Dive Industry Association, Inc.
Membership Manual & Guide
By Gene Muchanski, Executive Director,
Dive Industry Association, Inc.
July 1, 2021
Chapter 1 – Welcome to our Network
Chapter 2 – Our Vision, Mission & Goals
Chapter 3 – Memberships
Chapter 4 – Specialty Stakeholder Groups within DIA
Chapter 5 – Member Benefits
Chapter 6 – Daily Blog
Chapter 7 – Weekly Press Releases – Weekly Dive News
Chapter 8 – Monthly Newsletter – The Dive Industry Professional
Chapter 9 – Trade Directory
Chapter 10 – Marketing
Chapter 11 – Websites & Blogs
Chapter 12 – Directories
Chapter 13 – Databases
Chapter 14 – Social Media
Chapter 15 – Dive Shows & Events
Chapter 16 – Consultancy
Chapter 17 – Dive Industry Foundation
Chapter 18 – Industry Research & Intelligence
Chapter 19 – DIVE LOCAL – Industry Program
Chapter 20 – Industry Programs
Chapter 21 – Summit Meetings
Chapter 22 – Undersea Showcase
Chapter 23 – Strategic Partnerships
CHAPTER 1 – WELCOME TO OUR GLOBAL DIVING NETWORK
Welcome to the Dive Industry Association. On behalf of our Sponsors, Board of Directors and your fellow Dive Industry Association Members, I want to tell you how pleased we are that you decided to be a part of our Global Network of Industry Professionals. I admire the commitment you have made to make your business or organization more professional, productive, and profitable and to grow the industry as a result.
The Dive Industry Association is a Trade Association that focuses on the Business of Diving issues so that we can help you attain and maintain a competitive edge in our industry. You will notice very quickly that we are extremely member-centric and everything we do is ultimately for your benefit.
This Membership Manual & Guide serves many purposes. Primarily, it is for the benefit of our Members who want to understand and maximize their member benefits, especially for new members and entrepreneurs who are new to the diving business community.
We will discuss our history, mission, focus of attention, priorities, and our vision for the future in the following pages. Many of the topics we discuss in this manual are for your general knowledge and better understanding of the industry. The Association took on this project to help us internally focus on who we are, what we do and why. It is the best way we know in order to organize our thoughts for a successful association. We write it down and then check to see if we are delivering on what we said we would. Chapter Five (5) is all about your Member Benefits, what they will do for you and how you can go about taking advantage of them. The remainder of the text may be about the industries and customers that make up our niche market, our understanding of the programs, products and services that are sold in the market, the Sellers who offer them and the Buyers who purchase their products.
CHAPTER 2 – OUR VISION
Our Vision for a Better Industry: Since April 2001, the Dive Industry Association has been “Building a Better Industry, One Member at a Time.” Our Vision remains the same today – To Build a Better Industry. Twenty years and 419 Members later, the association is considered the Premier Trade Association in the Diving Community. As a customer-centric, non-political, non-judgmental and all-inclusive association, DIA is doing the things necessary to advance its Members and grow the industry. But it is more than a set of goals and a slogan. Find out why Dive Industry Association is winning the hearts and minds (and Memberships) of dive industry professionals world-wide. As a Trade Association, our job is to promote our Members inside and outside of the diving industry. We have a history of exhibiting at and supporting Regional Dive Shows across the country. For many years we supported the two Surf Expos and ten Travel & Adventure Shows, to open new markets and opportunities for our members. In Chapter 15 we discuss the successes and setbacks we experienced with these two non-diving shows.
Our Goals: The goals of the association have not changed since our beginning. They are to: 1) Unite the Industry in a common purpose and foster the spirit of cooperation. That common purpose is to grow the industry. 2) Help our Members become more Professional, Productive and Profitable. Only when our members are successful in their own business, will the industry grow. 3) Generate maximum exposure for our members. Marketing and Advertising is expensive and it takes an experienced and formally trained Marketing Professionals who understand the various diving markets and industries that compete in them. An organization that markets on behalf of its members is more effective than companies that only utilize their own limited budgets for their own purpose. 4) Increase business opportunities in the industry for our members and open up new markets for them. There are many business opportunities that dive companies can take advantage of. The purpose of a Trade Association is to help its members discover opportunities, not to capitalize on opportunities for itself.
Our Mission: Our Mission is to bring Buyers and Sellers together. The purpose of our Mission is to increase sales of diving equipment, training, travel and lifestyle products for our Members. Our message to our Members is: You become more Professional, Productive, and Profitable by focusing on the sale of diving equipment, training, travel and lifestyle products. Our message to the general public is to: 1) Learn to Dive. 2) Buy Your Gear. 3) Go Diving. 4) Stay Active.
Why Are We Better Than Other Associations?: Dive Industry Association charges its Members an annual fee to belong to an Industry Network that brings them customers and opportunities. Our focus is to help our Members become more Professional, Productive and Profitable. We work to help you increase your sales. We are not an Association that charges you an annual membership fee so that you can buy products from us. We are your industry partner, not your product vendor. You are a Member, not a customer. As a Member you get special promotions and business referrals from us. That puts money in your pocket, not take it out.
Board of Advisers: Dive Industry Association is looking to have a more formal Board of Advisers, elected from each industry sector represented in its membership. Different industries have different customer bases, different goals & objectives and different agendas. To better understand their needs, DIA relies on industry Advisers who will represent their needs to the Board of Directors. Advisers serve for one year. If you are interested in serving as an industry segment adviser, please let us know.
