AAAA'S 100th ANNIVERSARY

Marketing Plan

Overview

The occasion of AAAA's 100th Anniversary presents many opportunities that the association can exploit for the benefit of itself and the members it serves. The purpose of this document is to identify goals that can be achieved during the 100th anniversary celebration; activities necessary to meet those goals; sources of funding; and a schedule for implementation. An outline of a publication to commemorate the association's accomplishments during its first 100 years is also attached.

AAAA's 100th anniversary year will “officially” begin on January 1, 200Z and continue throughout the year. The celebration will peak with the Executive Sales & Marketing Conference. Planning will, of course, commence by December 200X.

Goals

Seven major goals of the 100th anniversary celebration have been identified. They are:

  1. Boost AAAA's profile within the sales agency community.
  2. Contribute to member retention by fostering greater awareness of, loyalty to and pride in AAAA.

3. Support membership recruitment activities.

4. Generate more member involvement in AAAA.

5. Draw attention to the association's accomplishments.

6. Increase attendance at our events.

7. Capture AAAA's history in a permanent record.

Objectives to meet goals

  1. Create a 100th anniversary publication.
  2. Develop a special commemorative web page.
  3. Develop a 100th Anniversary logo for use on association communications throughout the year.
  4. Use association communications to publicize activities connected with 100th anniversary celebration and to encourage member involvement.
  5. Inform key non-member audiences (trade press, vendors) to raise awareness and to solicit involvement.
  6. Use 100th anniversary occasion as a theme for recruiting or retaining members.
  7. Put together a 100th Anniversary Board subcommittee to assist with historical collection.
  8. Hire a p/t intern for 200Y to gather and assemble information.
  9. Recruit Good Person X to help.

Specific actions to be taken

Marketing Division

  1. Hire intern to pull together historical data on AAAA, interview key people in AAAA history, obtain visual materials (photos, charts, etc.) and write and edit portions of 100th anniversary publication. Individual will also provide materials and information to be used in creating A/V presentation for use at ES&M and other meetings during the year.
  2. Create logo and prepare guidelines for use.
  3. Prepare 100th anniversary letterhead and envelopes.
  4. Write, produce, and print 100th anniversary publication commemorating AAAA's history.
  5. Solicit funding for 100th anniversary publication and a/v presentation from vendors and members.
  6. Coordinate 100th anniversary activities with promotional activities associated with various conferences, particularly ES&M.
  7. Solicit members to contribute statements about what AAAA has meant to the sales & marketing community, or how it has helped their business. Comments would be used in anniversary publication, website and membership marketing/retention activities.
  8. Order 2-3 promotional items to highlight the anniversary for purchase and give-a-way (mugs, etc).
  9. Work with an outside vendor to create a multi-media presentation commemorating AAAA's anniversary, ready for viewing by conference participants.

Communications Division

  1. Write feature article(s) relating to AAAA's anniversary in January/February (04) issue of the Forum.
  2. Include articles as necessary in "Sales Link" on related 100th anniversary activities and charter member company profiles.
  3. Create several media opportunities designed to bring attention to key events. Specifically:

a)AAAA founding date anniversary. Invite members (along with AAAA leadership) to participate in special ceremony (perhaps the presentation of an anniversary plaque).

b)Publication of anniversary publication.

  1. Write speeches for CEO, President, and AAAA Board chair that emphasize AAAA's actions on behalf of sales and marketing agencies during last 100 years.
  2. Arrange for placement of articles or interviews with CEO in various trade publications. Angle could be AAAA's 100 years of accomplishment, or perhaps a perspective on the future of the industry. Either way, AAAA has arrived as a player in the community and CEO is recognized as the most influential person within the association.

Meetings/Education Division

  1. Plan at least one meal function during each major event (T3 & ES&M in 200Z) to show multi-media presentation, and tie-in anniversary in other ways (giant cake, customized desserts, anniversary balloons, etc.).
  2. Recognize charter members, founders at annual conference. (I’m sure there are no founding individuals but there are founding companies.)
  3. Put together a “Things that happened 100 years ago” piece or “how business was conducted then”.
  4. Other meetings--pre-conference. Provide coupons ($100 off registration fee?) to attendees within a short time period before the event.
  5. All meetings--script event to tie in to association's 100th anniversary as well as provide a forum for showing a/v program.

Membership Division

  1. Utilize 100th anniversary as a theme in member recruitment ($100 off of first year dues, etc.).
  2. Weave 100th anniversary into member renewal and retention activities, such as dues letter, dues insert & acknowledgement letter. Perhaps give renewing members who pay by X date a $100 dollar coupon off next conference registration.
  3. Encourage existing charter members who have dropped AAAA to rejoin, using 100th anniversary as device to get their attention. Invite them to attend Annual Conference. Work with 100th anniversary subcommittee members to help identify charter member companies.
  4. Use anniversary as occasion to challenge board and membership committee to recruit new members (ex., challenge the board to recruit 100 new members).

100th Anniversary Subcommittee

  1. Write down or record recollections of key events in AAAA history for use in anniversary publication, a/v presentation.
  2. Interview other key players in AAAA's history for their recollections.
  3. Identify current status of charter members of AAAA; provide to Membership Division for recruitment activities and to Marketing for use in anniversary publication.
  4. Use both personal contact and correspondence to encourage agencies to participate in 100th anniversary activities by contributing their recollections/memorabilia, sponsoring publication, attending conference.
  5. Provide staff with personal photos and memorabilia of events in AAAA's history – if anyone has any. Of photos of their companies history if it’s been around.

AAAA Leadership

  1. Emphasize AAAA's anniversary year in all appearances. Make special effort to note association's accomplishments during last 100 years and how the community has benefited.

