PCC Meeting Notes
July 15 – 17
Austin, TX
2011-12 Planning (Stacy Armijo, Christine Mathers)
· Recap of the presentation to the AMA Board in June – see PPT
· main FY12 initiates are:
o Continue what is working
o Expand chapter resources (Soft Skills, BIB)
o Provide chapter perspective (Mexico, PCM)
o Empower chapters to grow
· Projects like expansion into Mexico and the creation of a strong AMA brand resonated with the Board.
Organizational Changes (Dennis Dunlap)
· AMA is in the early stages of long range strategic planning
· Stragetic organizational changes include elimination of the Chief Customer Officer position, promotion of Carol Arnold and Nancy Pekala to Senior Directors, and new hires (including a Director of International and a Director of Volunteer Relations).
Global Expansion (Dennis Dunlap)
· AMA’s global expansion plan shared.
· Reasons to go global include market demand, large untapped growth potential, and enhanced value proposition.
· Challenges include the localization/customization of offerings & communications and protecting intellectual property.
· First step toward globalization is International Online Membership (IOM) - launched in January 2010 and has nearly 1,000 members in 85 countries.
· AMA is developing a globalization plan with short term (1-4 years) and long term (5+ years) goals.
· The global expansion strategy is a 3-step approach:
1. Build brand awareness, engagement & membership in international markets
2. Expand reach & penetration in select target countries with best potential for growth (20 target markets identified covering 58% of world population and 58% of GDP)
3. Play more visible & leadership role in advancing marketing profession worldwide
· The chapter model will be explored in target countries like Mexico and China.
· The PCC is excited about the international opportunity and agrees with the approach.
Mexico Task Force (Christine Mathers, Jessica Kennedy)
· Mexico Task Force was formed this spring with the following participants to date:
o Christine Mathers – Co-Chair
o Jessica Kennedy – Co-Chair
o Ric Sweeney
o Colin Haggney
o Lori Janson
o Jennie McGonagha
o Kevin Hohnbaum
· First Task Force call held in April to discuss why this is a good idea, what type of model should be used, and the role of the task force.
· Initial considerations (importance of conducting early research, leveraging Mexican view of US as a thought-leader, working with boarder chapters, etc) were shared with the AMA Board in June.
· Task Force to create an entry plan for expansion to Mexico that includes target market, needed resources, potential partners, identified drivers/volunteers, and marketing strategy.
Professional Certified Marketer (Dennis Dunlap)
· Advisory committee formed to determine the plan for the PCM – starting fresh with the program.
· The platform for delivering the PCM and e-learning needs to be determined, and a vendor selected.
· After getting approval from publishers, database being built around textbook questions, and test author will soon be hired for the exam.
· January 2012 is the target date for roll-out.
· PCC would like to be involved in the development and delivery. Dennis agrees that practitioners’ input is crucial.
· There might also be revenue share opportunities for chapters once this is complete.
Empowering Chapters (Stacy Armijo, Megan Backes, Carol Arnold)
· Background/history of the project:
o At April PCC Meeting, brainstormed ways for IH to assist professional chapters.
o Stacy outlined and ranked 8 projects based on brainstorm – see document.
o Projects focus on IH alleviating chapter’s administrative responsibilities so more time can be dedicated building member value.
o Most projects strengthen the national brand.
o Megan and Carol met with IH staff with expertise in these operational areas.
o The learning to date was shared with the PCC at the July meeting - see related documents.
· PCC discussion and proposed actions for each project:
o Database Management
§ Might not be worth the time/cost for IH to develop new databases for chapters.
§ Creating a new database for chapters to manage/learn may not ease much of their administrative pain, and other tools (like Salesforce) that may be similarly effective.
§ Interim step of providing reports on Reports Portal in Excel format is an easy win.
§ Initial focus should be on membership data since IH already maintains this data.
§ Interviewing chapters on their needs and current resources could be helpful.
o KPI Dashboard
§ The easiest solution would be to develop populated membership dashboard delivered via the Reports Portal and programming/finance dashboard templates.
