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		The Extreme Communications Makeover EXECUTIVE UPDATE, May 2005 Swamped by an underdeveloped communications strategy and other challenges, the American Canoe Association pairs up with PCI Communications Inc. to paddle themselves out of the wilderness. The result sets up a makeover reveal sure to leave everyone smiling. By: Bob Sprague

Have you ever considered an extreme makeover for your association?

If so, you're far from alone. Unrelenting societal, technological, and economic pressure has left many membership organizations in an uncomfortable position. Markets have shifted, consolidated, or fragmented. Relevance can no longer be taken for granted. The support of key stakeholders cannot be guaranteed. No wonder you — like a reality show contestant but with much better reasons — may be looking to present the world with a new face.

Like its cosmetic namesake, an association makeover does not have to involve radical surgery. An extreme makeover, on the other hand, involves more than an updated logo or fresh color scheme. It requires a thorough redefinition of the association's relationship to its stakeholders — internal and external. But as a small or even mid-size association constrained by limited staff and resources, can you afford to undergo an extreme makeover?

Or is the question, "Can you afford not to?"

Taking the Plunge: A Communications Audit Case Study
Meet the American Canoe Association (ACA). Founded in 1880, the ACA boasts 50,000 members, has 14 regional divisions, and unites hundreds of affiliated clubs. It publishes Paddler magazine, sanctions more than 1,400 events annually, certifies instructors who train 125,000 people per year, and financially supports U.S. Olympic competitors.

But the water is not always smooth for the organization. Dues are low, and nondues revenue is severely limited. New competitors are gaining ground. Rising liability costs have forced increased premiums for the ACA's popular insurance programs. The average member age is 45, and although overall membership levels are flat, turnover exceeds 30 percent per year.

Recently, the ACA volunteered to serve as the subject of a communications audit — the first step of a makeover designed to ensure the ACA's continued status as the premier membership organization for today's paddling community. PCI Communications, Inc., based in New York and Washington, DC, came on board to steer the audit.

Navigating the Process
"The ACA is far from unusual these days," says Sam Del Brocco, president and CEO of PCI. "A rich history, vital services, a dedicated core of staff and volunteers … and yet nobody had been able to pin down in simple, direct language who they are and what they stand for."

"My first priority," adds ACA Executive Director Pamela Dillon, "was to answer the simple question: How can we communicate the value of the ACA to the paddling community? We wanted to figure out why people joined, why the industry seemed to see little value in this national nonprofit, and how to improve the relationship with our divisions. The audit had value from our first meetings, because it helped clarify those goals."

ACA executive staff and PCI dove into the audit process. First, a pair of exhaustive targeting sessions was designed to establish some clear expectations and logistics for the study while identifying stakeholders. Like many membership organizations, the ACA has numerous audiences: Paddlers fall into subdivisions based on type of craft (canoe, kayak, raft), preferred activity (touring, camping, fishing, adaptive), and location (coastal, inland, whitewater), while the ACA interacts with dozens of other boating organizations, manufacturers, sponsors, liveries and rentals, and federal and state agencies. It also is partnered with the Professional Paddlesports Association, a national trade nonprofit.

From there the team began to assemble and evaluate as many existing communications vehicles and products as they could find. PCI turned a critical eye to newsletters, publications, educational materials, press releases, surveys, and strategic plans. It scoured the ACA's Web site, as well as those of its divisions and similar organizations.

"It was a little overwhelming at first," acknowledges Amber Hudson, a PCI strategist. "They had files full of newsletters from as far back as the 19th century. But we soon realized that there were big holes in their stakeholder communications today — holes that would be relatively easy to fill."

PCI moved on to perform qualitative research. With ACA's help, it engineered interviews with close to 50 stakeholders — board members, division volunteers, industry representatives, and unaligned members of the paddling community. It posed questions such as, "What should paddlers know about the ACA that they don't know now?" and, "If the ACA didn't exist, how would the world be different?" Interviews were conducted in person, over the phone, and via intercepts at a March 2005 paddlesport event called Canoecopia.

"The visit to Canoecopia was telling," says Natalie Johnson, a PCI strategist from the audit team. "Here was an event teeming with representatives of ACA's target audience — families, singles, extreme and casual paddlers. They were there because paddling is cool. Too many paddlers didn't know about the ACA at all. And for those who did, 'cool' was not part of their perception."

What Floats (or Sinks) the Boat
Research complete, the team turned to ideation. In PCI's view, current assets can be used to overcome current challenges and in this way help an organization take full advantage of the opportunities available to it in the future. The ACA's assets are many.

• The popularity of paddlesports is exploding, and the ACA remains the premier "big-tent" organization in the space. At least 44 million Americans took to the water in a canoe, kayak, or raft last year.
  
  
• Everything about paddling is good from a societal point of view. The activity provides exercise for an increasingly overweight population, reduces stress, is environmentally friendly, is ideal for youth and families, and consumes no bandwidth.
  
  
• The ACA is the undisputed leader in paddlesport instruction. Millions of new paddlers will be seeking skill, confidence, and safety — and the ACA has all three to share.
  
  
• The ACA is inexpensive; for people purchasing even a starter canoe or kayak, another $30 spent to ensure maximum enjoyment and safety is a bargain.
  
  
• The organization has a model partnership with Subaru. The ACA receives a substantial annual donation and can offer attractive benefits to its members. Subaru obviously enjoys its positive association with the paddling community.
  
  
• The ACA is well positioned to be the lead organization in the establishment of a national system of water trails.
  
