2004 WESPA Communications Strategy
Howard Warner, 5 July 2004
Introduction
WESPA's purpose is to:
- Unify all competitive (English-language) Scrabble players
- Develop a schedule of international tournaments
- Facilitate the holding of these
- Popularise tournament Scrabble through media coverage of these events.
- The international playing community is a jigsaw of organisations at different levels of development — regional and national organisations with varying affiliations to proprietary interests, clubs (where a national association does not exist because Scrabble is still too small or new), independent players, on-line players. So there is no convenient platform from which to build international tournaments.
- Proprietary interests appear to act as a barrier to the development of a truly world body, in a number of ways:
- The existence of two separate owners effectively divides the world (albeit along commercial lines).
- The affiliation of the NSA to Hasbro (and the insular adoption of ‘North American' word sources and challenge rules) makes two separate ‘circuits' under the present piecemeal structure of international tournaments.
- The agenda of both owners is to sell Scrabble sets and other paraphernalia. The players' agenda is to play, develop and promote competitive, tournament Scrabble. The two agendas are complementary in theory, but not in practice (at present).
- Legal proprietary 'rights' are unclear.
- There is still confusion over WESPA's mandate to develop a world body. Has it been granted by individual players or by player associations?
- Connected to the previous issue is that of membership. Is this to be based on individuals or national associations? Is its purpose to gain funding or to maintain the status and integrity of the tournament structure?
Background
There is little case for developing a wider promotional communications strategy at this point because there is nothing to sell — no tournaments have been arranged and no formally constituted organisation exists as yet.
So this paper is primarily concerned with the immediate need: to gain solid support for WESPA in order to generate the enthusiasm and resources for a co-ordinated circuit of international tournaments .
A strong body keen to promote the interests of Scrabble should appeal to proprietary interests and attract players who want to get involved in bilateral, regional or world tournaments.
The resistance of the NSA (Hasbro) to the foundation of WESPA suggests a strategic approach in which North America/Israel is regarded as a second-generation member. Better to get ‘the rest of the world' up and running and show North American players how good things can be with a well-functioning central body. An alternative approach might be to have a combination of membership types: national/regional assocation, club and individual. Then those North Americans who want to participate in a global structure could do so as individuals, while still maintaining their involvement with the NSA. (The total population of globally inclined Americans may well add up to that of several medium-sized countries, in any case.)
Objectives
The three prongs of the Stage One strategy are to:
- Explain the rationale for a world Scrabble body.
- Show the benefits it will provide for members/players.
- Set out how it would work.
Stage One target audiences
| Audience | Relevant interest |
| Competitive players | Role and purpose of new body; opportunities for inter-national tournaments; information on rules, formats etc; discussion of issues affecting international tournaments. |
| National & regional associations, clubs | The same, but with an emphasis on how these will interface with the new body. (May be worth working with newer countries or regions to develop associations, which will expand opportunities for regional competitions.) |
| Schools, youth | Value of Scrabble as competitive brain sport; value as education tool for spelling, vocab, problem-solving etc. |
| Sponsors | A lateral approach needed to find and approach organisations involved in brainwork which would benefit by association. Key interest is commercial opportunities from supporting a well-run organisation that can deliver marketing-oriented events. Obvious sponsors Mattel and Hasbro need guidance in role of supporter of players (for their ultimate commercial benefit) rather than owner and controller of players. |
Tactical recommendations
Establish a single communications vehicle for national and regional associations, clubs and (independent) players
Recommended: an e-zine (emailed magazine).
Function: to report on WESPA decisions, issues and progress during the organisation's formative stages.
Purpose: to gain the buy-in of members.
Rationale: it is easy to produce regularly and often, and relatively cheap to produce and distribute.
Distribution: driven by access to databases, and sent out either directly by WESPA or indirectly through associations, clubs (the latter is easiest to manage and gives them an immediate role in the organisation).
Initial content: basic information on WESPA (who, what, where, why, how), profiles of key people, a response e-mail address for suggestions and feedback.