Voting: Each Member has one vote, regardless of the size of their company. One Member – One Vote. Members vote within their own industry sector. Manufacturers vote on manufacturing issues. Retailers vote on retailing issues. Voting is used to prioritize issues that are important to each sector, not to control the organization or to push one’s own agenda on the rest of the membership.
Our Communication Vehicles: Dive Industry Association keeps in constant communication with its Members. We do this on a daily, weekly, monthly, and annual basis. Members opt-in to the amount of communication they want to receive from DIA Worldwide. Our weekly communication vehicle is DIA’s Weekly Dive News. We publish press releases relevant to the diving industry, every Tuesday. We do that as a public service to our members and the diving community. Subscription is free and is by opt-in only. Members receive 24 FREE Press Releases during their 12 month membership period. Chapter 7 covers Weekly Dive News in detail. Next is our Monthly Newsletter, The Dive Industry Professional. Over 5,000 Industry Professionals receive this publication every month, powered by one of our Business Partners, Constant Contact. Details on our Monthly Newsletter can be found in Chapter 8.
Our Web Sites: The Dive Industry Association has numerous websites and Blog Websites. We build our own websites in-house and maintain them ourselves. Websites are designed for the Trade Association, the Non-Profit Foundation and the General Public. It’s better to think in terms of company addresses instead of web sites, because websites can be linked, parked, integrated, hidden, etc. The URL address is the identifying address that takes you to the content (website / blog). 1) The Dive Industry Association uses the URL address www.diveindustry.net The Association is an Industry Trade Network of Member Dive Companies. That is the Association you belong to. 2) The Dive Industry Foundation uses the URL address www.diveindustry.org The Foundation is our non-profit, 501(c)3, tax exempt educational and charitable organization. The Foundation is the Association’s educational division, focusing on educational, promotion, industry intelligence, and Trade Shows and Events. Our current marketing campaign is called DIVE LOCAL and its URL address is www.divelocal.org Dive Local is our worldwide dive industry directory for the General Public, including the Dive Trade. Chapter 11 covers our websites in detail.
Our Directories: In an age where other Associations hide their Member Directories from the general public (because they are afraid their “competitors” will find out who their members are), we proudly advertise and promote our Members to the Trade and Consuming Public. All member businesses are hot-linked to their websites and blogs. On our Trade website we have a Member Trade Directory, a Travel Directory and a Facebook Directory. We also have Trade Directories on a number of our other web sites. We created a Trade Directory and Industry Publication that has its own web site. This directory is currently being updated and will soon be hosted on its own website again. All of our Directories are covered in more detail in Chapter 12.
Our Databases: I believe that Dive Industry Association has one of the best and most current databases in the industry. We use Sales Force, Card Scan, Constant Contact and Excel for our Industry Databases. Dive Industry Professionals and Businesses are identified in target market classifications. Although our individual data is not shared, it is used by us to benefit our members. See Chapter 13 for more details.
Social Media: DIA has always been on the cutting edge of bringing social media marketing to the diving industry. Our Facebook profile has 4,474 friends so we needed to create a page for each of the DIA Divisions. The Dive Industry Association has its own page at www.facebook.com/diveindustry We currently have 1,574 people following our Facebook Page with a total of 1,520 “Likes” and do not purchase advertising. Our monthly newsletter and weekly press releases are auto-linked to our Facebook Pages. Our non-profit Dive Industry Foundation has its own page at www.facebook.com/divefoundation and you can find the best of dive travel at Undersea Showcase’s page, www.facebook.com/underseashowcase We also have Facebook Pages for DIVE LOCAL, Caribbean Dive News and Bahama Dive News.
Support of Industry Dive Shows: DIA supports, promotes and exhibits at two Regional Dive Shows that we’ve established a relationship with. They include; Our World-Underwater (Chicago), and Beneath the Sea (Secaucus, NJ). The Board is interested in establishing professional relationships with more Event Organizers and supporting and exhibiting at additional shows as our budget can afford.
Community Sponsored Events: DIA has sponsored Industry Events at Consumer Dive Shows like Breakfast Seminars at Our World-Underwater and Industry Luncheons at the Scuba & H2O Adventure Show in Tacoma. The “Lunch & Learn” seminars feature Key Note Speakers discussing topics of interest to the audience.
Summit Meetings: Dive Industry Association has co-sponsored three Regional Summit Meetings in 2016. They were held in Dallas, TX at the Lone Star State Dive and Travel Show, in Chicago at Our World-Underwater Dive and Travel Show and at Beneath the Sea in Secaucus, NJ. Attendance was taken, notes were prepared and portions of the Summit Meetings were videotaped for future reference. More detail is shared in Chapter 21.