  

Of course, the team also found areas where the organization was weak or adrift:

• The ACA's penetration is limited. By one measure — 50,000 members divided by 44 million paddlers — the ACA represents only 0.11 percent of its market.
  
  
• The ACA is financially constrained. With no annual conference, no fees for basic-skills courses, subsidized insurance, and modest dues, the ACA is highly dependent on Subaru and grants from the U.S. Coast Guard.
  
  
• Elements of an identity crisis are at play. Can an association with "canoe" in its name really represent kayakers, the fastest-growing segment of the market? Is the ACA for enthusiasts (to which Paddler magazine is clearly targeted) or the much larger pool of casual and family paddlers?
  
  
• The ACA's divisions and national organization are not working in sync. Each believes that the other is not supportive enough; as a result, the divisions are busily communicating on their own — all with inconsistent branding and messaging.
  
  
• The ACA has been frustrated in its attempts to build industry partnerships — Subaru being the only significant exception.

Forging Ahead
"There were no surprises in the assets and challenges identified by the audit," says Dillon of the ACA. "The real value started to emerge when the team developed ways that — without huge and unrealistic investments — we could take advantage of what we already had."

Those opportunities and recommendations were the heart of the communication audit results, and among them were ideas for achieving greater market penetration:

Go for the lifestyle. The audit suggested that the ACA stop portraying itself as representing an activity or set of activities and start portraying itself as the representative of a lifestyle. The difference is crucial. The activity mindset leads to complexity. Are we about canoeing? But canoeing doesn't appeal to everyone. Are we for whitewater enthusiasts? But that's a small group, and there are other players. Are we about touring, fishing, adventure, or competition? Yes, we are — but which one takes precedence? In contrast, the lifestyle mindset is direct and simple.

"Everyone likes a healthy, relaxing, safe adventure with friends and family in the outdoors, using lots of cool, brightly colored gear," says Johnson.

Mobilize volunteers. ACA divisions are filled with energetic, dedicated instructors and other volunteers. ACA could benefit by re-energizing its volunteer communications and using them to implement a BHAG — a Jim Collins-style "big, hairy, audacious goal" — to rally its troops. What if the ACA were to declare that it was going to increase market penetration from 0.11 percent to 0.22 percent — that is, double — in two years and in this way provide divisions, clubs, and industry partners with much greater visibility and a vast influx of new prospects? What if the ACA were to declare that it was going to triple the number of water trails by 2007? Or train 300,000 paddlers per year instead of 100,000? A target like one of these — achievable but radical — could release tremendous amounts of powerful volunteer energy.

Fish where the fish are. Imagine the young person or family buying its first canoe or kayak — an event that happens close to one million times per year. What purchaser would not give up another $30 to get a line on instruction, safety information, connections to other paddlers, six issues of a full-color magazine, discounts on new cars and other outdoor gear, and information on beautiful, accessible places to paddle in their area? Imagine a small legion of mobilized ACA volunteers equipped with simple membership materials working with manufacturers and retailers, locally and nationally, to make it easy for first-time buyers to sign up.

Follow Subaru and drive outside the lines. Subaru is the ACA's poster child for corporate sponsorships. The audit recommends that a case study be developed from the Subaru relationship. What makes it work? What does Subaru value? The case study could be turned into a corporate-sponsor recruitment kit, and the ACA could methodically target like-minded organizations with customized pitches. Again, imagine what a difference five or six more Subaru-type relationships would mean for the ACA.

Communicate the value — then charge for it. The ACA is essentially giving away some of its most valuable resources — skills courses, safety information, sanctioning, even insurance. Abrupt changes of policy might engender revolt. The best solution? Develop a value proposition and simple marketing plan for each nondues product and then gradually begin to charge what a revitalized market will bear.

Take the template approach. ACA divisions are busy communicating, printing, distributing, networking, and posting online — usually with no connection to the ACA's national brand. Why not provide them with templates — professional, consistent shells that make it easy for them to tie to ACA's national mission?

Speaking a Common Language
What about Dillon's original question: How can we communicate the value of the ACA to the paddling community?

Another outcome of the communications audit was a set of prototype branding language. The team developed statements of varying lengths — from marketing brochure copy down to the classic elevator speech — to capture the ACA's real purpose and value.

Compare, for example, the ACA's official mission statement …

The American Canoe Association (ACA) is a nationwide, not-for-profit organization that is in service to the broader paddling public by providing education on matters related to paddling, supporting stewardship of the paddling environment, and enabling programs and events to support paddlesport recreation.

... with the branding statement offered by the communications audit: The American Canoe Association is an organization dedicated to helping people enjoy the outdoors using kayaks, canoes, and rafts.

The long-term results of the communications audit can't yet be seen on the horizon, but the ACA executive staff is optimistic and excited about entering some uncharted waters.

"As the ACA's relatively new director of communications and marketing, I was a little concerned at the beginning," acknowledges Wyatt Boughter. "It would have been easy for an outside group to come in and recommend a whole range of things that we couldn't possibly accomplish under our finite staff and budget and it would have been my problem. Instead, I think the audit provided valuable focus."

"We certainly have work to do," agrees Dillon. "But out of a universe of possibilities, we now can concentrate on a few intensive steps that are within our capabilities and resources. That, I think, was the real value of the audit to the ACA."

Author Link: Bob Sprague is senior vice president and chief strategy officer for PCI Communications, Inc. He can be reached at 703-823-1600 or rsprague@pcicom.com.

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