A New Way to Reach Out to First-Time Exhibitors

by Stephanie Smith

Do you remember when you got your first AKC-registered show quality puppy? My mind automatically filled with thoughts of purple ribbons and Championships, but my breeder and mentors suggested a more practical first step — taking my first Golden Retriever puppy to a match. After all, “wiggling for exam” had to transform into “standing for exam” before any ribbons would be coming our way.

I know my story is not unique – many dog fanciers have gotten their start in the dog world as a result of attending their local club’s match show, getting “hooked” on dog events as a result of this low-stress introduction to the fun of the sport.

But where do you find new match attendees – also potential new club members and show entrants — if they are not already at dog events?

AKC has thought a great deal about the answer to this question. To raise greater awareness about the opportunities presented by attending a match, we’ve created the AKC Match Program. If your club has been considering hosting a stand-alone AKC-sanctioned match, we encourage you to take part in the new offering.

We will email a personalized match invitation to all AKC registrants within a 100-mile radius of your event, explaining what a match show is, providing details about the event and offering tips for first-timers about how to enter and prepare. The invite lets them know that AKC match shows are great opportunities to socialize their dog in an informal dog show environment, all while meeting other dog lovers who are already part of the AKC community.

If your club would like to promote the match to the media, we can also assist with that. We’ll drive local community to the match with calendar listings, work with your club on a media alert to invite the press and of course, list it on our own Match Calendar.

Several clubs have already taken advantage of the AKC Match Program, with encouraging results.

The Santa Maria Kennel Club (SMKC) saw an increase in entries over the previous year and had many different breeds in attendance. A few dog owners who traveled from 2.5 hours away ended up being first-time match attendees who took advantage of the variety of events by entering Rally, Obedience and Conformation.

SMKC’s Judy Bein said, “I polled one of those owner/handlers to see if she was happy with her experience and to be sure she and her dog had fun. She was delighted with the helpful support from the judges and the friendly attitude from everyone she encountered.”

SMKC’s local newspaper, the Santa Maria Times, also came out to cover the event. The club made the front page the next day with a nice wrap-up of the event and photos of match attendees and their dogs.

The Minnesota Responsible Dog Ownership Day also held a sanctioned “B” match as part of its day-long activities. Event organizer Pat Cunningham reported that the match entry was up 150% over 2013 and the new dog owners participated in every aspect of their event.

If you’re looking for a similar response from dog owners to your match, we’re here to help.  To take advantage of the outreach to dog owners in your area and other assistance, just send your match flyer or details to communications@akc.org and we’ll get started on helping to make your upcoming match as successful as possible.

Bio: Stephanie Smith got her start in the sport of dogs as a Junior Handler and went on to exhibit her Golden Retrievers in both conformation and obedience. As AKC’s Club Communications Manager, she works to promote the events and good works of AKC clubs to the media, and also shares them on AKC platforms like AKCDogLovers.com, AKC homepage news and in AKC newsletters. Send your club news to her at sxs2@akc.org. 

Short URL: http://caninechronicle.com/?p=63029

Posted by chesliepickett on Oct 21 2014. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.