The column below, penned by 2012-13 CoSIDA President Joe Hornstein, the FIU Sports Information Director. This column appears in the October 2012 issue of NACDA's Athletics Administration Magazine and talks about the strategic branding strategy analysis that CoSIDA is undergoing with the assistance of consultants Cryder Rinebold.
Beginning with the 2009-10 academic year and with its new partnership with NACDA at that time, the CoSIDA leadership was invited to contribute to each issue of the Athletics Administration Magazine. In October of 2009, CoSIDA President Justin Doherty penned the first "CoSIDA Column."
Hornstein's article is the first CoSIDA Column of the 2012-13 academic year.
Each Athletics Administration issue is sent to over 10,000 university and athletics administrators, with CoSIDA's voice, thoughts and expertise shared with these key constituents. The magazine is published each October, November, December, February, March, April, June and August.
See the CoSIDA Corner archives HERE.
CoSIDA seeks involvement of collegiate athletic community in strategic branding review
by Joe Hornstein (FIU Sports Information Director), 2012-13 CoSIDA President
In May, CoSIDA’s Board of Directors entered into an agreement with brand/communications/strategic marketing consultants
Cryder Rinebold to conduct an in-depth study of the CoSIDA brand during a
15-month period.
CoSIDA and Cryder Rinebold, who are based in Indianapolis, are presently undertaking this thorough
brand-based review of its entire organization, from insights internally to external perceptions that
ultimately gauge effectiveness.
More closely, the purpose of this truly important appraisal is to take a comprehensive view at our organization through the eyes of our many constituents whom we serve and with whom we interact on a daily basis. As CoSIDA approaches its 60th anniversary, and upcoming convention move to NACDA, this should prove to be one of the healthiest organizational exercises we’ve undertaken to date.
The role of the athletics communications strategist and our college environment grow exponentially and more complex each and every year. This we all know. To provide value and relevancy to our respective institutions and conferences, we need to be clear about what our role currently is — but more important, where it should be in the long-term.
Ours is a very diverse membership and we want to see what connects and galvanizes members of the organization. Additionally, we want to identify CoSIDA’s core role(s) within intercollegiate athletics and higher education; clarify the perceived and real value that athletics communicators bring to their department and to the university/conference and their relationships with other communications professionals in their organization; and identify continuing education programs and strategic programming to assist our professionals and ultimately, their roles in their organizations.
Some of the components many of our peers will see come out of this study will be recommendations on the follow-up to CoSIDA’s documented strategic plan, which we successfully unveiled in 2008, in addition to feedback on the relevancy, equity and value of our organizational name, College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), logo and appearance.
This self-study, admittedly with high goals, is two-fold. First, this is a membership-driven strategic review, as interviews with hundreds of members have already taken place.
Second, CoSIDA also will rely on the important input of collegiate athletics leaders across the country as your opinions and data will assist CoSIDA in its future strategic planning.
We need this information — this reflection — to help guide our organization into the future. Major changes are taking place in CoSIDA:
• our aforementioned annual Convention moving to the NACDA & Affiliates Convention (beginning in June 2013)
• the hiring of full-time employees to steward our daily operations; and the expansion and changes in our signature effort, the Capital One Academic All-America® program.
In addition, the ever-changing communications roles have caused a shift in how we conduct business, how we are viewed by peer organizations and how we plan for the future.
Several years ago, we did an internal study of our organization, but frankly realized as the active leaders of the organization that we were too close to the subject at-hand and that CoSIDA needed a different approach in its review. So, we enlisted the services of Dennis Cryder and JoJo Rinebold, whose company has a deep understanding and working history with collegiate athletics organizations and higher education.
At our June 2012 Convention in St. Louis, Cryder Reinbold held informative, and somewhat passionate, discussions with CoSIDA members present. These Convention attendees represented the gender and ethnic diversity of our organization, along with every component of our organization (Division I, II, III, NAIA, Canada, past presidents) and the nine CoSIDA divisional/advocacy boards.
Interviews were also conducted at the June ECAC-SIDA annual convention (for athletics media relations professionals on the East Coast/Northeast).
We are now in the midst of the next phase of our review — asking collegiate athletics leaders to participate in focus groups and interview sessions conducted by Cryder Rinebold. Cryder Rinebold and CoSIDA Executive Director John Humenik have scheduled these interviews and Cryder Rinebold is now meeting with athletics directors, conference commissioners, leaders in NACDA affiliates, NCAA and NAIA leaders, et al, to discuss CoSIDA and the athletic communications profession from their perspective.
We greatly appreciate those who have given their time and look forward to holding these educational, candid and beneficial discussions with many others.
Following these sessions, an online survey will be constructed for our full membership of nearly 2,800 to participate in. Working with Cryder Rinebold to build and distribute this survey is the Fondulas Research group. During the 2012-13 spring semester and summer, Cryder Rinebold plans to present its findings and recommendations to the CoSIDA membership and to athletics leaders.
I foresee that this study will confirm things we know about our organization, reveal items we did not know, and unveil challenges and opportunities that we will need to tackle in the academic years to come.
It is our aim to be highly-strategic with the ultimate focus as we ask for your support and input moving forward. This is a paramount initiative that will successfully position the members of CoSIDA inside their respective institutions, schools, programs and conferences — a benefit to the entire intercollegiate athletics community.