The ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition was held from August 10-13 in Columbus, Ohio, and neither the convention nor the city disappointed. The conference opened with a keynote by bestselling authors Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms in which they discussed the “new power” dynamics in today’s society. Their talk was based on their bestselling book, New Power: How Anyone Can Persuade in Our Chaotic, Connected Age. Until recently, the world was defined by “old power” which was held by only a few and was jealously guarded. “New power” is transparent and participatory. New power can help us run more dynamic associations especially in an era where the public is demanding more openness and input into their associations and many individuals’ engagement with associations is declining. The challenge is to channel this “new power” to make it work for you and your association and to develop a leadership pipeline for the future. The book is a fairly easy read and relatively inexpensive (available through ASAE or Amazon for less than $17).
There were plenty of educational sessions at ASAE this year. A few sessions of note that I attended focused on rebranding, membership marketing, and mentoring The re-branding session entitled “Ten Steps to a Successful Rebranding” was presented by Brad Gillum of Indianapolis’ own Willow Marketing. It was a case study of how one association – Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing – successfully rebranded their association. As Gillum noted, rebranding begins with a decision as to whether to rebrand or refresh your brand. If a brand does not evoke positive emotions and it’s been the same for many years, it may be time to rebrand since most brands are updated every 7-10 years. However, no rebranding effort should be undertaken without thorough research followed by an openness to listen to what the research revealed (even if it goes against what you believe about your association and its members). It is also important to involve the board and staff in the process from the beginning. It is equally as important to know the vision of the organization and make sure “it is bold” and succinct. And remember rebranding takes time and money. Gillum noted that participants spend about 60 hours each on the rebranding process. These were only a few of the ten steps that Gillum outlined in a successful rebranding effort. These steps helped make the rebranding of the Board of Certification of Emergency Nurses a success.