If you want to make your association’s initiatives successful, have you considered partnering with the competition? That’s the unexpected advice from Cinnabon President Kat Cole.

The details, and more, in today’s Social Media Roundup:

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

My #asae13 interview w/ @KatColeATL of @Cinnabon on Strategic Partnerships, Tech, etc. http://t.co/IRXqvBFU3b #livefromasae @personifycorp

— Jay S Daughtry M.Ed. (@ChatterBachs) August 6, 2013

You can’t always go it alone. What’s the secret to making an organization or association successful? It’s often something you least expected. So says Kat Cole, the president of Cinnabon, in a live interview with Personify’s Jay Daughtry at ASAE’s 2013 Annual Meeting & Expo. For instance, she suggests partnering with groups you might think of as the competition. Cinnabon did just that and scored a gooey, delicious home run when it partnered with Burger King. Strategic partners can teach you new things as well as put your product or message out into a new channel. Watch the interview. (ht @ChatterBachs)

Meet SMILEY GUY

#SmileyGuy is such a clever idea. Props @bethsurmont! #asae13 IS1 pic.twitter.com/Vq4l22NEUY

— Ernie Smith (@ErnieSmithAN) August 6, 2013

Smile like you mean it: Last year, IEEE Senior Manager of Strategic Programs Beth Surmont conducted a creative experiment. She took a small,  yellow “Smiley Guy” plastic figure and shot pictures of him in various creative poses, like slicing pizza and riding a Roomba, for a full year.  During a fast-paced Ignite session at ASAE’s Annual Meeting & Expo, she discussed how the endeavor gave her creative space and helped her get through a challenging 2012. Could a similar idea help other leaders fire up their playfulness—or more importantly, their creativity? (ht @ErnieSmithAN)

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