s \u201cTry it and Like it\u201d campaign was extremely effective, creating 25 tryouts and 20 new members.<\/p>\n

Best in Sponsorship<\/strong><\/h3>\n

TAC Titans (Cary, North Carolina)<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

Best in Fundraising<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Best in Fundraising was awarded to the Rockford Marlins (Rockford, Illinois)<\/strong> 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 \u201c12 Days of Christmas\u201d cash raffle resulting in donations and social support, raising $17,500 in swim club funds over the year.<\/p>\n

Best in Multicultural Marketing<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Buffalo City Swim Racers (Buffalo, New York)<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

SwimToday Award<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Cultivated after USA Swimming\u2019s SwimToday program to grow participation in the sport this award went to the King Marlin Swim Club (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)<\/strong> for the team\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Marketing Club of the Year<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n