DEMA News: February 2013

Thursday, February 28, 2013

DEMA Board Reviews Festival Goals, Cancellation Impact and Costs

Board Unanimously Reaffirms Original Objective to Attract Water Sports Enthusiasts to Recreational Diving

During January 2013, the Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA) announced that it had canceled plans for the Water, Sports and Travel Festival, originally scheduled for spring of 2013 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The 2013 DEMA Board of Directors met in late February to review the original intent of the event, the decision to cancel, the financial costs associated with ceasing production and the overall impact to the Association and its stakeholders.

During the meeting the DEMA Board examined and reaffirmed that the original objective of the Festival remain top priority; to reach out to active consumers, particularly water sports enthusiasts and attract them to recreational diving. The Board also agreed that water sports industry partnerships and support generated during Festival planning will be pursued as part of future opportunities. All in attendance recognized the need to grow the industry and reach beyond the current customer base.

According to Stephen Ashmore, DEMA Board President, “The decision to cancel the event was one of the most difficult decisions made by the standing board and did not come without significant consideration, including financial concerns for the Association and the DEMA Board’s desire to reach non-divers to help grow the Diving Industry.”

The production of a consumer event such as the Festival includes many costs; reserving hotels and convention space, acquiring sponsors, attracting exhibitors, and promotional expenses to reach non-diving attendees. At the end of 2012 the Board was faced with the possibility that dive industry participation might not be sufficient to cover the actual cost of Festival production and that the Festival might not meet the expectation of currently contracted exhibitors. With payment deadlines looming, including increases of more than $30,000 in cancellation fees, and with concern regarding exhibitor notification, and returning sponsor funding already acquired, the Board made the decision to cease production of the Festival. A complete cost recap can be found in the member section of the DEMA website.

DEMA sincerely appreciates the support of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and their generous fee reductions following cancellation. DEMA is also grateful to those in the Dive Industry community who backed and believed from the beginning in the purpose of the Festival. As discussed in DEMA’s 2020 Vision Sessions, reaching out to non-divers to grow the Industry remains a top priority. DEMA’s Board has reaffirmed that the Association will continue exploring ways to meet this goal.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

DEMA Joins Constant Contact’s Association Program to Help Members Save

Program Provides DEMA Members with Effective and Affordable Tools to Build Strong, Lasting Customer Relationships

DEMA has announced they have joined Constant Contact’s Association Partner Program which will provide DEMA Members with exclusive discounts on easy-to-use email marketing services to help them build strong, lasting customer relationships. Constant Contact^®, Inc. is a leading provider of email marketing and online survey tools for small organizations. Members should log into their DEMA Member Dashboard to set-up their free trial and begin taking advantage of these exclusive DEMA Member rates.

“Our Members are always looking for effective ways to grow their businesses,” said Rachelle Morris, DEMA Membership Marketing & Communications Coordinator. “Constant Contact’s customer communication tools give our Members a valuable addition to the benefits they already receive as a 2013 Member. Constant Contact’s ease-of-use and affordability made the Association Program a great solution to compliment the resources we already provide in supporting our Members’ marketing needs. As a partner with Constant Contact, we are excited to be able to offer our Members exclusive discounts on email marketing services.”

DEMA Members are eligible for 20% off six month prepaid email marketing services or 25% off full year prepaid email marketing services. These rates provide an extra 10% discount over the standard discount available online for prepayment plans. Members who already have an existing Constant Contact account can still receive the DEMA Member discount by providing DEMA with their DEMA Member Number and Constant Contact Username. Once complete the DEMA Partnership discount will be applied to their account.

In addition to these discounted rates, Members will have access to a number of resources to help them make the most of their email and online marketing, such as educational contact and best practices as well as Constant Contact’s other products like EventSpot, Social Campaigns, SaveLocal, Online Survey and SinglePlatform.

- See more at: http://www.dema.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=779#sthash.2CSTU0rV.dpuf

Friday, February 22, 2013

DEMA Board of Directors to Meet in San Diego, CA for First Face-to-Face Board Meeting of 2013 on February 26th and 27th

DEMA’s Board of Directors will meet on February 26th and 27th to continue strategizing ideas to maximize DEMA’s benefits for Members and the Diving Industry. Topics for discussion will include Membership Benefits and Marketing, Proposed 2013 Promotions, Customer Research and plans for DEMA Show 2013.

Day one of the Board meeting will begin with the election of Board Officers. Once this is complete the Board of Directors will review an outline of DEMA’s 2013 Membership Benefits and Marketing Plan to help current and potential Members understand all the savings and benefits available to them as current Members. Proposed promotions for the year include an increased focus on the Be A Diver Pool and the addition of DiveCaching opportunities affiliated with other local diving events. The Board will also review a proposal for an increased focus on getting more young people involved in diving as requested during 2020 Vision sessions, including career fairs and curriculum supplements. Tom Ingram, Executive Director will review a proposal for additional customer research options and plans for DEMA Show 2013, taking place November 6th-9th at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL will also be discussed. Once all other agenda items from day one are addressed the Board’s final task of the day will be to confirm committee chairs and committee members.

Day two of the Board of Directors Meeting will allow Committee Chairs to start planning their work for the year. Each Board Member has volunteered to work in various committees based upon their areas of expertise, knowledge and talent. The goal of the committee meetings is to create new ideas, improve current programs and benefits, clarify or resolve pending issues and get feedback from Industry stakeholders, as well as to provide details to the Board at large for their strategic decision-making. Additional Committee information is available online.