Further content: breaking news, roll-out of decisions, promotion of upcoming events, promotion of the website.
Develop an influencer campaign
Influential individuals in each member country (or region) should be used to push the case in their own environment, endorsing the WESPA process and pointing out the benefits. This would spread the load for committee members and obviate any suggestions that WESPA is a ‘closed shop'. It is particularly important in markets, such as North America , which have an institutional barrier to a player-focused organisation such as WESPA.
Who are these individuals, how to select them and how to approach them? These are questions for the committee. Perhaps each committee member should work on this in their own geographical area, with input from the chairman and secretary.
There a number of possible avenues for influencers:
- informal discussions
- national newsletters (contributions)
- national or club websites (contributions or on-line discussions)
- national association structures
- emails.
While the e-zine will provide breaking news and up-to-date decisions, a website can be the ‘journal of record'. It can present the issues in more detail and gradually build a picture of the emerging organisation. It should be heavily promoted through the e-zine. There should also be an accessible (monitored rather than controlled) discussion board for free exchange of ideas on news and issues.
It probably requires a more professional look and structure than the various existing sites, either of national associations or individuals. It will be the shop window for tournament Scrabble internationally, and will play a key role in attracting sponsorship. In fact, sponsors should be given their own section and allowed to profile their goods and services though it. (There is obviously a compromise between immediacy and substance with the site. Does WESPA get it right from the off? Or does it start with something basic and build on it when funds allow?)
Develop an on-line vehicle for live coverage
The reality is that tournament Scrabble will never attract the kind of broadcasting coverage that other sports do. But the Internet is almost tailor-made for Scrabble.
The advantages are that:
- it is global
- everybody has access
- it is a highly flexible medium, with unlimited potential
- we can control it
- it is cheap
- we have the technology and expertise
- it gets things started
There are also downstream on-line possibilities for a website.
These could include:
- tournaments
- challenges to the game's greats
- interviews, open discussions, blogs with the game's greats
- record stunts
- word-play and puzzle competitions (adults, schools)
- player profiles (ratings-driven)
- archives of classic games
I suggest we embrace the Internet as our prime medium for ‘live' coverage.
Develop a media profile in selected countries
Given the international makeup of the WESPA steering committee, each member should use their own national media to gain whatever profile is possible. Warning: it will not be easy while there is no tangible product (tournament) to focus on.
A one-page briefing sheet about competitive Scrabble should be developed. It would describe the game's burgeoning popularity, club and on-line opportunities for play, the increased potential for international contact and the importance of WESPA. The hook will be the role of the 'local' representative (committee member) in the initiative. (Members could develop their own, or the communications group could develop a format that can be adapted.) Ideally, this briefing sheet would lead to a journalist writing a local story. At the very least, it should get the committee member's name onto a contact list for any future issues where WESPA could offer an informed comment. (The members need to look out for these, too.)
Any media releases need to have a local angle on an international development to gain any chance of coverage. A strong or quirky enough local story will go out internationally, in any case. (An example was the story a few years ago from Britain about a lawsuit over a toilet break.)
Until there are actual WESPA-endorsed tournaments to report on, potential competitive Scrabble angles are limited. However, here are a few potential ideas that could be picked up on (or engineered): a call for more brain sports in schools; new reports on research (such as brain sports and puzzles preventing the onset of Alzheimer's disease); a revelation about ESOL success rates through use of Scrabble; a new book, film or TV documentary about ‘word freaks'. Any local media coverage gained can be posted on the website for wider currency, and then archived to show developing patterns of coverage.
Summary of recommended Stage One activities
- Build database of members and interested parties for direct communications.
- Produce and distribute email e-zine
- Endorse WESPA process in member countries (through influencers)
- Develop and maintain website
- Develop media briefing sheet for local/national application
Tournaments
Stories: The selection of major tournament hosts will provide news stories — different countries will provide different focuses.
