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Expanding membership base through added value
  • Website
  • Content
  • RWD
  • Media
  • E-Commerce

Sports Philatelists International (SPI) is the largest English-speaking Olympic and Sports collector organization in the world. Begun in 1953 as a primarily U.S.-based study group within the American Topical Association, this independent non-profit institution has expanded to some 38 countries. Membership retention and growth requires SPI to satisfy the informational requirements of a collector base with very diverse interests covering upwards of 100 different categories of sports and Olympic Games.

The Challenge

To reach their goals, SPI needed to identify and acquire new members while at the same time build long-lasting relationships in the Olympic and sports collecting community.

The Solution

To drive growth we created a long-term strategy for building a unified media campaign utilizing existing platforms. The effort began with a data-driven survey to assess the requirements of the membership. We compared the results with the availability of similar information on the web.

The essential platforms -- a new website and an upgraded quarterly journal -- were integrated to create a cross-support of new features. A special Members-Only area of the website was developed to emphasize exclusivity.

The house organ, the Journal of Sports Philately, was given a complete makeover. From a monthly digest in a loose-leaf format, the journal was transformed into a quarterly full-color glossy publication with a more scholarly content.

Through multiple touchpoints that educate, inform and motivate, SPI has maintained an edge over its competition while keeping membership dues levels at a moderate level.

Measurable Results

Over the course of a few years after instituting changes to the website and journal, membership doubled. The changes to the journal have resulted in numerous international awards for excellence including Large Silvers at both Italia ‘98 and Olymphilex 2004. The website was awarded a gold medal in 2013 by the American Philatelic Society for excellence in design and content.