§ PCC would like a data collection system to be build that would allow chapters to pull their own reports and IH to pull reports for all chapters to better understand chapter health. Should relate to CEA questions to save chapters time, and ideal to roll out with BIB.
§ Keep it simple – don’t overload the amount of data.
§ Reviewing examples from chapters will be helpful.
o Event Registration System
§ No longer a top priority because chapters have found many tools that fit their needs.
§ Still could create a branded template for use in Cvent since many chapters use this EMT.
o Website Platform
o Email Communications
o Accounting Software
§ Beth Taylor is polling peers for recommended software and should also look at what is working well with other associations.
§ IH can provide a standard spreadsheet for and training on the identify best software.
o National Awards Program
§ Original thought behind this was to elevate the brand as a whole.
§ Focus has shifted to providing chapters with a tool that will help new chapters thinking of launching a new local program or enhancing a current one.
§ Pathway could still eventually lead to a national program.
§ Should seek insight from chapter leaders who have done local awards programs.
o Programming Consultant
§ PCC has many thoughts on the approach, but cannot devote much time to this.
§ IH should work with a national volunteer to drive the program.
· Task Forces/Advisory Committees/National Volunteers could be utilized for many of these projects. PCC will define the types of leaders who should serve, the structure, how often to meet, how the committee will be utilized, etc.
Cvent Status (Megan Backes, Carol Arnold)
· Negotiations with Cvent took longer than anticipated, but got a better deal than before, including:
o lower registration transaction fees for chapters
o lower annual fee for IH
o free email marketing tool
o discounted optional survey tool
· The best deal is with a 3-year contract, but also options for a 1- or 2- year contract.
· Megan sent chart to chapters comparing new offer to previous one and Cvent’s regular offers.
· While Cvent isn’t the right fit for every chapter, many chapters are taking advantage of this offer:
o 17 have already renew
o 8 are still deciding whether are not to renew
o 3 decided not to renew
o 2 non-user chapters have contact Cvent to learn more
Struggling Chapters (Megan Backes, Jessica Kennedy, Brian Woods, Amy Favreau, Karen Albritton)
· Need to support struggling chapters as much as possible while still focusing on good chapters.
· Continue to track chapter health and reaching out watch/intervention chapters on a monthly basis
· In-depth support for most serious cases to be determined on a case-by-case basis with clear metrics.
· Central Illinois Chapter status:
o PCC/IH have provided extra support for 1.5 years.
o Disengaged president and lack of board members leaves the chapter’s future in question.
o Major push for building the board this past spring – 6 members responded to a call for volunteers in April, but none seemed interested in taking on the presidency, and the president didn’t do much to try to engage them.
o Final effort will be to reach out to these 6 members to explain the situation and determine if they are able and willing to lead the chapter.
o Their treasurer is keeping a watch on the financials and is prepared to transfer remaining funds to IH if the chapter does close.
· Tulsa Chapter status:
o Very low membership numbers and problems with board engagement.
o Brian has tried call their president 3 times, but with no luck.
o Whether or not they submit a plan/budget should show their level of commitment to turning things around in the year ahead.
· Southwest Florida Developing Chapter status
o Developing since early-March.
o Struggling to convert marketers who signed development petition into actual AMA members.
o See much competition in the area, and marketers struggle to see the benefit in joining.
Membership Team (Amy Favreau, Jessica Kennedy, Karen Albritton, Brian Woods)
· Old Reps provided a summary about each chapter to the new Rep – this worked well.
· Created a discussion guide for PCC rep calls to chapter presidents.
· Calls half finished, and most are positive.
· For those who can’t be reached, this is not adult daycare.
· Conversation trends include:
o Some chapter leaders still have roles to fill.
o Most have at least 3 months of programming planned, and a few have the entire year planned.
o Most have done or will soon be holding planning retreats
o Those who have never entered CEAs before are uncertain of it and afraid of creating an entry.
o Most plan to attend Regional Retreats.
o They want help with membership recruitment/retention and building member value.
