The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) recently launched a new web site, The Power of A. According to the ASAE press release, the Power of A is a “communications campaign intended to broadcast how associations across all industry sectors and in every state harness the power of millions to help jumpstart America’s economic engine and help propel the nation toward recovery.”
Many of us thought that the purpose of this campaign would be to educate the public about what associations do and how they contribute to society and the economy. I remember the blank faces when I told people I worked for a trade association. Huh? Is that a government job? So you’re involved with an export or import business?
Unfortunately the public isn’t the target audience here. The press release goes on: “The Washington, D.C. office of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide was engaged by ASAE & The Center to develop and implement the campaign, whose top priority is to inform decision makers on Capitol Hill, particularly those individuals who comprise the group of newest political gatekeepers to the American public.”
Wow, that’s a missed opportunity. We’re preaching to the same crowd that we’ve been lobbying to since our formation – Capitol Hill staff. To make it even worse, the web site has a self-congratulatory feel to it. And many of the associations who posted to the site obviously copied text straight from the bottom of their press release template or their mission statement. Yawn.
What happened next may not have been part of ASAE’s or Ogilvy’s plan. Several association professionals, including me, bitched about the campaign and web site on Twitter. Chris Bailey and Maggie McGary wrote blog posts that captured many of our frustrations.
And there on The Power of A home page is the #pwra Twitter stream of our rants with words like “misguided” and “muddled gaffe” displayed for all to see. I don’t feel great about complaining in public about my association, especially when I know many ASAE staff must have labored over this effort.
This is our new reality. An expensive PR campaign hit a nerve. As dues-paying members we see an opportunity, money and energy wasted. We expected more. We’re disappointed and frustrated. We were excited about this campaign. We really want it to succeed. And we talk and write about it. Like customers do about businesses that failed them, members do the same about their associations.
Is ASAE listening? Social media is a 24/7 job. Would it have helped if someone responded to us this weekend on Twitter or on the blogs? I’m not sure. Our opinions probably wouldn’t have changed, but we would have felt good about our association — they’re listening, they know what to do in social media. Will they address our concerns? I hope so, they’re valid concerns. Will these concerns be shared by all members? Probably not. We all come from different places with different expectations and ideas.
We now have ringside seats to observe how ASAE will handle this situation. We can all learn from this. This can happen to any of us. It’s why so many associations and companies are scared to get into social media – what do we do when people go negative? Frankly if your members or customers have an issue with something you’re doing, they’re going to talk about you, whether you’re there or not.
What would your organization do about it?
May 3, 2009 at 11:43 am
[…] All recommended reads if you’d like to get a flavor for the reaction: Deirdre Reid’s The Natives Are Restless – How Do You Respond? Maggie McGary’s The Power of..Huh? Lynn Morton’s Power of A, lets take it to the next […]
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May 3, 2009 at 12:48 pm
From my experience, ASAE does listen when it comes to Social Media, they don’t always respond in the best way though. Their need to control things and respond in your “typical communications person type of way” is a little dated in a dynamic and personal world such as social media.
I do commend them for bringing the #PWRA rss feed into the website, so that it allows us to really comment on what they are doing.
The problem for me is that the audience is wrong. The current audience is capitol hill, well capitol hill listens if associations represent a significant portion of our constituents. If your association says that we represent 70% of professionals in a certain field, then guess what, capitol isn’t silly enough to ignore that. I think the goal should have been to reach potential members and let them know what an association is and how it helps them do what they do, and sparks interest in associations.
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May 3, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Thanks for your input. I agree with you — my primary beef is also that they’re not educating the right audience. What’s next, an ad in Roll Call? Please, no.
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May 3, 2009 at 5:38 pm
I so want ASAE to succeed. I firmly believe there should be a public campaign on the importance of associations. Why is this so hard for them? Why can’t ASAE get it right?
