2015 IABC Third Quarter Report

2015
Third Quarter
Report
Driving communication as a force
for good in business and society

IABC THIRD QUARTER REPORT 2015 2
The IEB and Chapters and Regions. . . . . . . . . . 3
Who does what at IABC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Update from our Chair. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Update from our Executive Director . . . . . . . . 8
Strategy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
The IABC Brand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Strategic Progress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Content Update. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Events Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
In Brief:
• First Communication Management
Professional (CMP) graduates announced
• CMP exam dates around the world
announced
• Fixes to the“join”and“renew”functions on
iabc.com rolled out
• New recruitment process undertaken for
committee vacancies
• 2016 Gold Quill Awards launched
• “Best of Show”webinar series launched
• New online workshops from IABC Academy
launched
• Speaker proposals for the 2016 World
Conference submitted to Program Advisory
Committee for review
• IABC Leadership Forum hangout rolled out

International Executive Board
The International Executive Board, or IEB, is the governing body of IABC and is accountable to its
members. The IEB develops the strategic plan and direction for the association under the guidance
of the Association Bylaws approved by the IABC membership. The IEB serves as the Board of
Trustees for the IABC Foundation.
Find out more about IABC’s International Executive Board.
Chapters and Regions
IABC operates around the world via eight
regions and more than 80 chapters.
Find out more about IABC’s regions and
chapters.
View more photos of IABC people
and events on IABC’s Flickr account.
Stay

Who does what at IABC
Chapters
• The heart and soul of IABC
• Provide local network, professional
development, mentoring and more
Regions
• A resource to Chapters, provides
regional-level leadership
development and sharing of
good practices
• Looks after Members-at-Large
• Some regions also run
conferences
International
• Provides the global framework
for the organization and sets
standards and direction
• Supports Regions in delivering
value to Chapters
• Provides global tools, resources
and content (including
membership back-end)
• Global connectivity
Africa • Asia
Pa
cific•CanadaEast•CanadaWest•Europe/MiddleEast/North
Af
rica
•Heritage•PacificPlains•Southern
Academy•CommunicationWorld•GlobalCommunication
Certification•GoldQuill•LeadershipInstitute•Membership
•W
orld
Conference
80chapterscreatingconnections•
8
0
chapters creating connections • 80 chapters creating connectio
ns•80chapterscreatingconnections
Freedom within a Framework
Highly Interdependent
1000+ Leaders

Financial recovery and sustainability
The management thinker Peter Drucker is famous
for saying“culture eats strategy for breakfast.”He
was a practical thinker and I think he also implied
the positive upside: a strong culture can overcome
many a challenge. A strong culture like ours.
The board’s continued focus is on delivering against
our three-year strategy — especially bringing our
technology into the 21st century. I addressed this
as part of my inaugural comments at the Annual
General Meeting (AGM) in June. I’m pleased to
say that there is definitively light at the end of the
tunnel. Meanwhile you’ve shown your mettle and
commitment to the association like never before. It
is appreciated.
See the report from our Executive Director Carlos
Fulcher MBA CAE for more detail on the technology
front.
Our next priority is to return the organization to
sustainable growth. The Comprehensive Portfolio
Review — as announced at the AGM — is now
Update from our Chair
complete. It helped a much needed debate about
alignment and tighter focus on our core audience.
See Carlos’report for more about this, including the
work he is doing to make the organization more
data-driven. Big thanks to him, his staff and Ginger
Homan ABC, IABC Treasurer, for doing this work and
the board for their constructive input.
We also focused on helping the organization
embrace a more robust and transparent
governance structure, which you’ve seen through
open calls for nominations for the board and
committee positions.
Better brand positioning
The brand roll-out is well underway and the new
guidelines are helping align our approach. It’ll
take some time but you should expect to see the
greater consistency visually and in tone of voice.
I am encouraged to see such fast adoption. The
Communication Committee led by Katie Macaulay
is also advancing their work. Stay tuned for more on
this initiative.
Greater interaction, greater connection
Why? Because it is in fact an incredibly exciting
time to be part of the International Association
of Business Communicators. We’re the only place
that connects communicators globally. With
thousands of members worldwide, representing
diverse industries, sectors and disciplines, this is
a community alive with knowledge, experience,
ideas, and support.
Dear IABC leaders and members around the world,

