“Australia is to biathlon what Jamacia is to bobsled”:

Communications and Branding Survey Findings

A sincere thanks to the 74 members who took the time to complete the Communications and Branding Survey that was sent out in January. The time and effort you put into providing comments and answering the survey questions has been invaluable.   

Of the 74 members who responded to the survey:

• 54.8% were male
• 19.2% were aged 18 years and younger
• 35.6% were aged between 45-54 years
• 24.7% were aged between 55-64 years
• 48.0% were located in Victoria
• 42.5% were located in NSW

And here is a summary of what you told us.

Members provided the following organisation name preferences:

1. Biathlon Australia (46.5%)
2. Australian Biathlon (25.4%)
3. Australian Biathlon Association (25.4%)
4. Australian Biathlon Union (2.7%)

Respondents felt that the most important aspect of a new logo is that it:

1. Represents shooting and skiing
2. Is uniquely Australian
3. Is professional; and
4. Is modern

And a range of comments were provided in relation to the logo:

In relation to the colours to represent the organisation, there was no clear preference for one primary colour there was similar levels of support for either blue or green. For those that supported blue then the blue that was preferred was “navy blue” and for those members who preferred green the preferred colour was a dark or pine green.

The survey also provided some insight into uniforms and clothing, in line with the following:

A race kit should ideally include:

Preferences as to whether there should be a different Australian and International competition race kit were mixed, with comments supporting a single kit noting that we should “keep costs down” and that we should “keep it simple” and comments in support of having two kits noting that international representation should be earned and something to be aspired to and distinguished by a varied uniform “team members need to feel that they wear different clothing from general members as they have been selected to represent Australia”.

There is also potential demand for the following items of training and supporter clothing:

• Short sleeve (performance material) T-shirt
• Fleecy hoodies
• Light weight over jacket
• Short sleeve T-Shirt
• Beanie
• Polo shirt
• Baseball hat
• Long sleeve (performance material) T-shirt

The survey also provided insight into what social media our members use.  The most common type of social media used is:

1. Facebook
2. Instagram
3. YouTube

Noting that some members don’t use any social media and rely on emails and visits to web pages.  In addition, respondents aged under 44 years are more likely to use Instagram (91%) and respondents over 45 years are more likely to use Facebook (73.3%).

The survey also provided members with the opportunity to provide any other comments and here is just a sample of the good and the bad:

The Board and the Promotion and Communication sub committee will now progress the work on re-branding and communications, based on the survey feedback and members will continue to be consulted for their thoughts and comments .

Here is the link  to the Survey report.