I recently attended a webinar on “2021 Plans and Possibilities” by Kirryn Zerna and, although it was not necessarily focused on associations, I was pleasantly surprised to have something to share with associations.
Kirryn, who’s from Australia, is a keynote speaker, masterclass presenter and author. She was highly engaging and her storytelling is impeccable.
The takeaway I got and tweaked to enable associations to stand out and be more relevant to their members is her “VIP framework,” which I expound on here:
V: Value. The key question to ask is, “What value can an association offer to its members during this pandemic?”
Indeed, Covid-19 has created a shift in what members value. Some of the ideas I got, which can be applied to members, are to: (a) share information via your website, publications and social media outlets; (b) host a webinar on a topic that resonates with them; (c) give them support, e.g., in advancing an advocacy or finding solutions to their woes; and, (d) provide a “gin-to-sanitizer” innovation (she referred to the story of a gin manufacturer which used its existing facilities as an opportunity to make sanitizers).
I: Identity. The main point here is to know what your association is and its brand identity.
Perception and credibility are important at this time. What will people out there find out when they look for you on your website? In your social profiles? When they Google you?
Kirryn was emphatic when she said, “products are made in the factory but brands are created in the mind.” In my January 17, 2018, column, “Is Branding for Associations?” I wrote that branding, among other things, is about storytelling. It is also a process that should be nurtured.
So how does an association start to brand itself? Some ideas are: (a) discover who you really are; (b) answer the question, “What is the essence of who you are?”; (c) focus on relationships; and, (d) be consistent.
P: Purpose. This is the very essence of an organization. Kirryn suggested “to move with purpose.”
In my column of May 3, 2018, titled “The Power of Why,” I posited that purpose has a deeper meaning and impact as it strikes at the very core of an association and answers these basic questions: “Why do you do what you do?,” “Why do you exist?” and “Why do you serve your cause?”
Members and leaders of associations must know by heart their purpose for strategy and direction. If you are not clear about your purpose, then you will not know what to do and where to go. This is as basic as it can get.
I hope the “VIP model” that Kirryn shared and which I have adapted to associations provide you with ideas on how to differentiate your association in this crowded and digitalized marketplace where associations and non-associations providing similar services meet and compete. While you may consider this VIP template to be basic, it makes a good tool to ponder upon.
The column contributor, Octavio ‘Bobby’ Peralta, is concurrently the secretary-general of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific, Founder & CEO of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives and President of the Asia-Pacific Federation of Association Organizations. The purpose of PCAAE—the “association of associations”—is to advance the association management profession and to make associations well-governed and sustainable. PCAAE enjoys the support of Adfiap, the Tourism Promotions Board, and the Philippine International Convention Center. E-mail: [email protected]
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