We believe that in today’s world, communication
can be a force for good in business and society.
Leaders across the organization are working
hard to make a difference. Delivering value to
members and prospects through lively and varied
networking events, international and regional
conferences, engaging professional and career
development opportunities, and recognition and
certification programs that inspire us to be great
communicators.
Consolidating gains from the 2011-14 strategy
The Communication Management Professional
certification program is going global. Eleven
locations announced already, following the
successful pilot at #IABC15. Big thanks to Sue
Heuman ABC for leading this effort, as well as the
staff team.
The IABC Academy chaired by Theomary
Karamanis PhD, and with support from staff,
launched a full calendar of online workshops
featuring a range of subject experts in crisis,
reputation, branding, digital marketing and more.
All based on topics members requested.
Loyalty and development of our members and
leaders
The monthly IABC Leadership Forum has launched
— hundreds of leaders have engaged with this new
format. It takes place on Google+ and is basically
an open forum, so bring your questions or submit
them ahead of time. I hope to see you on the next
one.
Also this quarter, we had the broadest call to date
for talent to step up and serve in international
leadership positions. We advertised for positions
on Audit and Risk, Investment, Policy Review,
Research and Editorial committees. Appointments
are underway thanks to hard work of the IABC
Nominating Committee.
The monthly IABC Leadership Forum has launched — hundreds of
leaders have engaged with the new format.
We believe that
in today’s world,
communication can
be a force for good
in business and
society.
“
“

A brief look ahead to what’s coming up:
• Regional conferences (and Leadership
Institutes) are on the calendar across North
America this fall. I am excited to attend a
few of them and also the Asia Pacific Region
Leadership Institute in November. Talking
to members and leaders is what makes it all
worthwhile.
• A workshop was held at the Southern Region
Conference in Denver for the #IABC16 World
Conference team. There has been very strong
interest from practitioners around the world
who want speak to the theme of innovation in
global communications. Mark your calendar
for June 5-8, 2016 in New Orleans.
• Dianne Chase, IABC Vice Chair, attended the
Europe, Middle East and North Africa Lead-
ership Institute — a team that is now working
towards a Regional Conference early next year
in Rotterdam. Dianne then headed to Calgary
for the Canada West conference in October.
• We are planning a highly interactive #IABCLI in
Los Angeles. The Council of Regions (made up
of the Regional Chairs from around the world)
is working hard to build a program that prom-
ises to take our leadership skills to the next
level. While we are there, we will celebrate the
top leaders from chapters around the world.
Look out for your opportunity to enter into the
Chapter Management Awards.
• Gold Quill Awards committee issued a call for
entries. Make sure you start preparing your
entry, if you haven’t already. We live in a time
when innovation is required more than ever
and it is our Gold Quill winners who set the
standard.
Reach out to a fellow communicator this week —
and join the conversations on Twitter and LinkedIn.
IABC is the only place that connects communicators
globally, so make sure you are taking advantage of
those opportunities.
Let’s #createconnection like never before.
Michael Ambjorn
International Chair
IABC is the only place that connects communicators globally.
Let’s #createconnection like never before.
The ... certification
program is going
global. Eleven
locations announced
already ...
“
“

Update from our Executive Director
Dear IABC members,
It is my pleasure to bring to you some extremely
positive operational news about IABC as I enter
my second year with the organization. The last few
months have been no less exciting than my first
year at IABC.
The work of our committees have been fruitful
and strategic. Committees have taken a lead
role in bringing new products to market, such
as certification and a range of new education
programs.
Thanks to the tireless work of the Global
Communication Certification Council, or GCCC,
and a long line of leaders who have helped shape
the certification process from its very beginnings,
the inaugural exam for the Communication
Certification Management Professional (CMP)
certification took place at the 2015 World
Conference. The culmination of all this hard work
was the announcement during this quarter of our
first CMP graduates. I’m sure people across the
world are as filled with pride in this list of names as
I am.
The exam is now set to run around the globe over
the coming year, in locations such as Toronto,
Dallas, Jacksonville, Baltimore (at the Heritage
Region Conference), Sydney, and South Africa. More
locations will be announced in the coming months.
As the successful 2015 World Conference came to
a close, the Program Advisory Committee (PAC),
assisted with the launch of the new“Best of Show”
workshop series. This new product makes the best
sessions of the 2015 World Conference available to
anyone around the globe through a live webinar
format. Additionally, plans for the 2016 World
Conference are in full swing. We received a fantastic
response to our call for presentations for the
2016 program, and anticipate another robust and
engaging program in New Orleans in June 2016.
Registration for the program is open at wc.iabc.com.
We were also excited to launch the 2016 Gold
Quill program. The newly renamed IABC Awards
Committee has been working to elevate this highly
prestigious program which attracts the best work
in the communication professionals from around
the globe. The theme“imagine”invites potential
entrants to imagine what winning a Gold Quill
award could do for themselves, their team and their
career.
In the last few months, significant progress has
been made to address website issues impacting
membership. I am happy to report that the re-
engineered online membership renewal application
with transaction and confirmation emails was been
successfully launched in mid-August. Additionally,
the re-engineered online join application has also
been released just in time for Member Month in
October. More work remains, but with the support

