This week on the San Diego Yacht Club Sailcast, we’re joined by a guest host, Commodore Jerelyn Biehl, as she welcomes Director of Marketing for US Sailing, Josh Toso. Josh, in town for the Rose Cup this weekend, tells us all there is to know about where to find coverage this weekend. He starts the conversation by telling us a little bit about the Rose Cup, the history and where to watch (Facebook Live). He continues by explaining the coverage process of the event , talking about some of the other recent Youth Championship events and touches slightly on the Ida Lewis event coming to SDYC at the end of July.
After speaking about the Rose Cup, Josh moves on to tell us about his background in sailing, growing up in Boothbay Harbor, Maine sailing J/24s before moving to Manchester by the Sea, Massachusettes and sailing the east coast boat, Optis. After high school, Josh joined the University of Rhode Island Sailing team, continued racing with his father on the J/24 and getting into Etchells. More recently, Josh has competed in Nationals, North Americans, NOODs, and more.
Moving on to his career, Josh touches on some of his professional background like working for Vanguard Sailboats before starting his current position at US Sailing. He talks about what his main responsibilities are as the Director of Marketing for US Sailing, some of his favorite events including the Rose Cup, of course, and some current strategies that you can see US Sailing doing in the marketing world.
Josh continues telling us about some of his favorite marketing ideas that he’s seen around the country, concepts that might not have worked, and the struggle with reaching out to certain audiences, especially non-sailors. From there, Josh talks about some of their social media strategies, the importance of video, and a few of his favorite campaigns that they have worked on.
To finish, Josh mentions what’s next for him and what’s coming up for US Sailing in the near future, as well as how to stay connected this weekend during Rose Cup.