On May 15, 2011, I organized a partnership between the Calgary Outdoor Club (aka the COC) and the Atmosphere Store that was a rousing success for both groups.  This event illustrates the importance of how setting goals, preparation and open communication are essential to any successful event.

I was approached by Lonnie Taylor, Assistant Manager of the Atmosphere Store in Calgary to partner in an event where Calgary Outdoor Club members would be invited to a special evening where they would be entitled to 25% off of all regularly priced items and 10% off of all sale priced items in the store.  Similar offers to other sports groups in Calgary had met with disappointing results.

In a second meeting with Lonnie and Jeff Scherer, the Store Manager, we determined that if 100 or more Calgary Outdoor Club members attended, then the event would be considered to be very successful.  As the representative for the Calgary Outdoor Club, it was important that the Atmosphere Store have the aedequate staff to effectively serve the people who arrived.

The event was posted on April 25 and the response from the Calgary Outdoor Club was strong with over 30 people registering in the first 48 hours.  I kept the Atmosphere management team apprised of not only the number of registrants, but also their demographics (gender, age range).   In addition, I communicated regularly with COC attendees, encouraging them to ‘pre-shop’  and/or get pre-fitted for the items they planned to buy on the day of. 

The event was hugely succcessful, with 168 COC members attending and purchasing close to $20,000 worth of merchandise in 2 hours.