Liaison: Much of the responsibility for media liaison will pass over to the host organisation or players.
Schedule: The Stage Two communications strategy depends on having a concrete tournament schedule in place. Different countries and different levels of tournament require different strategic approaches.
Sponsorship
Sponsor needs: Potential sponsors want a strong media profile to associate their brand with. We need to show that we are wise to that. We also need to keep them in the loop about WESPA activities, and how much their sponsorship is valued. They also want a showcase for their products through our communications vehicles (mainly the website).
WESPA benefits: In return, we get vital assistance (financial, resources, expertise, etc) in holding big international tournaments and attracting top players, who will in turn deliver that profile.
Specialist skills: One type of secondary sponsorship we can look at is professional assistance with specialist skills, such as event management, sponsorship-raising and publicity. An international public relations firm, for example, might find the focus on words appealing and relevant to their industry. And they would certainly know how to ensure the desired quid pro quo : a strong profile for their name.
Finance
Individuals vs associations: Communications should be planned according to an organisation's ‘target audiences'. WESPA has included national/regional Scrabble bodies in its market, for the purpose of raising operating funds. So the organisation will need to juggle the disparate needs, concerns and systems of the various well-established national/regional Scrabble set-ups. This is much more complex than just working with individual players, and will need to be handled carefully through the WESPA communications strategy.
Funding: Although this strategy has aimed at cost-efficiency in its recommended activities (such as in preferring on-line communications to print publications), some aspects of communications will require funding, such as website development, hosting and maintenance.
Fundraising activities: Andrew Fisher's subscription study report talks of potential fund-raising from communications activities: website tie-ins, royalties from WESPA literature and revenue from a regular print newsletter. Website tie-ins are a definite possibility (as discussed earlier). I am not sure which publications are being referred to here. With a print newsletter, however, we consider that the market is not big enough to cover costs of production, printing and distribution, let alone make a profit.
Branding
Importance: Branding is more than a name and logo. It encompasses everything about how target audiences relate to an organisation. So every interaction between WESPA and its audiences affect perceptions of the brand. We need to have a very clear idea of what the WESPA brand stands for so that all branding efforts will match it.
Co-ordination: To date, WESPA's branding efforts (name, logo design, colour) have been piecemeal and ad hoc. This is inevitable, given the need to simply get the organisation off the ground. At a later stage, once we are operational, the branding would be worth revisiting as part of an overall marketing strategy. For now, we need to incorporate it the best we can in all communications.
Ratings
Website: The ratings would be a component of the website that the relevant group could manage independently — regular updates being the key.
Stories: Good liaison with the publicists is essential, as ratings movements are a key source of both story angles and publicity background (compare with tennis, golf, etc).
Schools
Market expansion: The schools market may well be the key to expanding interest and involvement in tournament Scrabble as a global sport. ESOL , as a massive global market, also has huge potential (as the Thai experience shows). So these two related markets represent a specific target audience for communications. Ideally, we should consider it in communications from the start. On-line methods are particularly well suited.
Research: But do we know anything about this market? What is the actual usage of competitive Scrabble in schools, what is the potential usage? Some initial research would be valuable before we start marketing to schools. Also, a high level of liaison is required between the schools team and the communications team.
Clear agenda: Any development of the schools market needs to draw a clear distinction between the proprietors' commercial agenda and WESPA's competitive play agenda. (Do we want today's youth to be simply new consumers or tomorrow's champions?)
Constitution
Market: Constitution development shares a significant feature with communications: the need to be clear about WESPA's market and purpose. So ongoing liaison is essential.
Rights: A key element of constitution development is knowing what rights the proprietary owners of Scrabble do and don't have. How much do we really know? We would suggest an urgent, early exercise for the WESPA committee should be to commission a legal report from a top-drawer intellectual property expert (whatever the cost). The findings of this would guide not only the constitution but most of WESPA's activities.
Secretariat
Logistics: Communications and the secretary need to liaise on logistics, in tasks such as developing databases and distributing communications.