· 4 Topical Leadership Calls and 4 Virtual Roundtable calls are scheduled for the year.
· The team wants to be more engaged with AMA connect.
· Would like to see someone from IH/PCC attend the Collegiate Conference to promote young professional membership and speak to the benefits of belonging to a professional chapter.
Regional Retreats (Pat Frew)
· 2012 Retreats: January 14 – February 4
· The lighter, more interactive content this past year was good improvement.
· The volunteer speakers can be hit or miss – need more guidance around this.
· More guidance could be used around creating a good social event.
· Regional Retreats should be used as a launching pad to leadership Summit
· Leadership Summit chairs shouldn’t have to attend a Retreat.
· Promote/plan early and often.
· Adherence to a timeline and consistent follow-up is important.
· Would be helpful if IH can centralize the registration process, especially for surveying attendees.
· Should try to leverage board member attendance so there is time for chapter leaders to meet the national board and they could also speak at a chapter event.
· Brian will serve as the Regional Retreats Sponsorship Chair.
Leadership Summit 2011 (Karen Stone, Jessica Kennedy)
· $85,000 in in-kind sponsorships were secured.
· 94% of chapters participated, which is similar to the year before.
· Survey results shared – see PPT. Highlights include:
o Participants skewed toward more experienced/volunteers and marketers. 70% has been members for 3+ years and 4/5 had 7+ years of marketing experience.
o 75% of participants were not going into a presidential role.
o Overall satisfaction was up by 5%, but still less than in 2009.
o Overall usefullness is up to 87%, with membership leaders finding it most useful. 90% said they will be able to use what they learned.
o Roundtable sessions were the most useful session, especially among repeat attendees.
o The highest marks for breakout sessions came from communications volunteers.
o IH resource tables were a huge hit with 90% top box.
o 2/3 found Soft Sills useful – especially successful among more experienced marketers. Some would like to see it moved to Friday.
o They want more energetic and experienced speakers. Sima Dahl’s optional session was a hit, but only 3% found the keynote useful.
o The closing session saw much improvement over the year before, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.
o Some complaints about redundant content, and many communications attendees found the session to be too basic.
o High scores were received for the facility and helpfulness of IH staff. Liked wifi and snacks – keep it.
o Many said they felt over-surveyed.
Leadership Summit 2012 (Lori Janson, Tim Sheridan)
· April 25 – 29 at Westin, O’Hare, Rosemont, IL
· Theme: Navigating Chapter Excellence (classic cruise motif)
· Looking into sponsorships early:
o Lori is securing a Holland America Cruise to be raffled, with proceeds benefiting AMAF.
o Getty Images is on board again
o Tim already secured a creative sponsor
o Dell is a possible cash sponsor
· Keynote speaker ideas
o trends in associations
o crisis management
o marketing from a humorous perspective
· Plan to continue doing case studies/chapter spotlights, highlighting only CEA winners in these sessions.
· Will try to avoid scheduling CEA presenters for other Friday presentations.
· Presenters would like to have more facilitation training.
Chapter Excellence Awards (Karen Stone)
· September 30 – October 2 in Rosemont, IL – hotel TBD.
· Entry Form revamped and posted in February.
· 3 of 7 judges already secured.
· Want the weekend to be less tiring for judges - try to hold a housekeeping call prior to judging.
· Participants will continue to receive detailed feedback from judges and score comparisons to COTY and chapter average.
· The process for chapter discussions post-results worked well – keep it.
· New BIB will not be complete in time to integrate into next year’s CEA Entry, so will not update until the following year for a major update.
Chapter Best Practices List (Stacy Armijo)
· Chapters should be the primary benefactor from this list, and IH/PCC the secondary.
· There needs to be more thought/strategy around how we are collecting this, what we are collections, and how we are distributing it.
· A national volunteer could drive the project and work in concert with IH.