Associations are more than organizations that move the country toward economic recovery! Associations are communities of like-minded individuals that enable people to succeed personally and professionally. At their very core, associations are change agents, or at least they should be. They are about creating better spaces to live, grow, work and learn.
Unfortunately, the ASAE campaign is aimed at the wrong audience–those on Capitol Hill. It should be aimed at the general public.
We’ll wait and see if ASAE responds to the cry in the social space that they are missing the mark. I expect authenticity, transparency and the ability to be engaged with them but I’m not holding my breath.
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May 3, 2009 at 8:34 pm
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May 4, 2009 at 8:54 am
Hi Deirdre,
I always thought that 10,000+ new people came to Capital Hill after a new president took office. If this is true, then I think that it would make sense for the ASAE to educate the newbies on the power of Assocations — rather than having to go through “the basics” with each newbie. But, this would only benefit those Associations that need to lobby the government or get gov support/funding in some way.
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May 4, 2009 at 10:50 am
Hi all,
I’d like to offer a different perspective – I think the Power of A campaign is targeted correctly at a primary audience of concern – decision-makers on Capitol Hill – an audience that can make or break how effective associations are on behalf of their members on a daily basis.
As Sam Smith correctly points out – there are hundreds of new faces in Congress and on congressional staffs after each national election – and particularly this year, when the entire House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate were up for re-election, and a new Administration was chosen by the American people.
And, as soon as the decision-makers in the new Administration and 111th Congress came to town, they began work on the massive stimulus bill, which quickly passed as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. I would submit that thousands of ASAE’s member organizations were directly involved in lobbying on this important bill, or at least, were keenly concerned with the outcome and likely impact on our memberships.
In the meantime, however, the “scarlet letter” syndrome plaguing lobbyists – and associations who employ or retain them – has only gotten worse. We’re being unfairly vilified as selfish self-interest groups that don’t care about the country, economy or society as a whole, and who peddle influence by throwing around money and sponsoring lavish boondoggles. Our reputation has been so (unfairly) tarnished that the Obama administration has even banned direct oral communications, whether in-person or telephonic, with any official in the executive branch concerning any particular project, application or applicant for funding under the Recovery Act.
Essentially, our First Amendment right of free speech and right to petition the federal government are being trampled upon.
While not all associations may engage in lobbying – a large percentage do. And all of us, whether we lobby or not – should be concerned about this unprecedented attack on our collective reputation, which ultimately undermines our ability to effectively represent our members on Capitol Hill.
It’s like a MASH unit – we need to triage and attend to the most important audiences first – and I think the number one audience is our national decision-makers. They hold the power to help us (and our members), or hurt us, the most. And they will be addressing key issues affecting virtually every association – and every American – in the coming months, such as health care, student loans, solving the financial mess, etc.
From there, we can prioritize and target additional audiences – and collectively, we can use the tools provided by the Power of A, or our own, to assist in this important effort.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
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May 4, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Thanks Kris for taking the time to add your thoughtful comment. You have certainly shown why it is important to educate Hill staff about the work we do. I guess my biggest frustration is that this can be done face-to-face, much like the way we educate Assembly and Senate staff in our home states for perhaps greater effectiveness and lower cost. National associations do this everyday through the work of their lobbyists and usually once a year when they bring their members to the Hill for lobby day. Is this duplicative effort by ASAE the best use of PR funds?
I still think that ASAE would have served its members better with a different message, one that would directly benefit the national, state and local associations and societies who are their members. Why should anyone (an individual or a company) join an association? What are the benefits to the person or business? What do associations do for their members and for their communities? Why do they matter? If this campaign came with a toolkit for associations to use in their own PR and membership campaigns, even better.
I know there will always be differences when members discuss their association’s use of funds. It happened in my associations too. It’s good to have dissent. It makes us reexamine our own opinions and take time to consider new ones — always a healthy process for growth. It may make a board meeting a bit uncomfortable but it’s good for all of us.
Perhaps out of all of this, ideas for a new campaign to promote the benefits of association membership will emerge.
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