of the IABC board and our global leadership, we
are making significant progress to upgrade IABC’s
obsolete technology platforms.
Looking forward to the coming months, a
significant event for us to work towards is the
relocation of the HQ office. The current office lease
expires January 31, 2016. With the support of the
IEB and Relocation Task Force commissioned by the
IEB, planning has been underway over the last 12
months to move the office within the San Francisco
Bay area.
In preparation for the relocation, IABC has been
moving towards a physical/virtual staffing model
with staff located outside the San Francisco area.
This transition commenced early in 2015 and
has allowed IABC to bring talented association
professionals into the organization regardless of
their physical location. Currently, approximately
one third of IABC staff resides outside San Francisco.
Additionally, the office relocation will allow IABC
to lease more cost-effective office space to better
serve the new organization structure and leverage
resources. A new site is in the process of being
identified and all staff are involved in the relocation
and decision-making process.
In summary, the July-September quarter has been
an extremely busy time for the organization and
we have seen pleasing progress on a number of
significant fronts. The quarter ahead, closing out the
2015 calendar year, will continue the momentum as
we focus on delivering member value and creating
the IABC model for the future.
Sincerely,
Carlos Fulcher MBA CAE
Executive Director
... the office relocation will allow IABC to lease more cost-effective office
space to better serve the new organization structure and leverage resources.
...significant
progress has been
made to address
website issues ...
““

The primary goal for IABC is financial recovery and sustainability, along with increasing member loyalty
through development and retention programs. The opportunity facing IABC is to increase its reputation
in the profession through better brand positioning and greater interaction with the broader communication
profession — as a revenue generator and reputationally.
There are two key focus areas: business as usual and changing the business.
Business as usual priorities
1. A program to focus on retaining members.
2. Completing functionality of the new website to include chapter management tools and member
enrollment.
3. Ensuring our mature products (e.g. World Conference and the Gold Quill Awards) remain successful,
both for members and in creating net revenue.
4. Significantly uprating our external communications.
Changing the business priorities
1. Getting the Global Communications Certification Council and IABC Academy fully functional, delivering
the first Certification exam, and launching a suite of training products.
2. Creating a new plan for engaging with communication practitioners worldwide, who are not, and who
may not choose to become, IABC members (but who may benefit from the Association’s products and
services while contributing to advance our mission).
3. Consulting on, then bringing into alignment, the different roles of the international, regional and
chapter levels.
Strategy
Primary goal: financial recovery
and sustainability, along with
increasing member loyalty through
development and retention
programs.
Opportunity: to increase our
reputation within the profession
through better brand positioning and
greater interaction with the broader
communication profession — as a
revenue generator and reputationally.
A brief reminder on the 2014-17 Strategy:

