As you, your fellow executives and board members gaze into the future, you may be throwing around or even “test driving” ideas of new models to diversify your revenue streams and change how you monetize your content. This could be due to revenue declines, or just the need to adapt to new market drivers. 

Whatever the reason, you're not alone. Over the last few years, a majority of associations have reported difficulties in membership engagement and growth, and have turned to innovation before degradation. 

Associations, non-profits, and societies tend to find themselves in the perfect storm of resource-deprivation and program decentralization. 

This equates to small marketing teams with lean operating budgets working as in-house agencies to a suite of program managers. The fall-out from this often comes down to inefficacy, lack of focus, and inevitable burnout among team members. 

So what can marketing team leads and managers do to shore up scope with resource reality?

It's been more than two decades since the New York Times Best Seller, Who Moved My Cheese, was published. And while alot has happened since the proverbial self-help book was released, the sentiment has stayed the same...

Change is hard. 

While change is inevitable and necessary, personally and professionally, it’s uncomfortable and anxiety-inducing for most.

The reality is that most people just don’t like leaving their comfort zones. And that creates challenges for marketers, who are typically organizational innovators and change agents. While you, as the association professional knows there's a need for change, broaching the topic with your internal and external stakeholders can be a painstaking effort. 

Earlier this summer, Apple announced its upcoming (Fall 2021) release of iOS 15, which touts a number of new privacy features that will help users control and monitor how their data is being used.

With the growing push towards increased privacy and consent-based data collection in Big Tech, this announcement comes as no surprise. So, how does it affect association marketers and professionals?

Let’s first take a deep breath, then a deep dive into why this isn't the end of all marketing as we know it 😎

I'm a Millennial. And I can say with confidence, that even though my generational brand says I have the attention span of a goldfish, I have enough of it to write this blog 😜

So what do these generational labels really mean? How accurate are they? More importantly, how much do they come into play when it comes to your marketing efforts?

Our recent Spring VirCon 2021 session, You Sound Just Like My Mother—1.21 Gigawatts of Gen Z, which I had the fortunate opportunity to participate in, explored these questions and more, in a multi-generational, multi-disciplinary panel discussion. 

Breaking up can be hard. Whether you’re ending a romantic relationship or a friendship that’s no longer serving you, saying goodbye to something or someone that feels familiar is uncomfortable.

The same can be said for breaking up with data. Holding onto data, even if it’s outdated or ineffective, can feel familiar and comforting. Your mind might start racing: What if I delete it today and I need it two weeks from now? What if there is value there I just haven’t found yet? What if I delete too much and then I'm left with gaps?

If you’re feeling that way about parting with your data, you’re not alone.