Association Marketing Springboard

About a month ago, I read a post by Ben McConnell on the Church of the Customer blog about Disney closing a hugely popular online community site. The site was conceived as an 18-month campaign with no long-term strategy. I encourage you to read the entire post, but here's an excerpt for your attention...

"Campaign thinking is a byproduct of the last 25 years of business school education. The formula has been to create a short-term project using established metrics, execute, then start over with a new idea. Move the needle quickly.

The formula for evangelism thinking is: Create a project where the community of users become part of the process and most importantly, are considered a tangible asset. The needle may not move as fast because the investment is for the long term, but it's less likely to have wild, up-and-down swings."

The flaw in campaign thinking for an online community is pretty obvious. It's less obvious for the publication, event and membership marketing we association-folk drive. And yet, while campaign thinking won't end in a Disney-scale embarrassment for us, it will erode our end goals which are first engagement and then evangelism. A comment on Ben's post from Spike Jones points to his poetic set of couplets comparing campaigns to movements. My favorite excerpts...

Campaigns have a beginning and an end.
Movements go on as long as kindred spirits are involved.

Campaigns are you talking about yourself.
Movements are others talking about you.

Campaigns add to awareness.
Movements add to credibility.

Campaigns are “you vs. us.”
Movements are “let’s do this together.”

When you're in a campaign state of mind, it's easy to get mired in tactics and time lines when you should be listening to your stakeholders and participating in the conversations that are happening everyday in the industry or profession you represent. When you're listening, your association can identify the strengths and weaknesses of your offerings, prove that you care, and improve everything your association does. When you're participating in the conversations, your association will be closer to the leaders in your industry and accepted as one of them.

Campaigns are the dot.
Movements are the line.

The future of associations depends on the line.