Friday Buzz: A Frightening Membership What-If

Recently, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity dealt with a painful gear-shift: The major advertising and public relations firm Publicis Groupe sat out the event this year, a temporary pause that led to changes in how the festival will be held in the future, according to AdWeek  (opens in a new tab).

Association consultant JP Moery ponders how a similar situation might play out  (opens in a new tab) in the  trade association space: What if a large company just quit all of its associations for a year? How would that decision affect the company? Would it eventually come back?

And more important, how would the move affect the association?

“My point is not to frighten, but [to] encourage you to consider a plan of action if your members begin to drop memberships for a year,” Moery writes. “Would you add to your association offerings to improve its value proposition? What programs would be eliminated? How would you engage former members during that year?”

Thinking through the hypothetical could lead to some preemptive strategic changes at your trade organization. After all, you never know when one of your members is going to pull a Publicis.

110 New CAEs

#ASAE  (opens in a new tab) Announces 110 Professionals Earned CAE Credential https://t.co/HslJPUIWhv  (opens in a new tab) #assnchat  (opens in a new tab) #asaeCAE  (opens in a new tab) pic.twitter.com/vmy5W3JiuE  (opens in a new tab)

— ASAE (@ASAEcenter) July 6, 2018  (opens in a new tab)

The summer 2018 class of Certified Association Executives has been announced, and the list is long.

The 110 association pros who gained the certification this week passed ASAE’s CAE examination on May 4. The CAE program  (opens in a new tab) aims to elevate professional standards and performance in associations and identifies those in the field who have demonstrated expertise in essential association management disciplines. The new CAEs, along with those named last winter, will be honored at the 2018 ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition  (opens in a new tab)in Chicago next month.

“Congratulations to the new class of CAEs! You have increased your knowledge in all areas of association management that will help you with your leadership skills and throughout your career,” CAE Commission Chair Tracy L. Petrillo, EdD, CAE, said in a news release  (opens in a new tab).

The next CAE exam  (opens in a new tab) will be administered in December.

Other Links of Note

Know your Markdown? Fast Company highlights the increasing use  (opens in a new tab) of the scripting language and HTML alternative, which is reaching new heights of popularity.

Rethinking risk. At CMS Wire, author Norman Marks makes the case  (opens in a new tab) that risks don’t always have to be negative things—they just have to be risks.

Feelin’ stressed? Over at the Expo Logic blog, the company’s Katie Baker suggests ways  (opens in a new tab) to take it easy during the busy meeting season.

(paulbr75/Pixabay)