Is it time to update your brand? Whether you’re looking for a change or feeling confident about your association’s identity, you may want to run through a branding exercise to make necessary updates.

To find out whether your association is serving a need in the industry, you need to perform market research, says a recent article from 360 Live Media. “The best way to approach this step is talking to people,” writes Bill Zimmer. “Conduct phone interviews, live social media chats, surveys, and use online search engine tools. You can always add components to your brand that your target audience is seeking and develop creative ways to reach that market.”

If you want an unforgettable brand, you need to inject some personality. Like “Just Do It” is so indelible to Nike, what can you say about your association that is personable and catchy? “The bottom line is nobody likes boring,” says Zimmer. “Finding your brand identity means developing an unforgettable personality.”

Rethinking Gifts

Top performing #associations do not give gifts (think promotional items) but, they do sample to encourage engagement. https://t.co/OApWW4HXY1 #ASAE

— Amanda Lea Kaiser (@AmandaLeaKaiser) March 13, 2018

It’s a lovely gesture to give new members a small gift to thank them for signing up. But does doing so really increase new member engagement?

Association industry blogger Amanda Kaiser revisited the New Member Engagement Study to find out. She reports that “top-performing” onboarding programs don’t give out gifts.

“Instead, they are much more likely to sample,” she writes. “Through these samples, new members get a taste of the value the association can provide to them.”

Other Links of Note

We’ve all been in brainstorming sessions that went nowhere. Beth’s Blog shares a smart way to facilitate productive sessions.

Major corporations like Amazon are changing the public’s expectations of the internet. Here’s what you should know, from Kivi’s Nonprofit Communications Blog.

Keeping great volunteers can be tricky. Engaging Volunteers provides administrative steps your group can take to retain them.

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