CHAPTER 3 – MEMBERSHIP
Membership in Dive Industry Association is open to businesses and individuals working in the diving and watersports industries. Industry Sectors closely resemble the NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) classifications established by the U.S. Government. They include: 1) Manufacturing. 2) Distributing. 3) Retail Dive Centers. 4) Dive Operator/Charter Boat. 5) Dive Club. 6) Service Provider. 7) Media. 8) Trade Association. 9) Training Association/Certification Agency. 10) Non-Profit Organization. 11) Trade Show & Event Organizer. 12) Training Facility. 13) Travel Business. 14) Sales Representative. 15) Professional Educator. 16) Industry Professional. Members may be involved in more than one sector, depending on their business model. Membership is based on the dominate industry classification of the business. Businesses in Sectors 1-13 join the Association for $125. This covers 12 months of membership + a registration fee. Annual renewals are $125 but discounted to $100 if members pay on or before their renewal anniversary date. Individuals in Sectors 14-16 become Members for $75 with $50 annual renewals if paid prior to their renewal anniversary date. All sectors have voting privileges.
Annual Premium Membership: Open to all businesses. Annual dues are $500. Premium Members receive all the benefits of Membership plus updates on their retail accounts throughout the year. DIA will verify the mailing addresses of their retail accounts listed on the Members Retail Locator Web Page. Direct mail and electronic mail verifications are conducted through the year. Changes of contact information is provided to the Premium Member.
Membership in the Dive Industry Association begins the day payment is received at HQ. The first year membership includes Annual Dues ($100 or $50) plus a $25 Registration Fee. The membership period is for a full 12 months. A renewal notice, invoice and membership renewal form are sent to all current members on January 1, regardless of their membership renewal anniversary date. Members have the option to renew early or wait until their anniversary date. The Association asks that all Members return their Renewal Forms at that time with any corrections, and to let us know if; 1) They are renewing early. 2) Will be renewing on their anniversary date. 3) Not planning on renewing and why. Members who choose early renewal do not lose any days off their membership; they are simply extending their membership for another 12 months. Early renewals in January are encouraged and appreciated to help the association plan and budget its marketing expenditures for the year. For those members not choosing early renewal, DIA will send them a renewal reminder notice one month prior to their membership expiration.
Membership Referral Incentives: Current Members are given a $10 membership credit for every business referral and a $5 membership credit for every individual referral when they become members of the association. New Members must list the referring Member on their Membership Application Form. The $10 or $5 membership credit is automatically given when your referred Member renews their annual membership. Referral credits are deducted from the referring member’s next year dues.
Membership Registrations and Renewals are processed promptly. All contact information is checked and verified on our websites, directories and databases. Below is the checklist we use to make sure everything gets entered correctly and in a timely manner. This form is also used for all contact information changes.
Dive Industry Association
New Member Checklist
Listing in Members file
Assign Member number
Listing in Members Renewal file
Assign Group Sector Number
Birthday File
Welcome eMail – Google
Welcome eMail – Sales Force
Welcome Letter – 1st Class USPS
Newsletter – CC
Welcome New Member
Databases
Update Sector Info
Master Diver Database
Constant Contact
Salesforce
Card Reader Database
Directories
Trade Directory – Book
Trade Directory – Handout
Trade Directory – Cross Reference
Web Site, Trade Directories
Trade Directory, DIA.net
Recorded Hits:
Web Directory, DIA.Blog
Facebook Directory, DIA.Blog
Travel Directory, DIA.Blog
Trade Directory, DID.com
World Directory, DIVE LOCAL
Local Directory, DIVE LOCAL
Renewal Process
Renewal Letter
Renewal Letter, 2nd Request
Renewal Letter, 3rd Request
Renewal Letter, Termination
Renewed
Referrals
CHAPTER 4 – MEMBER BENEFITS
Dues paying Members receive the following Membership Benefits.
- Subscription to DIA Weekly News, Press Release Service
- Twenty-Four (24) FREE Press Releases in DIA Weekly News Press Release Service
- Subscription to The Dive Industry Professional, Monthly electronic Trade Newsletter
- Listing in Print & Digital Trade Publication & Directory
- Listing in Website Trade Directories
- Listing in Printed trade Directory Handout at Trade & Consumer Dive Shows
- Dive Trip Listing for Sponsored Group Trips ($10 Fee per listing Waived in 2021)
- FAM Trip Invitations for qualified Dive Travel Specialists. (Restrictions apply)
- Member Promotion on Websites, Trade Directories, Web Directory, Facebook Directory, Newsletters, Press Releases and Blog
- Member Promotion at Trade & Consumer Shows, Networking and Direct Referrals
- Up to 25% Discount with Constant Contact e-mail Marketing
- 15% Discount from Modern Postcard.
- Participation in co-op Marketing Promotions (fees may apply)
- Advertising Opportunities at special Member Prices (fees may apply)
- Feature Articles Written (Products, Company, and Travel Destination) (fees may apply)
- FREE Business & Marketing Consulting available through the Dive Industry Foundation (non-profit, 501 (c) 3 organization)
CHAPTER 5 – SPECIALTY STAKEHOLDER GROUPS
Dive Industry Manufacturers Association: The Manufacturers Stakeholder Group consists of Diving Equipment Manufacturers, Diving related products, Jewelry, Computer software and Marine Artists and Photographers.
Dive Industry Retail Association: The Retail Stakeholders are from Seven (7) States; Arkansas, Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
Dive Industry Travel Association: The Dive Travel Stakeholder Group includes Convention & Visitors Bureaus, Tourism Boards, Travel Wholesalers, Travel Advisors, Tour Operators, Liveaboards, Dive Operators, Resort Destinations, International Dive Centers, and Travel Services. Our Travel Division specializes in bringing Travel Buyers and Sellers together. We specialize in conducting FAM Trips with Tourism Bureaus, Travel Wholesalers and Dive Resort Destinations. We use our annual Retail Audit to identify Key Group Travel Buyers. The Dive Travel Division puts together SWAG Gift Bags for FAM Trip participants. Our next project to work on is to conduct a photography contest with the participants of our next FAM Trip.
