For over 30 years, sport and social clubs have existed in major cities across the United States. Today, these sport and social clubs organize adult sports leagues and social events for over 1.1 million 21-40 year old active professionals nationwide. More than 50 of the US nation’s top sport and social clubs have banded together to form the Sport & Social Industry Association (SSIA) and provide the first national marketing platform for brands interested in reaching this highly sought after demographic.
The Sport and Social Industry Association is a non-profit trade organization for businesses that produce and manage various adult sport leagues and social events. The organization was founded in 2011 and developed by the industry as a whole. The SSIA was organized as a non-profit organization ‘to allow for 100% of its member investment to support one master: its members.’
“Sport and Social Clubs have created a reputation over the years for activating very successful grass roots marketing platforms for top brands on a local level,” said Latane Meade, of the SSIA sponsorship committee. “However, there have never been opportunities for brands on a national scale like there is now. This is a platform that brands and agencies have been requesting for years.”
Red Frog Events, organizers of the Great Urban Race, Warrior Dash and Firefly Music Festival has signed on with SSIA to launch an integrated marketing program in 40 regional US markets to promote its 2012 events.
“Trying to singlehandedly identify and market to hundreds of thousands of participants across numerous regions in the US can be difficult and time consuming,” said Ashley Beirne of Red Frog Events. “SSIA has given us a way to get information about our unique and popular events directly to our target market. We are extremely excited about the launch of our new campaign with the SSIA.”
Open to sport and social clubs across North America, SSIA provides a number of benefits to its members including:
- Opportunity to participate in national sponsorships
- Industry research and trends
- Shared costs (e.g., technology, equipment, insurance)
- Export/import of successful initiatives between clubs (e.g., race series, tournaments, large scale social events)
- Share best practices
For more information about the Sport and Social Industry Association or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities, interested parties can contact Galen Beers, SSIA’s Executive Director, at Galen[at]ssia.us.