Attachment A

100th Anniversary Activities

Proposed sources of funding

AAAA Budget

These activities can be undertaken through current funding sources.

Office supplies (letterhead, envelopes)

Jan/Feb issue of Forum

"Sales Link"

Annual conference promotional activities

Other on-site annual conference activities (meal function, dessert, etc.)

Press releases, press events

These activities might require additional funding authority

Discounts on conference registrations

Discount on joining AAAA

This item would require additional funding authority

"Anniversary” publication--$10,000

Annual conference a/v presentation

Sponsorship from vendors

100th Anniversary publication ($10,000)

Video for AAAA conferences ($12,000)

AAAA Members

Contributions as patrons for 100th anniversary publication (est. 100 x $100 each). For this they would receive recognition in publication.

Attachment B

100th Anniversary Activities

Proposed timeline

August 200X

Logo development.

November 200X

Marketing/action plan approved internally & by Board.

December 200X-June 200Y

Archive search.

Interviews conducted with former AAAA members & staff.

Other research conducted.

Sponsors lined up for publication and a/v presentation.

Charter member companies identified.

Members solicited for sponsorship of publication.

Members asked to write what AAAA membership has meant to their company.

July 200Y

Letterhead/envelopes done.

Writing for anniversary publication begun.

August 200Y

Company hired for a/v production

Scripting/storyboards begun for a/v presentation.

Design and thumbnail outline for anniversary publication completed.

September 200Y

Production of 100th anniversary publication.

Pick date and develop 100th “ceremony”.

November 200Y

100th Anniversary publication printed.

Press release on anniversary publication. Key press people sent copies. Promotion of publication to members begins.

December 200Y

Press releases announcing 100th anniversary year sent out.

A/V program completed.

Web section completed.

Attachment C

100th Anniversary Activities

Proposed outline of 100th anniversary publication

General

This would be a glossy magazine style publication or perhaps coffee table book depending on amount of materials/photos collected. It would follow a chronological history of events that shaped AAAA, broken down into sections covering 10-year periods of the association's history. Each 10-year segment outlines history of the association during that period, covering events such as membership growth, the state of the agency community (good economy or bad?, typical products and services of an agency), new AAAA programs added, staffing levels, highlights of annual meetings, appropriate period photos and world events at the time.

There would be a general narrative outlining the general events of each period, with sidebars, photos, charts & graphs, and other visual materials to make graphically attractive.

Sidebars would focus on major events facing association and community. Other sidebars might include charts and graphs on AAAA membership growth, asset growth, mergers, manufacturers served by AAAA members, rosters of board members, etc.

Potential people to interview

AAAA Chairmen and Board members

Former CEOs and staffers

Final section

A focus on the future and changes we can expect.

END OF MARKETING PLAN

Additional ideas on next page
Other Ideas Submitted:

  • Anniversary logo – make sure it is usable in print, web, and giveaways.
  • Commemorative Coin
  • Commemorative Postage Mark or Stamp
  • We celebrated our 35th anniversary of one of our clients last year; we had a huge cake made and had all the past presidents, board members etc. Come up to blow out the candles. We also had a few key folks make a special wish for the association. Photographers were on hand & we circulated the photos in our publications. Before the conference, we had a special anniversary logo developed and gold 35th anniversary stickers, which we used on all correspondence.
  • Commemorative Book: High gloss, coffee table

BTA put together a hardbound pictorial anniversary book for our last anniversary...75th. We gathered photos of past presidents, conventions and other events and segmented the book by year (two years/page) with bulleted text highlights of that year. Some years we only knew the president and where the annual convention was held, but photos were the real "meat" of the book. We began with a history of the association and ended with a listing of all past presidents and volunteers of the year. We sold print advertising to our corporate members and offered our regular members the opportunity to have “congratulatory statements" printed in the book with their company's name for recognition (sort of like testimonials). We peppered the book with these member comments. The ad sales covered the cost of production and mailing plus gave us some non-dues revenue, as well. The members loved it and it came as a pleasant surprise. Sponsors got premium placement in the book, dust cover and Web site logo recognition and multiple copies for their use.

Others argue AGAINST a commemorative book (or other large, expensive commemorative items for the ‘general’ membership) as too expensive and not sufficiently used/appreciated by bulk of membership. Think about how much “stuff” we all accumulate and what we actually use …

  • “Advertorial” for publication in local newspaper (or, by extension, national newspaper or magazines)
  • Special Focus section in trade publication (advertorial). Sell ads to members/supporters to defray the cost. This gives very public attention to those who support your organization.
  • Stoneware Coaster w/Anniversary Logo – relatively inexpensive, easy to mail, and likely to stay on a desk.
  • Lapel pins – different variations include color-coding for length of membership, one XXX Anniversary Year member design (everyone gets the same)
  • A granite time capsule that sits in our building. Engraved on the outside is a list of its contents. It's a constant reminder that we have roots.
  • Major fundraising campaign - it was a 5 year process that netted us over $3 million and led to the creation of....
  • Major research center in the association's national office, including funded fellows and lecture series
  • Producing a printed biographical directory of members (listed education, professional background and positions, awards, and publications in addition to usual name, address, phone, etc.)
  • Several special events at the annual conference, including a major reception, special mid-day brown bag and breakout sessions, and special invitations to and events for long-term members, graduate student members, and members who'd never attended a conference
  • Membership giveaways - free one-year memberships given out at all the regional (not affiliated) associations' meetings throughout the year, and a free life membership given away at the association's annual meeting
  • Special articles and symposia in the association's professional journal
  • Special membership discount offers to members of societies with a similar focus who'd never been members of association