Our Dive Travel Consultants are Accredited Travel Agent Members of IATA and IATAN.
CHAPTER 6 – DAILY BLOG & WEBSITE – Main Blog & Website Landing Page
The number one source of current information for Dive Industry Association if our blog-website at https://diveindustrynews.net Our website is maintained by in-house staff at the Association using a WordPress template and is hosted by WordPress. If there is one website we recommend for our Members and Divers to stay current with, it’s this one. That is why we recommend subscribing to our Blog is the first step to uniting the diving industry. Below is a brief description of our Blog Posts and Static Pages on the blog-website.
Home: The first page of the website is where Blogs (articles) get posted. Blog posts are published on the home page as they are written. Each new blog post is placed at the top of the page, ahead of older blog posts. Blog posts are automatically indexed by categories, located on the right hand side of the Home Page. Most of our articles, news items and press releases start out as a blog post, published and achieved on the home page until needed as a press release, newsletter article or email link.
About: A brief description about the Dive Industry Association.
Consultancy: DIA Staff Consultants can be contracted to provide business consulting services (additional fees apply). The Consultancy Page lists business services offered. If you are in the market for consultancy services we do not provide, a referral to one of our DIA Members who specialize in that service can be made.
Dive Directory: There are three directories on this page.
- Dive Directory: DIA Member Directory sorted by Industry with hot links to their websites,
- Facebook Dive Directory: DIA Members sorted by Industry with hot links to their facebook page. This is a popular directory. No one else in the industry is doing it.
- Travel Directory: DIA Members sorted 1) in alphabetical order 2) By category 3) By Country. Each includes a hot link to your website.
Dive Trips: This page was started in June 2019. We now list group dive trips that our Members are conducting. This year is our third year. So far we are pleased with the response. In the future there may be a $10 member charge for each listing, but right now, the listings are FREE to our Members who are running dive trips. The listing will remain until the trip is over. To submit a listing you have to be a member conducting a group trip. Send us your company logo, the date of the trip, a few details, group leader and their contact information. For the hot link, we need the URL for your specific published press release / info about the trip.
This page does not apply to Resort Destinations and Liveaboards. It is not intended to publish your annual calendar. It is designed to help our Members who run group trips, to fill their trips, so hopefully, they will book more group trips with our Resort Destinations and Liveaboards.
Employment: Jobs Available & Looking for work categories.
Links: Quick Links to our blogs, websites, directories, facebook pages, and other social media accounts.
Membership:
- Membership: Information on membership in Dive Industry Association and our Member Benefits.
- Membership Application: Membership Application Request Form. When filled out and emailed to DIA, we send out a Membership Application Form.
Our Vision: DIA’s Vision for the Diving Industry.
Retail Page:
- Retail Page: The Need For Strong Regional Dealer Networks
- Retail Survey: Retail Dive Center Survey
- Sales Rep Profile: Manufacturing Sales Rep Survey
Shows & Events: International Shows & Events Calendar. We post the main Dive, Surf and Travel Shows and Expos.
CHAPTER 7 – WEEKLY PRESS RELEASES – Dive Industry Weekly Dive News
Dive Industry Association has a press release service that is published every Tuesday morning. DIA has published Dive Industry Weekly Dive News since January 2012. We use a constant Contact template and publish through Constant Contact’s email marketing system. Subscription is FREE by registering at https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/email.jsp?m=1101436852044 Subscribers can unsubscribe anytime using Constant Contact’s SafeUnsubscribe service. Our audience for Weekly Dive News is the Dive Industry Trade Professional and all certified divers in the general public, worldwide.
Weekly Dive News is directly emailed to current DIA Members, Subscribers of the Weekly Dive News and the Industry Media. It is automatically posted to our Social Media Network when it is published. Our Social Media Network includes; Facebook Pages for Dive Industry Association, Dive Industry Foundation, DIVE LOCAL, Undersea Showcase; Twitter and Linked-In. Facebook no longer allows automatic business posting to personal profiles. There is a number of Industry Media that republish some of the press releases we cover. Each edition of Weekly Dive News since January 2, 2012 is archived on our facebook page at www.facebook.com/diveindustry
Dive Industry Association Members are allowed to submit 24 FREE press releases for publication per year. Your press release should be about your company, products, or personnel, not about your clients’ products. (Refer them for Membership and they will get their own 24 FREE press releases). The release must include an image (Company logo or Product image), Company name, Short title, Teaser Text (1 or 2 sentences), and end with a “Read more” link to your blog or published press release. It must have a URL that we can link to. Press releases must be emailed to gene@diveindustry.net and arrive by Monday evening.
CHAPTER 8 – MONTHLY NEWSLETTER – The Dive Industry Professional
Dive Industry Association publishes a Newsletter every month using a Constant Contact template. We have been publishing the newsletter since the very beginning of the association. Over the years, the format has changed quite a bit to get it to the point it is right now. Members automatically receive a digital copy as part of membership, emailed directly to their in-box. The publication is FREE to the general public by registering at https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/email.jsp?m=1101436852044 Subscribers can unsubscribe anytime using Constant Contact’s SafeUnsubscribe service.
