This document summarizes key points from a presentation on effective communications for associations. It discusses how marketers waste 40% of budgets on irrelevant content and how associations should identify 3-5 "SPIKE" moments each year when their messaging will be most relevant to members. It also addresses challenges like developing trends, identifying the right audience, and gaining buy-in. Overall, the presentation stresses the importance of focusing communications on true member needs and timing messages for maximum impact.

1. ASAE
Annual Meeting
What’s Your Endgame?
Adele Cehrs
Epic PR Group
Erin Pressley
NACS: The Association for
Convenience & Fuel Retailing

2. Is Your Association
Crying Wolf?

3. $155+billion
Spent annually on Marketing and PR

4. ?
• Research shows marketers are getting worse, not better, at
directing dollars with a whopping 40% of marketing dollars
being wasted each year as cited in Advertising Age (Neff,
2012).
• That means $62 billion is misused on content that is not
relevant or producing ROI.
• Think about the staff time and resources devoted to
reaching your members — is your association guilty?

5. 5,000 messages a day =
Brand Narcissism

6. 4-year tenure
Average CMO tenure is 45 months or
roughly 4 years — half the average
tenure of a CEO

7. ROI Is a Struggle
We are measuring and saying
TOO MUCH!

8. You have a small window to
prove you’re worth listening to.

9. SPIKE
A Sudden Point of Interest that Kick-starts
Exposure — good or bad.

10. Opportunity
3 – 5 SPIKES in one year

11. SPIKE EXERCISE
You have just 3 - 5 TIMES a year to communicate what is truly relevant to your
MEMBERS. What are those moments?
With the SPIKE Method in mind ask yourself the following:
• Identify 3 to 5 times WHEN your association (not your department) is truly
relevant to your members.
• You have 5 minutes to develop some ideas and share your ideas with the
audience.
?

12. ASHA
Understand where and WHEN your
Audience WANTS to receive information
Autism Awareness Month

13. CVS’ Bold Move

14. ?
CVS Wasn’t So Bold After All…
• According to the New York Times, just 18 percent of American adults
smoke, down from 42 percent in 1965 (Strom, 2014).
• An op-ed published in the NYT by two doctors from the Smoking
Cessation Leadership Center at the University of California, made
the case for eliminating tobacco products from drugstores in
The Journal of the American Medical Association (published two
days prior to announcement)
• The FDA announced the start of a national education program
aimed at preventing smoking among youth.
• CVS’ preplanned partnership with American Lung Association

15. Newtown
American Association of Pediatrics –
Response to gun violence
Brand patience: why you need some

16. ?

17. Biggest Challenge Exercise
What is your biggest communications challenge?
For example, here are some things we hear often:
• People don't understand what we do
• Staff doesn't know how to talk about the organization effectively
• Board in-fighting
• Internal communication challenges
• Departmental silos
• Developing trends
• Identifying and talking to the right audience
• Buy-in

18. NACS
The price of not being prepared:
Hurricane preparedness for convenience retailers

19. “When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two
characters. One represents danger and the other represents
opportunity.”
John F. Kennedy

20. Buy-in

21. ?
NACS Goal Setting: Priorities!
10-15 Organizational Goals (2011-2012)
a. Zero negative budget variances across departments & major initiatives
[ALL]
b. (Apr/Jul/Oct) None for Q1, One for Q2, One for Q3, Four in Q4
(Research, Tech & International Services, Supplier Relations)
c. Hit Expo Sales Budget ($11,725,000) [BH] (Jun/Aug/Sep/Nov)
a. As of 11/18/11: $12,396,900 (+$716,900)
b. 1332 Exhibitors, 387,600 NSF (goal 375,000 NSF)
d. Hit Show Registration Budget ($3,172,985) [SR] (Jul/Sep/Nov)
a. Final - $3,186,867

22. 1. Drive Retail Membership
2. Drive Customer Satisfaction
3. Drive Engagement
4. Drive Constructive Behaviors into Our Cultural DNA
5. Deliver Organizational Discipline
NACS Goal Setting: Priorities!
5 Organizational Goals (2013)

23. NACS Goal Setting: Priorities!
3 Organizational Goals (2014)
1. Get and Keep Members (recruitment, retention,
customer satisfaction, customer engagement)
2. Make Us Great (culture, prof development, community
involvement, staff activities
3. Optimize Resources (financial discipline, operations)

24. Culture

25. What’s in it for members
(WIIFM)?

26. Attention is not a FINITE
resource…

27. Who is your Chief Oprah Officer?

28. Oprah’s Evaluation of Her “Favorite Things”
• Message: Possess an articulate message that cuts through the
clutter;
• Audience: Having a woman-owned business;
• Timing: Being on the cusp of a new trend;
• Channel: Visually interesting for television; and
• Human: Serving a good cause.

29. ?
SPIKE EXERCISE

30. All Aboard

31. What’s your
Endgame?

32. Adele Cehrs
Epic PR Group
703-299-3404
adele@epicprgroup.com
Erin Pressley
NACS: The Association for
Convenience & Fuel Retailing
703-518-4208
epressley@nacsonline.com