IHRSA—the Health & Fitness Association, a global community of health and fitness industry leaders—was named a top-performing trade group as ranked by key policymakers, staff, media, influencers, lobbyists, and communications professionals working in the nation’s capital, according to an annual TradeMarks survey by APCO, an independent global public affairs and strategic communications consultancy.
IHRSA earned the top position in five of 15 survey categories:
- unified voice,
- media relations,
- coalition building,
- information resource, and
- self-regulation.
None of the other 50 associations ranked by the survey scored as many top spots as IHRSA. The association with the second most top rankings was the National Shooting Sports Foundation with three top spots.
As defined by APCO, the study criteria for the five categories that IHRSA ranked first in are measured as follows:
- Unified voice represents the voice of the entire industry and the interests of all its members
- Media relations includes leveraging positive media coverage for the industry and its issues
- Coalition building includes working with a broad array of industry organizations on policy issues
- Information resources measures the creation and distribution of accurate and reliable information research and data to inform policy
- Self-regulation promotes high standards in the industry by establishing and enforcing codes of conduct
“IHRSA is honored to be named to this distinguished list of well-known and capable Washington, D.C.-based trade associations,” said IHRSA Board of Directors Chair Chris Craytor. “Under the leadership of Liz Clark as President and CEO, IHRSA has taken decisive action to implement active grassroots mobilization and political engagement, create a prominent and effective member and stakeholder communications program, and modernize operations with a refocused staff.”
Speaking with one voice, ensuring a varied set of association members are involved in the conversation with legislators, and maintaining bipartisanship are three important elements to building key relationships in Congress, according to APCO.
Between July and August 2023, APCO surveyed more than 300 congressional staffers as well as officials in the Biden administration and business leaders for the survey, which assessed perceptions of the respondents about the public policy effectiveness of 50 trade associations. The TradeMarks study helps trade associations measure the extent to which policy leaders believe they are effective in achieving their policy goals.
Grounded in more than 30 years of experience studying the attitudes and perception of policy leaders, APCO Worldwide produced the first-ever study to tackle the question of association public policy effectiveness with a systematic, survey-based, and objective approach. Policy makers and influencers rate associations on both overall effectiveness and a range of detailed areas. The results show in detail where associations must excel to enhance their impact.