Wednesday Buzz: It’s Time to Prepare for Swap Ideas Day!

Even if you hadn’t heard of Swap Ideas Day  (opens in a new tab) (and we certainly hadn’t), there’s no reason that your association can’t celebrate the spirit of the September 10 holiday.

Jody Glynn Patrick, president of management consulting firm Glynn Patrick & Associates, has a few suggestions for creative collaboration, posted on TDS Telecommunications Corporation’s blog  (opens in a new tab), that extend beyond any Swap Ideas Day celebrations.

First, Patrick suggests expanding your horizons to pull ideas from nontraditional sources.

“Develop a list of similar product or demographic businesses outside your scope of active competition,” she writes. “It’s getting harder to do in a national marketplace, but the majority of us still belong to a trade organization or can come up with a list of similar businesses.”

Once you have more sources of inspiration, your association can set up an electronic bulletin board on which to post ideas pertinent to all departments of your organization. Patrick highlights examples such as sales promotions, innovative technology, customer service, and cash-flow management, but your association would obviously want to add a whole suite of membership-related categories to the queue.

The purpose of this exercise is to have what Patrick calls a “mini-conference,” where all notions, big and small, are shared, discussed, and, if well received, acted upon!

Visualization of the Day

If your association is going through a rough spot and thinking of replacing any of the advertising agencies or other vendors it’s working with, then check out this piece by Advertising Age reporter E.J. Schultz, who shows a possible correlation  (opens in a new tab) between multiple agency changes by big beer brands and the manufacturers’ declining market share.

Other Good Reads

Could Peace Day temporarily end the burger battle between McDonald’s and Burger King? Wall Street Journal reporter Suzanne Vranica looks at how the two fast-food giants could commemorate  (opens in a new tab) the annual holiday of nonprofit Peace One Day  (opens in a new tab).

Event planners, are you looking for a few more top-notch industry Twitter accounts to follow? Then you’re in luck: BizBash technology editor Mitra Sorrells  (opens in a new tab) has unveiled a new tally of 25 event professionals to follow  (opens in a new tab).

In the latest chapter of the conversation about the impact of ubiquitous mobile devices, the Pew Research Center has a new report on “Americans’ Views on Mobile Etiquette.”  (opens in a new tab)

(Nan Palmero/Flickr)