How the Calgary West Rotary Club Attracted 25 New Members in 18 Months

Unified clubs can do great things!

There is a simple definition of the word brand. Your brand is what others think it is. 

But, the heart of a brand goes much deeper. What you think of yourself and your organization will dictate how you shape it's brand in a way that engages others.

The heart of a strong Rotary Club brand is the feeling of pride members have for their club and the work of Rotary. If they feel good about their club, they will be fully engaged in fellowship and in community service. They will influence others to collaborate and even become members.

Background; The Can-do Club

The Calgary West Rotary first met in May, 1967. The club soon became known as a "can-do" club that was known for it's service projects. 

They reached far beyond what could reasonably be expected from a club of 80 to 100 members. Thousands of lives throughout the world were forever changed due to a collective passion for service and making a difference.  

Decades passed. Then, things began to change. Over a 5 year period, members began to drift away. Many of those who remained were not motivated or engaged. Meeting attendance dipped to numbers in the 20s and 30s.

As any leader can tell, there is a marked difference in enthusiasm level between a club with 20ish active members on it's way up than on it's way down. 

There was no single reason for the decline. Rather, a number of dynamics came together in a perfect storm. The future seemed bleak.

Then, it happened! A relatively new member named Tony Knight accepted the position of President for 2014-2015.

In one year the club went through a dramatic transformation and revitalization.

Tony thanking speaker Wendy Lowe

Twenty-five new members joined during an 18-month period. Attendance averaged in the 50-60 range. 

There was a noticeable “buzz” in the room before every meeting. Members anticipated meetings. As of this date, there are 80 members and 3 honorary members. 

But there is more. There were 30-40 adherents who belonged to a satellite club. They would volunteer for service projects and were connected to the club through social media. Many were millennials. Some formally joined the club. 

A Time for Renewal

How did this renewal happen? There are many factors that explain why the growth of any organization happens. Usually it involves some level of personal and/or organizational marketing. 

Branding is a process of thematic thinking in which all parts make a significant contribution to the whole. - Robyn T. Braley

When I speak at Rotary clubs or leadership events, I am always asked, "what the silver bullet?" 

There was no one thing. Achieving organizational success always comes through many small parts intersecting with a few major pieces to complete the puzzle.

Try New Ideas

Having said that, there is one factor that stands out. President Tony Knight gave permission to members to try new things. Full stop!

There were few “maybes” or “let’s think about this” or “we’ve never done that before or “what will certain members think?” Some ideas worked, and some didn’t. The ideas that did worked really well. 

Aye, aye, Captain Tony

Tony had a history of taking risks. In the mid-90’s he and his wife Arien sold their dental practice and sailed around the world while homeschooling their kids. They have stories of high adventure that include encounters with Somali pirates off the horn of Africa.

During Tony’s year as President many elements came together. Members reached out with new ideas and renewed energy.

Meetings were anticipated. Members were motivated to invite others. 

A Retroactive Marketing Plan

Many of the initiatives were introduced in response to emerging needs and opportunities. To suggest that they were part of an aggressive marketing plan developed at the start of the year would not comply with the four-way test. Most were introduced as the year progressed. However, looking back at how they came together be instructive. 

·        During his President-elect year, Tony surveyed club members by phone or in person to determine their opinions about things that mattered.

·        The board was a mix experienced Rotarians and novices. All were forward thinking. He also leaned on a few non-board members for advice and counsel.

·         As an avid sailor, Tony introduced a nautical theme with members being the crew with him as the captain. The club was the ship. The imagery provided humor while sending a subtle message.

·         Club leaders were challenged to not only think outside the box, but to think as if there was no box.

It was easier to recruit volunteers for service

•  A risky decision was made to move the club to a venue that was new, bright, professional and offered good food, free parking and offered a sense of pride when members walked through the door.

•  Members were continually challenged to look outward rather than inward; to search for new opportunities for service and ways of doing things.

• Tony liaised with the program committee and encouraged them to maintain high standards of interesting speakers and topics. 

o   Made a conscious effort to “accent the positive” when managing the energy in the room.

o   Introduced production ideas to make meetings seamless and appeal to millennials and other guests.

o   Supported the introduction of a Signature Series which profiled speakers with broad attraction – like Jay Ingram, Ken King, the Manning Foundation Awards for Innovation nominees, and a political leadership forum that was open to the public.

§  Signature meetings provided a “reason” to invite visitors. 

§  They were promoted within the club, through social and mainstream media which increased club exposure.

o   The political leadership forum tripled the average club attendance and was capped at 150. The production and presentation of the event instilled a renewed sense of pride and accomplishment within the club.

§  The attendance number of 150 did not count 50 media.

§  The story dominated mainstream and social media for two days. Global TV, The Herald, NEWSTALK 770 and 660 News livestreamed the event.

·       Tony responded to the challenge of communicating with millennials, who are the future of Rotary, in a way that was relevant, authentic and allowed them to experience Rotary.

o   Launched a Facebook site which was highly successful in attracting millennials to specific service projects.

o   Opened doors making it easy for them to volunteer whenever they could without holding a full club membership.

·        Introduced EventBrite online payment system which made it easy for visitors to purchase tickets to special events or fundraisers

·        Commissioned a club brochure designed as a sales tool for one-on-one presentations of Rotary and as a general information piece. Each month members were encouraged to take copies to keep at home or their offices. Brochures also helped keep member recruitment and club marketing top of mind.

o   2,500 were printed for distribution in one year

o   Were available at Signature Meeting events

o   Some were used to stuff envelops with collaborative partner events like the walk for organ transplants

Contracted a professional designer to format a club directory. Improved the level of engagement and relationship building

Commissioned a marketing focused PowerPoint show
profiling club members in action doing service and the wide variety of speakers who had recently spoken at the club.

Robyn Braley is a branding specialist, speaker and writer. He is also a Rotarian who is passionate about Building the Rotary Brand. Robyn has led two teams that received the Rotary International PR Award. He has also served as the PR Chair for District 5360. 

Contact Robyn

Email: robyn@robyntbraley.com   Connect on LinkedIn Follow on Twitter: @rtbraley_rotary