Inclusive Global Event Marketing: Our Marketing and Outreach Strategy for the World LGBTQIA+ Aquatics Championships
🏳️🌈 Introduction
In Summer 2025, Washington, DC, was the host city for the 2025 World LGBTQIA+ Aquatics Championship (IGLA), welcoming swimming, water polo, diving, and artistic swimming teams from around the world. This annual event is cohosted by IGLA+, the sole international organization for inclusion in aquatic sports, and is often referred to as “IGLA.”
From May 31 to June 5 (just before World Pride DC), over a thousand athletes competed at pools throughout the District and surrounding areas, and attended six IGLA-hosted social events throughout the week.
The IGLA 2025 DC Planning Committee (“IGLA Planning Committee”) selected Quintet Creative to be the lead communications agency for the event, responsible for all messaging and branding, social media strategy, and influencer and partnership management.
“Before we began working with Quintet Creative, designing a promotional strategy for such a large and multi-faceted event felt overwhelming. Quintet approached the work with positivity and creativity and supported us in navigating the competing needs of different stakeholders within our planning committee. Quintet created a comprehensive social media plan that was easy to follow and execute, and consistently submitted excellent work ahead of schedule.”
💌 Objectives and Challenges
The IGLA Planning Committee’s goals included the following:
Registration from teams representing all IGLA regions: North America, South America, Europe, and Oceania.
Profitability from athlete registration and merch sales.
Increased awareness of Washington, DC, as a destination for LGBTQIA+ athletes.
The IGLA Planning Committee faced several challenges to achieve these goals:
Multiple stakeholder groups - including audiences from multiple athletic disciplines and regions.
Concerns and confusion from international teams due to federal executive orders
A limited timeline to promote, as the 2024 World LGBTQIA+ Aquatics Championship occurred just six months before the 2025 event.
To address these challenges, Quintet recommended:
United By Water” branding and messaging to highlight DC’s inclusive and proud community.
A social media strategy centered on showcasing LGBTQIA+ aquatics athletes from DC
An influencer and partnership strategy with DC LGBTQIA+ influencers and venues.
Consistent and clear promotion that began during the 2024 Championship.
📈 Strategy and Approach
Social + Digital Media Strategy
We developed a phased content calendar:
Phase 1: Ensuring foundational communications channels were functional (including website, email, and social media channels) and that participants in the 2024 IGLA Championship had a clear pathway to register for the 2025 Championship.
Phase 2: Generating excitement and “FOMO” (fear of missing out) during the lead-up to IGLA 2025.
Phase 3: Reliable and clear communication during the event to ensure safety and enjoyment for all athletes, volunteers, and spectators.
To evaluate success, Quintet developed a custom measurement framework including social media reach, social media and email engagement, web traffic, and athlete registration.
INFLUENCER ENGAGEMENT
Influencers were selected based on their contributions to the LGBTQIA+ community in DC and their social following. All influencers promoted IGLA events and contributed to strategic cross-posting with the official IGLA account. Featured DC-based influencers and performers included @_mariconcarne, winner of Drag Queen of the Year at the 2025 DC Drag Awards, and local DJs and artists @diyannamonet and @bhawkpoitier.
CREATIVE CONTENT DEVELOPMENT
Social media content focused on four themes to build trust and excitement: showcasing vibrant regional attractions, highlighting athletes from DC host teams, building anticipation for social and competition events, and celebrating the legacy of LGBTQIA+ Aquatics.
Key tactics included “Tiny Mic” social media videos hosted by DC athletes, graphic designs featuring the iconic DC cherry blossoms, and frequent Instagram Story content to drive link clicks and conversions.
PARTNERSHIP AMPLIFICATION
Quintet led the promotional strategies for annual Lunar SuAll IGLA social events were hosted at and promoted by iconic DC venues, such as 9:30 Club and Howard Theater. As part of the IGLA social media strategy, we cross-posted with other DC partners and events such as World Pride DC and Capital Cup.
⚖️ Results
Digital reach and awareness
Content from the newly-launched IGLA 2025 DC Instagram account reached 200,000 users over the course of six months. Emails promoting ticket sales, athlete registration, and merchandise sales reached click-through-rates (CTR) of up to 8%.
GLobal representation and profitability
IGLA competition events featured athletes representing North America, South America, Europe, and Oceania, and the event was highly profitable for the DC IGLA Planning Committee.
PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK
In post-event forums, attendees repeatedly cited clear and accessible communications as the contributing factor to a successful event.
🏳️⚧️ Conclusion
The communications strategy and execution for the IGLA Aquatics Championship successfully promoted Washington, DC, as an inclusive and exciting destination for sports events and LGBT culture.
