Resources — Case Studies
AMC Institute member firms present short case studies of actual services performed for clients and the resulting benefits. Here's a look at the important roles an AMC can play in the management, operations and success of real AMC-managed organizations.
Maintaining a Strategic Focus — The Association for Convention Operations Management (ACOM)
CMA Association Management, New JerseyApril 2009
CMA Association Management helps associations create well thought-out paths forward with a proprietary strategic planning process called Marketecture™. Marketecture uses time-tested marketing analysis tools to show associations a scan of competitive forces, as well as potential changes to the regulatory, legal, technological, political and socio-economic environment. Through careful strategic planning and positioning, CMA pinpoints market opportunities and guides association initiatives in a profitable direction, ultimately translating strategy into greater revenue streams.
A few years ago, CMA's Senior Vice President Rob Jones put his 30 years of strategic marketing experience to good use for ACOM, and they're still reaping the benefits today. After conducting a Marketecture session with the ACOM board, CMA launched a public relations campaign to position ACOM as a major player in the meeting planning industry. The resulting plan also served as a springboard for the association's growth, increasing membership more than 25 percent in the past four years, and providing added benefits to members, including year-round opportunities for continuing education.
Assessing Staffing Needs — Research Chefs Association (RCA)
Kellen Company, offices in the U.S., Europe and AsiaApril 2009
In 2001, charged with growing the Research Chefs Association (RCA) into a world-class organization, global professional services firm Kellen Company tapped experienced executive management and specialized staff expertise in meetings and membership development to drive up numbers.
Meetings. Meetings specialists at Kellen worked to grow sponsorships of RCA's annual conference. For added visibility on the front end, they produced an informational e-bulletin to go out to all exhibitors, and introduced pre-conference culinary-related tours. On site at the Expo, Kellen set up a demo stage and implemented a student culinology® competition. Sponsor-centric tactics included repackaging program level participation and benefits, raising sponsor recognition, and promoting product donations during the annual awards luncheon.
Membership. Meanwhile, membership development specialists implemented two creating membership outreach campaigns — ROAR (Reach Out and Recruit) and Grab & Go (Grab a colleague and Go sign them up) — with built-in incentives for current members. Outreach included a personal call from a staff member and volunteer leader.
As a result of applying the best of many association experiences, Kellen tripled RCA's membership to more than 2,100 professionals, and its sponsorships have shown double-digit growth every year. Kellen has continued to work closely with RCA leadership to ensure that its infrastructure and staffing expand at rates necessary to delivery excellent member services during this period of dramatic growth and expansion.
Enhancing Buying Power
Drake & CompanyApril 2009
In his many years at the helm of Drake & Company, President and CEO Steve Drake made a habit of challenging bankers to look at the combined net assets of the associations he managed. In the spring of 2008, he cashed in on an opportunity to partner with Enterprise Bank and Trust in St. Louis, to simplify the daily management of payments, cut down the number of banks used, implement technology to reduce the risk of fraud, and importantly for his clients, leverage the power of associations' combined balances to improve overall financial benefit.
Not only has Drake & Company enjoyed reduced administrative costs — which translate to reduced overhead costs for association clients — but it has seen increased efficiencies in the standardization of processes across all accounts.
In just six months, Drake & Company reduced its monthly bank service fees to zero, saving nearly $3,000 while increasing interest earned by nearly $,2000. And working with the Leadership Advocates Network, the firm has saved its clients an average of 1.35 percent in credit card processing fees, resulting in total savings of $5,500 to date.
Reducing Overhead Costs - Case #1
The Center for Association GrowthApril 2009
We've all been frustrated by it — the need to purchase multiple software licenses to access and administer Web-based applications on computers throughout the office. It's cost-prohibitive, and a plain nuisance. The Center for Association Growth decided to pool its technology spending to develop new features and functionality for clients at a significantly reduced cost.
Several years ago, The Center began building out clients' websites on top of an open source content management system. For those of us that are less tech-savvy, that's code for a widely accessible computer application used to create, edit, manage and publish content.
The Center uses its open source content management system to get clients' websites up and running fast. Site are easy to maintain, and by design, the platform significantly reduces licensing fees that would be passed along to clients. Plus, The Center for Association Growth can develop new features and share functionality across all of its association clients, providing access to a wide range of capability without costly investment.
Reducing Overhead Costs - Case #2 - The National Tour Association
IMG AssociationsApril 2009
IMG Associations knows going green saves green. As part of its association management expertise, the firm maintains a special knowledge of environmental activism initiatives, employing in-house experts on corporate responsibility.
In recent years, IMG has worked closely with one of its longest-standing clients — the National Tour Association, dating back to 1974 — to reduce waste and improve green business efforts. NTA's member magazine, Courier, is now printed on recyclable paper using soy-based inks. Many other printed pieces have been replaced with online versions. And the majority of NTA member communications are now delivered via e-mail. That saves on printing costs, and sends an eco-friendly message to association members.
A Numbers Game — American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM)
Association Management CenterNovember 2008
In 2000, the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine was grappling with declining membership numbers and dwindling revenue projections. It turned to Association Management Center to help rebuild and re-brand the Academy, expand membership, and introduce new products and services. In eight years as a full-service management client, AAHPM has experienced double-digit increases in membership and revenue, due in large part to the creation and promotion of a range of member benefits, including the annual assembly, a journal, new educational products, special interest groups, and other program developed and launched by Association Management Center.
Strategic Spirit — The National Christmas Tree Association
Drake & CompanyNovember 2008
In 2005, with consumer research showing a decline in traditional Christmas celebration, The National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA) approached Drake & Company in low spirits — and in the red. To drive demand for Christmas Trees Drake & Company capitalized on the growing trend of cause-inspired marketing and developed a strategic plan to establish a charitable branch of NCTA.
After conducting a Harris Poll of charitable consumers on potential names for the organization, the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation was born. Drake & Company partnered with a law firm — also an AMC Institute member — to obtain 501(c)(3) charitable foundation status from the IRS, in less than 30 days.
To bolster the spirit of Christmas, Drake & Company and NCTA launched Trees for Troops, a cause marketing campaign that delivers Real Christmas Trees to U.S. military families. With the support of FedEx, in three years the program has delivered some 33,000 trees and has grown to include 850 donors.