The Board of Directors Meeting will conclude the afternoon of Wednesday, February 27th, after new business is addressed. More information on DEMA’s Board of Directors and Bylaws is available on the DEMA website. Complete minutes from past Board of Directors Meetings are available to current DEMA Members from the Member Dashboard of www.dema.org. Future 2013 meeting dates will be confirmed during February’s meeting.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

DEMA’S BE A DIVER POOL HITS A MEDIA GRAND SLAM AT THE MINNEAPOLIS PROGRESSIVE BOAT SHOW

Pool Tour Stop Receives Coverage from Every Local TV Station Resulting In Viewership of Over 866,000 and Stores Receive Free TV Coverage

The Be A Diver Pool Tour made a recent stop at the Minneapolis Progressive Boat Show to provide attendees with the opportunity to try scuba diving and bring awareness of recreational scuba diving to the local community. The pool stole the spotlight of the Show as reporters from all four major Minneapolis Morning News Shows; KARE-NBC, KMSP-FOX, WCCO-CBS and KSTP-ABC, broadcasted live from the Be A Diver pool.

Retail Membership Manager “Big Wave” Dave Reidenbach was interviewed by each journalist underwater to discuss the Be A Diver Pool Tour, local diving available in Minneapolis and how to get certified with a local dive retailer in the area. To view the segments available online visit KARE-NBCand KSTP-ABC. The four media placements garnered a viewing audience circulation of 866,293.

An invaluable tool to acquire new divers, the pool also provided local DEMA Member Retailers Aquaventure Dive & Photo Center, Midwest School of Diving and Scuba Centerwith free television exposure and the opportunity for each to talk to potential customers already interested in diving. More than 100 Show attendees tried diving in the Be A Diver pool and all were encouraged to share their experience with family and friends. The pool stop was also featured throughout the week via Be A Diver’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.

The pool has amassed over 3.3 million viewer impressions throughout the first month of the 2013 Tour. Find out where the Pool Tour will stop next to help introduce diving to potential diving customers throughout the United States!

Making stops throughout the year at various consumer-oriented travel, outdoor activity and adventure shows, the Be A Diver pool gives anyone 10 years old and up the opportunity to discover the fun and exciting sport of scuba diving for FREE in the comfort of a large, tropically warm pool. Event attendees are also able to test out some of the latest scuba equipment and have a photo of themselves taken underwater that can act as an everlasting keepsake. Those who take the plunge need not to worry about getting wet, since the Be A Diver pool provides wetsuits, towels, hair dryers and dressing rooms.

Monday, February 11, 2013

What the Internet Says About You & Your Business

Guest Blogger: Rachelle Morris, DEMA Membership Marketing & Communications Coordinator

Have you ever Googled your name before? I have...

Result #1: My personal Facebook page
Result #2: Someone else’s Facebook page
Result #3: Image results for “Rachelle Morris” (The first few which actually are me. Sadly, I cannot claim the one of the skinny bikini-clad model…sigh)
Result #4: Article of someone named Rachelle Morris, who is about the same age as me and shot her ex-husband in front of their children in 2008. For the record, THIS Rachelle Morris is not me. I am happily engaged (to a living breathing man) and the closest thing I have to a child is my 7 year old Pomeranian, Peanut.

Lesson learned? Well, from a professional standpoint, it’s important to know what the Internet might have to “say” about both you and your business. And there are a number of ways you can keep tabs on this. Here are a few that I suggest:

Google your name and business name
If the pages and articles you would prefer to be listed first in the search results do not appear there, then work on some SEO techniques that might improve chances of your preferred pages making it in the top results. Comb through the Google results for anything pertaining to your business as you never know when your business could be the target of malicious and incorrect information. I also suggest looking through the complete image results to ensure there aren’t any photos online that you wouldn’t want the world to see.

Set up Google Alerts
Here you can set up alerts that email you directly when any relevant and new content based on your assigned keywords hits the web. Examples of terms to consider:

Your name
Your company’s name and acronym
Your products/services
The names of your CEO and other key team members
Industry keywords
Important industry figures
Events your company hosts
The names of your competitors

These alerts can help you stay current with what is being published about you, your company and the industry at large.

Use a social media search tool
SocialMention* is such a tool which allows you to conduct a search in the social networking world to see what is being said about you and your business across a number of social platforms. You can conduct a search as you like, or even set up alerts (much like Google Alerts) that will email you directly with new content that is based on your keywords.

Change your social networking profile privacy settings
Social networking sites sometimes have privacy filters that will allow you to customize who can and cannot see your information, posts, photos, etc.

Let me paint a picture for you to demonstrate why this might be of some importance:
Let’s say you have a Facebook page and your privacy settings currently allow for ANYONE to see your photos from last month’s bachelor party in Vegas, a funny-yet-naughty meme you shared with your friends, or perhaps some political rant you posted at 1am after one-too-many glasses of wine. Now let’s just say an important customer, investor, colleague or even your grandma stumbled upon this sensitive material because you haven’t set up your privacy settings to shield them from this sort of content. This sort of content might sway their opinion of you and your level of professionalism and ultimately might not have the best outcome for you or your business.

Check out your social networking sites to see if they offer filters and customizable privacy settings. Or, to ensure sensitive material doesn’t become a problem in a sensitive relationship, it is probably just best practice not to post it. But, if you must, at least set up your privacy settings so you save yourself from a world of hurt if it ever falls into the wrong hands.

These are just a few of the ways you can keep a watch over your professional brand on the Internet. The most important lesson is to be mindful that, whether you like it or not, the Internet creates an identity for you and your business. Arm yourself with the knowledge as to what identity it has created on you and your business’ behalf and do what you can to mold it into an identity that is professionally appropriate.

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