The IABC Brand
Who we are (our value proposition)
IABC is the recognized global community of
communication professionals representing
diverse industries and disciplines. We connect
communicators with a global and local network,
career opportunities, resources and knowledge—
using communication to engage, influence, counsel
and execute. At the forefront of the communication
profession and setting the global standard, our
members are professionals who practice with
integrity and passion.
Our messages
A broadly diverse community of communication
professionals, IABC connects members to ideas,
job opportunities and people through professional
learning and a generous culture of sharing.
We believe that in today’s world, communication
can be a force for good in business and society. We
connect members and businesspeople together for
this purpose.
With thousands of members worldwide,
representing diverse industries, sectors and
disciplines, this is a community alive with
knowledge, experience, ideas, and support; all of
which are freely exchanged.
Ours is the association of choice for
communicators because…
• Whether you’re a student, an experienced
communicator, or an accredited professional,
our diverse programming has something
for you: lively and varied networking events,
international and regional conferences,
engaging professional and career development
opportunities, and recognition and
certification program that inspire us to be great
communicators.
• As communicators we share a lot in common,
so it’s easy to build valuable connections—
even friendships.
• IABC offers global communications resources
and best practices to keep members current
and relevant.
• Members have access to diverse volunteer
opportunities to build their skills, give back
to their community, and contribute to a great
member experience.
Using the IABC brand:
Many chapters have already adopted IABC’s new
branding. The IABC Leader Centre has a toolkit of
information to help chapters with switching to the
new look. The brand was introduced in June this
year at World Conference and the goal is to have all
regions and chapters aligned to the new brand by
June 2016.
Our Shared Values
• We represent the global
profession.
• We create connection.
• We are a diverse community.
• We focus on insights and
results.
IABC is human, open, confident
and professional.
IABC is the only place that connects communicators globally.

Strategic Progress
You can find out more about IABC’s committees on iabc.com. The website lists all committees and, when
details are available, their members. Take advantage of open-calls for new members that occur periodically
through out the year.
Members of the Toronto Chapter, the 2015 International Chapter of the Year, in February 2015 with IABC
International Chair, Russell Grossman ABC, and IABC Executive Director, Carlos Fulcher.
Leadership Institute
Dianne Chase, IABC Vice Chair
The Council of Regions (CoR) has
been busy planning the 2016 Leadership Institute
(LI), designed to help IABC leaders grow in their
professional and personal leadership, as well as
leadership within IABC.
The 2016 LI —‘Inspiring the Leader in You!’— will
be held in Long Beach, Calif., from February 4-6 at
the Hotel Maya.
Additionally, the CoR worked on fine tuning and
planning for the 2016 Chapter Management
Awards (link only available to logged-in chapter
leaders), honoring the best programming and
thinking in IABC chapters. The nominations for
Chapter Management Awards launched in October
and winners will be recognized at LI for outstanding
chapter and individual achievement in several
categories.
Right: Hotel Maya in Long Beach, Calif., where 2016 LI
will be held. Start planning now.

Strategic Progress
IABC Academy
Theomary Karamanis, Ph.D., Chair
The Academy Committee
identified two subcommittees to
bring its mission forward:
• Curriculum subcommittee: focusing on
pedagogy, curriculum and related tasks
• Strategic plan subcommittee: focusing on
strategic planning, branding, and policies and
procedures for the Academy.
Highlights of progress made:
• Development of 2015-2016 strategic plan
• Creation of course syllabus template for course
development
• Course categories aligned with GCCC program
• Revision of course evaluation tool and
development of a facilitator evaluation tool
• Developed scope and time line for a Policies
and Procedures manual
• Planning for implementation of a new LMS for
self-paced online courses,
as well as Academy
branding and marketing
Global Communication
Certification Council
Sue Hueman, ABC, Chair
The significant highlight for this
quarter was the announcement of the first six CMP
graduates. Congratulatory letters were sent, local
chapters notified, and graduates’stories posted
on the IABC website. Each have also now received
their Communication Management Professional
certificate.
As of September 30 a total of 24 CMP applications
have been received, including 15 registrations to sit
the exam in the next six months.
Following the first exam, IABC issued a request for
proposal to chapters and regions to host exam sites
over the coming 12 months. The result is a schedule
for exam administration covering 11 global
geographic locations through to October 2016.
Sites include the U.S., Canada, Australia, Europe and
Africa.
The committee is currently recruiting
new members.
IABC Awards Committee
Monika Lancucki, ABC, Chair
Three significant regional awards
programs that participated in
the IABC Awards Alignment program (link only
available to logged-in chapter leaders) took place
during the quarter: Heritage Silver Quill, Canadian
Silver Leaf, and Pacific Plains Silver Quill. As part of
their participation they received IABC support with
administration, evaluation and promotion. Many
thanks to the evaluators around the world who
evaluated entries.
We listened to feedback from this year’s entrants
and launched the 2016 Gold Quill Award program
on Sept. 23, with a streamlined list of 28 (rather
than 43) categories and greater transparency about
the Award deadlines. This year’s theme,“Imagine…”
invites entrants to imagine winning a Gold Quill
Award—and what it might do
for their team, their career and/
or their organization.

