Reinventing the Canadian Sporting Goods Association

Professional associations of all sorts used to be  small monopolies providing networking and the single best resource for everyone in their field. No more. Increasingly they are challenging to sustain and membership levels are declining because similar services can be found on LinkedIn groups or Facebook pages that cost nothing to set up and join.

Running an association is a whole new game and the Canadian Sporting Goods Association – the CSGA – has embraced the new realities and is now reborn and growing rapidly.

So what has changed? As the association’s president Julian Savory states, “Quite frankly everything is new.” Julian has positioned the CSGA as the hub of the industry providing a list of services and value unavailable outside the organization. “The CSGA now has new leadership, new operating business plan, new user friendly website, new weekly newsletter, new more expansive Trade Directory, new social media channels, and a new voice with Industry Canada.”

Julian states, “The CSGA now offers Canada’s sporting goods industry an active and progressive association designed to meet today’s business needs.”

Central to the value delivery is a new corporate identity and website that Beakbane helped create. The website itself is a hub enabling new members to access job postings, member listings, industry statistics, a weekly newsletter and substantial savings on partner services including Moneris and Canpar.

The CSGA is providing a much needed focus and voice for an otherwise fragmented industry. The association was relaunched 8 months ago and is on track to achieve its aggressive first year targets.