The PR challenge for Associations

Getting maximum bang for minimum bucksWhat every Executive Director should know

Who are we?

• Four Winds Communications specialises in comms. services for

Associations

• We provide:

– Strategic comms. planning

– Media management/training

– Lobbying/advocacy

– Membership comms. services

• All tailored specifically for the unique needs of Associations

Membership organisations

• Hundreds of associations

• Think of an industry – there’ll be an association e.g.

– NZ Sheep Breeders Association

– The Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand

– NZ Continence Association

– NZ Poultry Association

– NZ Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association

– NZ Tourism Industry Association

Some of our Association clients

New Zealand Veterinary Association

• 1780 members

• Members include vets in rural and urban practices, government

service, universities, technical & research institutes,

pharmaceutical companies & other related industries & students.

• 80% + membership of all registered veterinarians

• Microchipping was big issue

• Advocates on NZ’s biosecurity + codes of practices for urban

vets

Taxi Federation

• Represents an industry of over 3000 members

• Taxi organisations, limousine services, and shuttle services from

co-operatives with 700 plus taxis to single unit operators

• Stamp out the cowboys (restrict industry entry)

• Access to bus lanes

• Compliance and relationships with city authorities

GANZ

• Six big members + further 45 associate members

• Represents organisations in gas sector involved in transporting

and trading gas

• Interests from major pipeline coys to appliance sellers/installers

• Advocating for fuel switching in energy policy + range of technical

regulatory issues relating to pricing

What makes advocacy organisations different?

• Diverse internal audiences

• Significant size disparities in membership numbers

• Not-for-profit

• Must meet a range of different comms. expectations

Membership organisations:A communications challenge

• Membership organisations have unique comms. challenges

– Not as well resourced as corporates

– Small budgets

– But wide range of comms. issues

– Resources & budgets split across many fronts

– Must deliver perceived value for money

– But the biggest challenge is …

Keeping the membership happy

• Massive differences in the business focus/interests of members

• Often differences in business acumen

• Differences in business imperatives

• Different hot/cold buttons

• Massive differences in the comms. tools they’ll use/respond to, or

think are warranted

• They’re not always easily reachable

Members versus staff/shareholders

• Members more active/demanding/vocal

• Members demand service/profile

• They expect their Association to protect their regulatory

environment

• They want quality ongoing comms. (it’s usually a KPI)

• They want to be fully consulted

• They want everything yesterday!

Keeping the bosses happy

• Controlled by board or council

– Often has conflicting views/agendas

– Can be captured by dominant personality, or hindered by lack of

consensus

– Part-time decision-makers

– Making comms. decisions when not experienced

A broad comms. focus

• Broad business and stakeholder focus = broad comms. focus

• Mix of strategic and operational comms activities

• Real need to demonstrate value for investment

• Very easy to measure effectiveness of comms.

Comms. techniques

• Strategic

– Audit and analysis, planning, counsel, training crisis/issues management

• Public relations

– Media management, stakeholder relations, public information campaigns,

marketing comms.

• Govt. relations

– Lobbying/advocacy, submissions, ‘intelligence’, policy analysis

• Membership comms.

– Publications/writing, website management, information sharing, professional

development initiatives, event management

Most useful internal comms. tools

• Newsletter/magazine

– Short, pithy, Trans-Tasman style, issues and outcome-focused

• Txt on key issues to selected members

• Email briefs (where appropriate)

• Members’ intranet

• Using sector leaders/influencers as networkers to membership

• Phone calls to smaller members every so often

Getting bang for buck - externally

• Operate smarter

• Be selective – especially relationship management, lobbying,

media

• Use leverage

• Set realistic expectations

Getting bang for buck - internally

• Understand members’ needs

• Consistent and frequent

• Make the conference count

• Nothing wrong with low tech.

Measuring effectiveness

• Done by survey

• Members actively complain/leave

– Direct impact on management

– Direct impact on income

• Executive Director reports progress monthly to Council/Board

• Budgets and progress assessed against KPIs

Membership satisfaction

---Decreased

substantially

-13%19%Decreased

11%33%31%Stayed the same

67%47%37%Increased

22%7%12%Increased

substantially

200620032000

--Inadequate

11%27%Satisfactory

78%67%Good

11%7%Excellent

20062003

Membership satisfaction

Lessons to be learned

• Be smart

• Spend time

– Assessing/understanding the issues

– Learning about your audience(s)

– Understanding the operating/business environment

• Think “Benefit/Cost” not “Cost/Benefit”

How what you don't know

you don't know

can ruin

an otherwise great staff comms. plan

OR

When visions and missions miss the point

The background

• Wellington SME

– Long-established

– Grown well

– Mix of domestic and light/heavy commercial work

• Trade company

– 16 vans on the road

– Mix of vets and apprentices

• CEO pro-active

• Went into liquidation

The issue

• Company was not making money

• Growth had stopped

• Repeat business hard to come by

• Overheads higher

• Staff were ‘aware of the situation’

The plan

• Company operated internal comms plan

• Had company mission

• Had company vision

• Had structured staff briefings

• Had little news sheet

• CEO managed by walkabout

Our role

• External marketing

• Profile-raising

• Business development

• Engage/brief staff

What we did

• Interviewed all staff

• Developed collateral material

• Agreed target markets

• Established ‘time and motion’ study

What we found

• Staff knew their jobs

• Good at their jobs

• BUT …

• Staff didn’t feel ‘involved/engaged’ with the company

• No reason to go above and beyond

• Lack of sense of responsibility for the company’s performance

• Comms. plan wasn’t working

What the CEO said

• Read and aspire to the vision

• To be recognised as the best xyz company in the Wellington

region

• Read and aspire to the mission

• To deliver professional, leading edge, prompt and customer-

friendly service to all customer

• Comms. activities all geared around vision and mission

What the CEO didn’t know

• Neither the vision nor the mission

meant anything personal to staff.

The solution

• Make them meaningful rather than vague/loose

• Give staff actual targets to aim at

• Make progress measureable

• Engage their competitiveness

• Link it tangible rewards

Examples of visions

• Xyz is committed to brewing the best beer in the world and the

international awards we have won are testament to this.

NZ Brewer

• To constantly develop skills, technology and people to provide

customers with best practice energy solutions which allow them

to maximise their business operations, or home environment and

to be recognised, through our efforts, as New Zealand's …

Leading energy supplier

Some more …

• A world class professional State Services serving the government of the

day and meeting the needs of New Zealanders.

Govt. department

• A healthy environment which sustains people and nature.

Govt. department

• To be a leading provider of risk management services, insurance and

reinsurance broking, financial planning and employee risks and benefits

Large corporate

• … to provide academic and creative excellence

Well known boys school

The lesson

• Visions/missions are tools

• Need to be used effectively as part of a plan

– Not treated as wall hangings/website decoration

• Not all comms. plans are good comms. plans

• Need continuous improvement targets and measurement criteria

• Need to monitor staff ‘engagement’

• Often what people don’t know they don’t know

Thank you

Daniel Paul

Four Winds Communications Limited

(04) 499-0873

(021) 400-993