Strategic Progress
2016 World Conference Program
Advisory Committee
Stacy Wilson, Chair
The team addressed feedback
from the 2015 World Conference and put the focus
on launching the 2016 event in New Orleans, June
5-8. An improved Call for Presentations was opened
in August and closed the end of September with
nearly 200 submissions. Evaluations are underway
using several new or improved tools.
The program also saw the introduction of a new
Best of Show webinar series, featuring five highly-
rated sessions from 2015 program offered in
October and November. The team also collaborated
on planning for the opening reception, Foundation
Luncheon, Circles of Wisdom
and Gift of Communication.
Membership Task Force
Claudia Vaccarone, Chair
The Membership Task Force was
named in mid-2015 following
consultation with CoR members and the IABC
International Chair, Vice Chair and Executive
Director. A total of 17 members were appointed,
covering all the regions.
The MTF has received specific objectives from the
IEB, all concerned with laying the groundwork for
designing a new membership experience, which
will increase member retention and attract new
members to the association. The MTF work is based
on the following pillars:
1. Assessing the competitive landscape
2. Analyzing existing data (regional membership
surveys, membership dashboards etc.)
3. Support the Membership Director in designing
the next membership global survey
4. Identifying“personas”for both members
and prospects, focusing first on the Strategic
Advisor segment of the Career Road Map
5. Make recommendations on how to strengthen
the value proposition for Strategic Advisors
The MTF is also working on focus group-guidelines
for chapters and regions in order to
run coherent membership discussions,
and will report on these activities at
the International Leadership Institute
in Los Angeles, in February 2016.
Leader Centre
Visit the Leader Centre for
information, tools, tips and
templates to help run your chapter.
If you are a chapter leader join the
IABC Chapter Leaders Group on
LinkedIn to connect with other
chapter, regional and international
IABC leaders.

Free-to-member webinars
IABC offered free-to-member webinars including one led by Newsweaver’s Denise Cox on overcoming
internal email communication challenges, and another by Guy Kawasaki, who offered a follow-up to his
World Conference keynote on The Art of Social Media. Guy Kawasaki’s webinar was one of our more popular
webinars this year.
Communication World
Communication World (CW), IABC’s online monthly online magazine, covered the topics of authenticity in
leaders, how to turn research into action, and brand storytelling during the quarter. Content focused on
innovative ideas and best practices in communication, including articles by subject matter experts, case
study overviews, and interviews in the form of podcasts and videos.
A new Editorial Committee for Communication World is replacing the outgoing CW advisory panel. Among
the first priorities for the group will be to work with the staff to develop an editorial calendar for 2016 that
can be used by all parts of the organization.
CW Observer
CW Observer is a weekly supplement to CW magazine. In the last quarter, the most popular topics were
communicating with millennial employees and how to use analytics to drive social engagement.
Content Updates

Professional Development
August 6
IABC Africa 22nd Annual Conference
September 30
Europe Leadership Institute
October 15-17
Canada West Region Conference
October 15-17
Southern Region Conference
October 18-20
Heritage Region Conference
November 3–December 1
What’s on the Digital Communication Horizon?
Diary Dates
November 18
Gold Quill Early Bird Deadline
November 27
Communication Management Professional Exam
Sydney, Australia
December 1
Chapter Management Awards Deadline
December 31
World Conference Super-Saver Registration Deadline
April 9, 2016
Cincinnati, Ohio
April 2016 (dates to be decided)
Chicago, Ill.; Toronto, Ontario; Halifax, Nova Scotia;
London, UK; Melbourne, Australia
June 2016
New Orleans, La.
Events Calendar
Building the Brand: How to Plan, Develop and
Manage a Successful Corporate Branding Program
Implementation to Impact: Move from Writer-for-
Hire to Strategic Consultant
February 4-6, 2016
IABC Leadership Institute
April 18-19, 2016
Eurocomm
5–8 June 2016
IABC World Conference
Have you got a chapter
or regional event to
share?
Don’t forget to use the
Submit Event link on the
Member Dashboard.
International Association of Business Communicators
601 Montgomery Street
Suite 1900
San Francisco, Calif. 94111 USA
Phone: +1 415.544.4700
Toll Free: 800.776.4222
Fax: +1 415.544.4747
Email: member_relations@iabc.com

2015 IABC Third Quarter Report

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2015 IABC Third Quarter Report