The Dive Industry Professional contains an index, an introduction and a monthly editorial. The articles section could include a series article, a feature article or a profile article. From June 25, 2018 through August 30, 2018 we ran a twelve article series called Unifying the Diving Industry. Another series was about the Association’s many websites and databases. Our feature articles are usually about products and travel destinations. A profile article may be about an Industry Professional, a Dive Company or a Dive Resort. A news article would coverage mostly shows and events. Every month, the newsletter covers a Members’ birthday feature, a recent Weekly News Press Release and a snippet from our Shows & Events Calendar. It also covers New Members, Renewing Members, and information about Membership. Every issue features a Business Partners section that is sold as advertising space.
Future Plans: We are in the process of changing the format of the monthly newsletter into a Magazine Format, using Adobe InDesign. We’ll start off with an Annual Edition, then Semi-Annual, etc. Advertising space will be included. The magazine will be free to Members and available digitally to the general public.
CHAPTER 9 – TRADE DIRECTORY
The Dive Industry Association has its own Digital Trade Publication & Directory. The 2021 Edition is being updated and redesigned now. A draft copy of the Member Listing is available to you at this time. When finished, the 28-page Trade Publication will include DIA Member listings, a Cross Reference Directory, 2021-2022 Shows & Events Calendar, Membership information, and advertising space. We are currently looking for a great photographic front cover and a “Cover Artist” to feature. We will print a few hundred copies for our Members and select Dive Industry Professionals. The digital version of the Directory will be directly sent to over 8,000 Dive Industry Professionals Worldwide and will be available to everyone as a FREE download on its own website.
The previous Directories were produced in 2002 (Print) and 2014 (Digital, Print, Website). Pascal Lecocq was the Featured Artist in the 2014 Edition, using his “Carving The Tiger” painting as our front cover.
CHAPTER 10 – MARKETING
The Association’s mission is to bring Buyers and Sellers together to stimulate sales. Marketing paves the way for sales by delivering a message, with a call to action, to prospective buyers about products that meet their needs. To do that, you have to understand the products being sold and the customers who buy them. You have to understand the messages that lead buyers to a positive purchasing decision and the marketing vehicles that deliver those messages. And very importantly you have to understand the various markets where sales are made.
As a Member in the Dive Industry Association, you should do everything you can to teach us about your products. As your Trade Association, we’ll help you identify qualified buyers and marketplaces where sales are made. The purpose of the association is to promote your products to these customers so that it results in more sales for you. Understanding products in our market is part of our industry intelligence. So is collecting data on industry buyers and resellers. We spend a considerable amount of time, money and manpower learning new and more effective ways of reaching buying audiences. That is what most of your membership dues are spent for.
The emphasis we place on Marketing is too vast of a subject to cover in a Membership Guide such as this. The marketing concepts we use at Dive Industry Association are detailed in our white paper, The Dive Industry Manifesto. In it, we discuss programs, products and services sold in the diving industry. We identify the buyers and sellers that make up the market and the key people who run these companies. We discuss various markets and marketplaces and we discuss, at length, the various ways the industry is promoted to the general public. We know that most of the sales in our market come from the sale of diving equipment, training and travel. We know that most of the sales are made by Retail Dive Centers and Diving Instructors. The sectors that directly benefit the most from these sales are the Equipment Manufacturers, Training Agencies and Travel Companies. The Service Sector, Media and Non-Profits benefit as a result of an economically robust industry. We know that diving businesses need to focus on the sale of diving equipment, training and travel. We know that businesses succeed and industries grow by becoming more professional, productive and profitable. We believe the key to a successful industry is to promote a simple message to the general public; Learn to Dive, Buy Your Gear, Go Diving, and Stay Active.
CHAPTER 11 – WEBSITES
Dive Industry Association: Trade Association websites
www.diveindustry.net – The Association’s trade website address. The domain name is currently parked on our WordPress Blog at www.diveindustrynews.wordpress.com
www.diveindustrynews.wordpress.com – Our current Primary Website. The website is hosted by WordPress, using a WordPress format. We have a WordPress URL, https://diveindustrynews.net This site appears when you type in our trade domain of www.diveindustry.net
Dive Industry Foundation: Non-profit Organization.
www.diveindustry.org – Website is hosted by WordPress.
DIVE LOCAL: Consumer Resource Guide to the International Diving Community
https://divelocal.worpress.com This is our Website -Blog, hosted by WrodPress. It is an extensive directory for al dive businesses and Dive Industry Professionals, Worldwide. Dive Local will be a work-in-progress for a long time to come, but always improving.
www.divelocal.org – This URL should link to our WordPress Website. Currently under-construction.
Undersea Showcase: Dive Industry and Adventure Travel Media.
www.UnderseaShowcase.com – A consumer travel website started to post dive and adventure travel articles.
CHAPTER 12 – DIRECTORIES
Trade Publication & Directory: Under Construction.
Dive Directory: https://diveindustrynews.net/dive-directory/ Member Directory listed by category. Linked to Member’s website URL.
Facebook Dive Directory: https://diveindustrynews.net/dive-directory/facebook-dive-directory/ Member Directory listed by category. Linked to Member’s facebook page.
