Marketing Croquet in 2021

LET’S GET THIS BALL ROLLING!

WRITTEN BY TOM COOPER AND DAVID ISAACS

It was September 2019, before the primaries and pre-COVID. Someone made a comment, what about marketing? Someone else said, “I know a guy…” Then someone else said, “You are now Chair of the Marketing Committee.” “Umm…” Fortunately, that new chair happened to be the Treasurer, David Isaacs, who decided it was something that should be added to the 2020 budget. Then along came COVID-19. During the second quarter of 2020, during a lockdown with no tournaments to play or promote, a bright idea began to percolate. Let’s use this COVID vacation time to search for ways to promote croquet, specifically and foremost, to increase membership in the USCA. But bright ideas do not translate into results without actions. Enter Tom Cooper who asked, “David, would you like some assistance?” This was met with the reply, “You, Tom, are now Co-Chair.” And so, by the third quarter, the USCA Marketing Committee was on the job.

OOur mission was twofold: Establish a positioning document grounded in research, revealing the truths of “why we play croquet,” and then develop marketing campaigns to accurately target prospects and increase membership in the USCA. The ultimate goal… more people playing and enjoying croquet. Describing why we love the game of croquet is much like the idiom of the blind men and the elephant. Not one thing can describe the complicated social and sporting aspects we so love.

In the end, the idiom teaches us about the need for communication and understanding different perspectives.

So, in August 2020, we enlisted the guidance of Ian Cross, Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Director of the Center for Marketing

Technology at Bentley University near Boston, to help us attack the problem methodically and with an objective professional view. Cross knew little about croquet although he played as a boy in his native England. But he had experience working with professional tennis and minor league hockey and he is an avid golfer. We quickly set up a process by which committee members, USCA officers and interested parties reviewed every shred of data and research, focus groups discussed topics, and several workshops were held.

Four months later, on December 22, 2020, we presented our final conclusions to the USCA Management Committee for approval. It was accepted and approved unanimously.

Research found that people younger than 35 years old and older than 55 years old were the most likely targets. That’s because so many of us get tied up with career and family between those years. College players became a focus and many of us wanted to see strong recruitment and supportive program developed. The transition from college to the

“real world” is a time where we lose many of our potential members. With the help of the Junior Committee, we are working on plans to solve that issue.

The largest slice of membership is sure to come from the group over 55. So many benefits of the sport speak to this age group. Especially attractive to these folks is the need for community, organizational excellence fed by working people who are well versed in disciplined structure and, especially, the healthy lifestyle croquet provides. It has been particularly fortunate that so many people could get out and play croquet (safely and appropriately distanced) all summer long.

OUR REDEFINED MISSION STATEMENT:

The mission of the USCA is to promote the awareness, development and enjoyment of croquet in America, providing resources and governance for the sport at all levels.

THE NEWLY DEFINED POSITIONING POINTS:

The USCA is the national governing body for the sport of croquet in America focused on five key elements to promote and develop croquet:

These five points help us to shape how we interact in our croquet community and the values we support and share as current members. While we were developing the refined positioning points, we had to determine who our likely new members were and where we would find them.

1. Foster relationships by building community

2. Support participation and continuity through organizational excellence

3. Commit to growth through diversity and inclusion

4. Develop and enjoy the sport through education

5. Promote croquet as a lifelong activity and healthy lifestyle

It is estimated that based on the number of croquet sets sold in America over the last 10 years, more than 10 million people have either tried the game, played a few times or play regularly in their backyards. Many of us 6-Wicket aficionados also started on the “long grass.” The newly renamed 9-Wicket committee agreed to change the name to “Long Grass” upon realizing so many variations on the backyard sport exist. We want to encourage players, no matter their games, to enjoy the sport wherever they play, learn about 6-Wicket croquet and, whatever else they do, to join the USCA community either as a long grass member or a full USCA member.

AND NOW THE REAL WORK BEGINS

Long before final approval on the marketing plan was given, we were aware that a handful of foundational first step projects were urgently needed. As the year progresses, we are excited to add to the list.

USCA MEMBERSHIP PLATFORM

No doubt you will be hearing a lot about this exciting news, if you haven’t already. The following is an excerpt from Michael Albert, one of the members of the Finance Committee working on the platform: Beginning in 2021, the USCA will be switching our web page and all associated member services to a new platform. This is a result of many months of research over the past year. This new website will enable us, the USCA, to better communicate with everyone in our community throughout the year. Several different systems currently being used will be phased out once we are up and running. Emails, invoices, tournament registrations and payments, merchandise purchases, donations and just about any other business will all be possible on this one platform. It is totally mobile-friendly, meaning you will be able to access it via your smartphone or tablet as well as your computer. You will be able to register for tournaments online and pay at the same time with your credit card. This information may also be securely stored with our payment processor, so you need not enter it each time you make a purchase. The marketing committee has helped to develop the website and provide communications assistance in the many benefits to members that this new membership platform will provide.

The USCA's new website

CROQUET DAY - A NATIONAL DAY OF CROQUET

One of our most successful promotions has been National Croquet Day (June 6, 2021). Many clubs participate and use this day to generate more interest in their clubs and croquet. We would like to build on this and encourage local clubs to organize this day around inviting friends and family to special events geared to presenting the best qualities of the game. We can offer help with organization, newspaper articles, press releases and fun activities to help attract an interested public.

CROQUET INSERT

Our own Don Oakley, who has been a vital part of the marketing committee efforts, has offered to place a USCA brochure and invitation to the USCA in the equipment that Oakley Woods manufactures. Imagine if the previous four million sets had that insert. We will look to other vendors to enable more brochures to circulate. If you manufacture equipment and would like to include some of these inserts, please let us know.

MEDIA

So many forms of media are open to us if we just create the content. We are looking forward to developing new social media activity on YouTube and Instagram (@uscroquet), and there is a place for free publicity in newspapers and television/radio. We invite our members to contribute content that can be shared selectively on these platforms.

CLUBS AND COURT DEVELOPMENT

We all know that if you want to play high-level croquet, you must have a proper court to play on. We are working on an up-to-date survey of clubs and facilities to determine the quantity and location of courts across the country. This information will allow us to help promote existing clubs and lawns to prospective players and help in the development of new ones. In addition, we are working on video and other presentation materials to aid in the presentation of the inherent benefits of croquet to municipalities to promote development. These are just the foundational first steps. The beginning of an energetic and unified plan for growth through promotion. In the coming weeks we will be working on publicity and promotion around our titled tournaments and special events. Many of them are already on the radar. And, we may need help ... no, we definitely will need help. If you are as excited as we are about the promotion of the sport, we will need volunteers and team members. Let us know who you are and your expertise. You can help to get the ball rolling! And thank you for your support.

Tom Cooper and David Isaacs are Co-Chairs of the USCA marketing Committee