LET’S ROLL – SIGN YOUR CLUB UP NOW
Background With Covid -19 it has been a challenging summer but we’re delighted so many clubs are back up and running. Not only have existing bowlers returned, but we’ve also heard many fantastic stories of many new people giving our sport a go for the first time. The reduction in competitions and club matches means there is spare capacity on many greens and new bowlers are finding the less formal options available more suitable for them.
Clubs have continued to highlight to us that recruitment and retention of players is their top priority. We wanted to capitalise on the opportunity we have in the remaining weeks of the summer, as other leisure activities are not functioning normally and people have additional time on their hands. Consequently, in conjunction with the Bowls Development Alliance, we have developed a promotional campaign to enable clubs and club members to encourage friends and family members to try our sport.
The Campaign – Let’s Roll The campaign is titled Let’s Roll. The premise is that through national communications and by empowering existing club players, we will encourage new people to come along to our clubs, take part and be active. The essence is around enjoyment – bowls is a welcoming, fun and simple proposition that is different because it’s accessible, Covid-friendly and the perfect way to spend a warm summer’s day.
In order to get the message out in a quick, safe manner and in keeping with the way many of our members already connect to their friends and family, this campaign will take place largely through digital and social media.
All clubs that sign up the campaign and share their results with Bowls England will be entered into a free prize draw supported by Drakes Pride. Three clubs, drawn at random, will receive two sets of Drakes Pride bowls that can be used in support of their future recruitment initiatives.
What will we do?
Provide clubs and members with graphics and video content that they can share with friends and family through their social media channels, by email or WhatsApp. Of course, those without social media can digest the contents and give their friends and family a telephone call. We will provide support and guidance about how to make the most of these resources.
We will run a social media advertising campaign primarily through Facebook to people who we believe are most likely to give the sport a go – this will be targeted aligned to our existing social media followers and also focus geographically in areas where clubs are open for business and ready to welcome new players.
We will create a page on our website, which enables those who see this content to understand what the benefits of playing the sport are and will corroborate the messages potential new players are receiving from their connections.
We will include a data capture form on our advertising – giving those interested in playing the opportunity to give us their name, email and postcode. We will then facilitate an introduction to the nearest available club.
What do we need from participating clubs?
An understanding that your club is participating so that we can send you all the resources FREE OF CHARGE.
A point of contact for the campaign at participating clubs with whom we can liaise. If anyone signs up to the campaign through Bowls England’s Facebook advertising, we will introduce them to this person.
To distribute the resources to all your members through all available channels with encouragement to share.
Publicise through the club’s own social and digital media channels with more detail about what the experience you will provide for new people.
Ensure the first session that the new person takes part in is FREE to them and for their first experience to be welcoming and fun. Once they have had a go, then your normal membership recruitment process can kick in. We will provide advice as to how you may ensure they keep playing and get their commitment for the 2021 season, as their commitment levels may not be the same as existing bowlers.
In order to assess the effectiveness of the campaign, capture the data of the new people that attend your club during the rest of the outdoor season off the back of this campaign. We will provide a form that you can use to get that information. The participant will provide that information to access the free session and can opt out of communications from the club or Bowls England should they wish.
We very much hope that you make the most of this opportunity and we look forward to working with as many clubs as possible to get new bowlers into our sport this summer.
Don’t forget Use the tag #letsroll in all of your social media and we’ll share the best!