Travel Directory: https://diveindustrynews.net/dive-directory/travel-directory/ Three part Member Travel Directory listed by: 1) Company Name. 2) Category. 3) Country. Linked to member’s website URL.
CHAPTER 13 – DATABASES
Our Databases include Diving Businesses, Dive Industry Professionals and Divers, Worldwide. We keep track of the following contact information: First & Last Name of Contact, Company Name, Job Title, Street, City, State, & Zip Address, Phone, Fax, Cell, Toll Free Numbers, email Address, and Website URL. We keep these databases updated on a daily basis. We do not buy, rent or sell mailing lists. The personal contact information we have is not shared with other Industry Professionals, and only general contact information and addresses are used to promote our Association and our Members extensively. Each Database has the ability to target market specific groups within the diving community, i.e. Manufacturers, Retailers, Travel, Non-Profits, etc. We currently maintain and use four contact databases.
Card Scan: As an association we acquire business cards from Industry Professionals at face-to-face marketing events, trade and consumer shows, business visits and dive trips. Maintaining a database using business cards from Industry Professionals is the most accurate means for us. The vast majority of legitimate businesses use business cards. The information tends to be complete and because industry professionals use it to identify themselves and their businesses, it’s usually their most current contact information. Our card scan database is updated after every dive show that we acquire business cards from. Retail Center Business Cards are given to us by participating Regional Reps from the manufacturing and training sectors. We currently have over 5,200 contacts in this database.
Constant Contact: We maintain a database on Constant Contact for email marketing campaigns. We have been using Constant Contact since July 2009. We use Constant Contact for three major “recurring campaigns.” 1) Monthly Birthday Notices. 2) Weekly Dive News (weekly press releases). 3) The Dive Industry Professional (monthly newsletter).
Sales Force: Dive Industry Foundation has an account with Sales Force courtesy of the Sales Force Foundation. Sales Force is one of the best and largest CRM’s in the world. Dive Industry Foundation currently keeps track of DIA Members with Sales Force. The Foundation is looking for volunteers from the diving community to advise us on Sales Force.
Excel Spreadsheets: Manual spreadsheets may be the most time consuming way to record and access data but it the easiest and most flexible means. Our Microsoft Excel database files cover the various dive industry sectors; i.e. manufacturers, training agencies, travel companies, non-profits, etc.
CHAPTER 14 – SOCIAL MEDIA
Dive Industry Association is active on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Facebook: We use facebook extensively. We post to our main profile and share to our business pages from dive shows, events, dive trips and business trips. Our Weekly News Press Releases are posted to our business pages and can be accessed by anyone. Our Monthly Newsletter, The Dive Industry Professional and our Monthly Birthday Announcements are also posted to our business pages. All of our blogs are posted to our business pages. Every time a new Member joins DIA or a current Member renews, we post to our profile and the DIA page. The post is always linked to the Member’s website address.
Gene Muchanski: www.facebook.com/gene.muchanski Main Profile Page. 4,474 friends.
Dive Industry Association: www.facebook.com/diveindustry 1,520 likes. 1,574 follows.
Dive Industry Foundation: www.facebook.com/divefoundation 853 likes. 855 follows.
Dive Local: www.facebook.com/DiveLocal/ 273 likes. 282 follows.
Bahamas Dive News: www.facebook.com/Bahamas-Dive-News 111 likes. 114 follows.
Caribbean Dive News: www.facebook.com/CaribbeanDiveNews/ 337 likes. 340 follows.
Undersea Showcase: www.facebook.com/underseashowcase/ 344 likes. 346 follows.
LinkedIn: We use Linked-in to research Dive Industry Professionals. Gene Muchanski is connected to over 1,500 linked-in contacts.
Twitter: Our Weekly News, Monthly Newsletter and Monthly Birthday noticed are auto-posted to Twitter. Our Blogs from WordPress are auto-posted to Twitter.
CHAPTER 15 – DIVE SHOWS & EVENTS
Dive Industry Association actively attends, participates, and exhibits at Trade Shows and Regional Dive Shows. We have a history of attending, exhibiting and sponsoring The Surf Expo and the Travel & Adventure Shows.
Currently Exhibit at:
- Beneath the Sea, Secaucus, NJ – TBA
- SharkCon, Tampa, FL – August 2021
- DEMA, Las Vegas, NV – November 2021
History of Exhibits:
- Beneath the Sea, Secaucus, NJ
- DEMA Show – Multiple Locations
- Dive & Travel Expo, Tacoma, WA
- Florida Dive Show – Multiple Locations
- Lone Star State Dive & Travel Show, Dallas & Houston, TX
- Ocean Fest, Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Ohio ScubaFest, Dublin, OH
- Our World-Underwater, Chicago, IL
- Scuba Show, Long Beach, CA
- Sea Space, Houston, TX
- Seas Scuba Expo, Raleigh NC
- Sharkcon, Tampa, FL
- Super Show, Orlando, FL
- Surf Expo, Orlando, FL
- Texas Dive Show – Multiple Locations
- Travel & Adventure Show, 10 Locations
Sponsorship of Surf Expo: DIA has sponsored and exhibited at the Surf Expo, held twice annually in Orlando, Florida. We were pleased to represent the diving industry at this all-watersports trade show from 2006 – 2014. Working with the Surf Expo to attract exhibitors and qualified buyers from the diving community was an exciting and educational experience for us. We saw that only a few diving equipment manufacturers exhibited at Surf Expo, mainly to sell to sporting goods stores that carry snorkeling equipment. Only a few diving apparel companies exhibited at Surf and we never saw any travel destination exhibitors. On the attendee side, Surf Expo is a big draw for Retail Dive Centers in Florida, the Bahamas and the Caribbean. Qualified Buyers from our community go to Surf Expo mainly for apparel, but said they would also buy diving equipment at the September and January Expos if it was offered. Surf Expo is a high-energy, youthful, pro-buying event that appeals to the Watersports Trade. DIA would like to revisit our sponsorship and participation with Surf Expo in the near future.
Sponsorship of the Travel & Adventure Shows: A number of Adventure Travelers are either divers already or likely to become divers. We are proud to have sponsored and exhibited at the shows produced in the past by Unicomm. The 10 shows are currently held in Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Philadelphia, San Diego, and Washington D.C. Unicomm’s website is www.travelshows.com
CHAPTER 16 – CONSULTANCY
In addition to the Dive Industry Association being the Premier Trade Association in the diving community, we offer Business and Marketing Consulting Services to diving businesses that want to start, grow and succeed in the industry. Short-term and Long-term Consultancy is available. Call for a Free Consultation.
Business Services Offered
- Business Plans
- Marketing Plans & Budgets
- Sales & Marketing Integration
- Start-Ups
- Strategic & Long-Term Growth Planning
- Product Management
- Competitive Market Analysis
- Competitive Analysis (Products, Customers, Vendors)
- Customer Acquisition, Maintenance & Network
- Business Education & Training
- Staff Training for non-Marketing Professionals
- Trade & Consumer Shows
- Social Media
- Blog Websites
- Newsletters
- Press Releases
- Feature Articles
- Constant Contact Training & Integration
CHAPTER 17 – DIVE INDUSTRY FOUNDATION
The Dive Industry Foundation is a non-profit, tax exempt, 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Articles of incorporation were filed in the State of Texas on September 24, 2004. Tax exempt status under section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code was approved by the Department of the Treasury.
Dive Industry Foundation has a three person Board of Directors and an Executive Director. At this time, the Foundation has no paid employees and is operated strictly by volunteers. The Dive Industry Foundation is funded by donations from individuals and businesses.
Dive Industry Foundation’s Mission is Promoting Economic Development in Water Sports. Among its duties and responsibilities, the Foundation conducts primary research on the diving industry, conducts a retail dive center survey, a manufacturer’s representative survey, maintains an industry database, and verifies dive industry businesses and dive industry professionals current contact information throughout the year. The Foundation exhibits at trade and consumer dive shows and travel shows. It has also taken a lead role in the execution of Project DIVE LOCAL.
Dive Industry Foundation maintains a website at www.diveindustry.org , a Blog Website at www.divefoundation.wordpress.com , a Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/divefoundation , and a Twitter account at www.twitter.com/divefoundation
CHAPTER 18 – INDUSTRY RESEARCH & INTELLIGENCE
Influencers – Opinion Leaders – Mavens:
- Exhibitors
- Speakers
- Hall of Fame Inductees
- Key People – Manufacturing, Training, Travel, Reps, Non-Profits
Industry Surveys
- Retail Center Profile
- Manufacturing Sales Rep Profile
- Scuba Cylinder Survey
CHAPTER 19 – DIVE LOCAL
DIVE LOCAL is a marketing concept, spearheaded by the Dive Industry Foundation since 2016. As a Marketing Campaign, Dive Local is a combined industry effort of Dive Industry Professionals to promote diving to the general public and stimulate diving activity within the diving community. Dive Local uses National Magazine coverage, Regional Dive Shows and Regional Summit Conferences in addition to websites, newsletters, blogs, electronic mail, press releases and social media networks to promote local diving shows & events and local diving businesses.
The Heart & Soul of the diving community is “Local Diving.” The four pillars of each regional diving community are 1) Retail Dive Centers. 2) Dive Boat Operators. 3) Dive Clubs. 4) Dive Instructors. Since the majority of revenue in the industry comes from the sale of diving equipment, training and travel, our focus is on Retail Dive Centers and Dive Instructors. To grow the industry, our collective message to the general public is: 1) Learn to Dive. 2) Buy Your Gear. 3) Go Diving.
Dive Industry Foundation maintains a DIVE LOCAL website, Blog and Facebook Page. The Blog Website is https://divelocal.wordpress.com/
CHAPTER 19 – UNDERSEA SHOWCASE
Undersea Showcase is a Dive Industry and Adventure Travel Media Company. Our website is located at www.underseashowcase.com
CHAPTER 20 – INDUSTRY PROGRAMS
Community Sponsored Events: DIA has held community sponsored events in Chicago and Tacoma. At Our-World Underwater we organized an Industry Breakfast Seminar sponsored by Body Glove. In Tacoma, at the Dive & Travel Expo we organized and conducted two “Lunch & Learn” Seminars, sponsored by Constant Contact, Palo Alto Software and Oceanic.
Business Seminars: DIA has conducted Business Seminars at Our-World Underwater in Chicago. The seminars featured guest speakers from the diving business community.
FAM Trips: The Dive Industry Travel Association sponsors, organizes, coordinates and participates in FAM (Familiarization) Trips. These FAM Trips are usually sponsored by Tourism Boards or Dive Travel Wholesalers. The participants are Retail Travel Buyers who sell group trips, Travel Agents and Tour Operators. Dive Industry Association Members participate in the creation of SWAG Bags for Retail Dive Center Participants and Resort Destinations.
We’ve participated in the following FAM Trips:
- Grenada – Sandals LaSource – September 24-28, 2014
- Roatan, Honduras – Mayan Princess – May 4-7, 2016
- Dominican Republic – Dreams La Romana & Dreams Dominicus – May 4-8, 2018
- Saint Lucia – September 13-17, 2018
- Belize – July 19-23, 2019
- Curacao – May 15-19, 2020 (CANCELLED)
- Curacao – May 7-11, 2021 (RESCHEDULED)
- Curacao – September 9-13, 2021
Webinars: Future Plans
CHAPTER 21 – SUMMIT MEETINGS
Dive Industry Association co-sponsored and conducted three Summit Meetings in 2016. A summary report was written on all three summit meetings. Much of the summits were videotaped for future study and analysis.
Dallas, TX: The South Central Summit Meeting was held on January 22, 2016 at the Embassy Suites, in Frisco, Texas in conjunction with The Lone Star State Dive Show. The five (5) Speakers included; Rick Stratton, Gene Muchanski, Tom Ingram, Eric Peterson and Jennifer Idol. Twenty-one (21) Dive Industry Professionals attended. The first hour included the summit introduction and 5 speakers. The second hour was for the focus group discussions. Group 1 consisted of Dive Clubs & Dive Instructors. Group 2 included Resorts, Dive Stores and Dive Boats. After the breakout sessions, the entire group came together and discussed regional problems, opportunities, potential solutions, actionable items, ways to improve the economic impact of the local diving community and information that we still need as an industry.
Chicago, IL: The North Central Summit Meeting was held on February 26, 2016 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont, Illinois, in conjunction with Our World-Underwater Dive Show. The 2 hour program consisted of six speakers (2 guest speakers & 4 local speakers) followed by two breakout sessions. Nineteen (19) Dive Industry Professionals attended. The Speakers included Gene Muchanski (Dive Industry Association), Patrick Hammer (Scuba Emporium), Rick Stratton (Dive News Network), Capt Jim Gentile (Windy City Diving), Margo Miller (Illinois Council of Skin & Scuba Divers) and Lucy Dunbar (PADI Americas Regional Representative). Nineteen (19) Dive Industry Professionals attended and participated. The breakout sessions were divided into three groups; Dive Clubs, Dive Instructors, and Resort Destinations. After the breakout sessions, the entire group gathered and discussed regional problems, opportunities, potential solutions, and actionable items.
Secaucus, NJ: The Northeast Summit was held on April 1, 2016 at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Secaucus, New Jersey, in conjunction with Beneath the Sea. The summit featured four (4) Speakers and drew forty-two (42) Dive Professionals. The two hour program started with 4 Speakers during the first hour that included Rick Stratton (Dive News Network), Gene Muchanski (Dive Industry Association), Stuart Schooley (Dutch Springs), and David Valaika (Indian Valley Scuba). The second hour consisted of a breakout session divided into two groups. Group 1 included Dive Retailers, Dive Boats and Certification Agencies. Group 2 was made up of Resorts, Dive Clubs, Instructors and millennial Divers. The breakout session was followed up with a lively discussion with the entire group. We discussed industry problems, potential solutions and actionable items.
CHAPTER 23 – STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
Dive Industry Association works with Industry Professionals who are connected to companies that are Leaders in their particular Industry. It is our responsibility to seek expertise from industries that have modern tools and technologies that can be used by businesses in the dive business community. While we are always looking at the Manufacturing, Retailing and Travel Industries to learn Best Practices that can be used by our business community members, we are also on the lookout in the industries that produce marketing tools and technologies that help us run our businesses better. We frequently bring in industry professionals from the advertising, marketing, communications, computer, electronics and software industries to show us how to use their tools to penetrate and gain market share, stay competitive, and grow professionally.
Constant Contact: One such company is the email Marketing Communication Company, Constant Contact. Dive Industry Association is a Constant Contact Strategic Partner. We have been using Constant Contact since July 2009. DIA Members qualify for a FREE 60-Day Trial. When you are ready to start an account, you’ll get 20% OFF for a 6-month pre-pay account or 25% OFF for a 12-month pre-paid account by signing up under Dive Industry’s House Account. As an added bonus for signing up under our partnership agreement, DIA will assist you in placing your campaigns in our Weekly News press release service (limits apply). START FREE TODAY. www.dive.constantcontact.com/signup.jsp
Modern Postcard: Dive Industry Association became a Referral Partner of Modern Postcard on March 14, 2020. We have been using Modern Postcard as our Direct Mail Vendor since 2001 and have had measurable success with each campaign. We have experience as a Modern Postcard customer – 8 campaigns, in years 2001 – 2020.
Dive Industry Association has special Member pricing with Modern Postcard. Use promotional code DIVE15 for a 15% discounted member pricing. MP does not require a price activation to get your discount. Just use your exclusive code and it will be applied on your first order. Our contact at Modern Postcard is Christopher Reid. His phone number is 800-406-1075. DIA Members interested in direct mail campaigns should request a FREE Sample Pack from Modern’s website at www.modernpostcard.com
###
Dive Industry Association, Inc. 