On December 1st, the HighRoad Team joined in on a memorable night with DC's most prominent Association CEO's, Management Teams, and many more high profile names in Crystal City, Virginia. HighRoad took the stage as a distinguished sponsor at Trending 40 2016 Association Leaders for an evening of honoring and celebrating those of influence. 

Among the guests in attendance included; American Gas Association, Consumer Bankers Association, News Media Alliance, National Head Start Association, Dangerous Goods Council, Entertainment Software Association, and a host of other influential associations. 

The say people don’t read nowadays.  But boy are they wrong.  Recent studies confirm that people indeed prefer written content over every other type of content.

Today consumers expect to be offered personalized content.  They want content and communications that directly pertain to their interests and needs.  The technology now exists to provide this, and they know it.  What are your organization's marketing capabilities? Are you still sending bulk emails to everyone on your list?  Is your website not yet optimised to provide interactive content?  If so, now is the time to learn how to capitalize on current technology to provide a better customer experience in order to grow your organization. This month at HighRoad U we will be focusing on personalization, how to do it and why you need it.  Be sure to join us each Friday at 3pm ET as we explain how to incorporate personalization into your marketing strategy and why it is so important to do so.  

Long ago all marketing was personal, from door-to-door salesmen to businesses you interacted with.  Then digital communications became more prevalent and mass marketing techniques took over.  The infographic below explains why it's time to get personal again.

Is your organization still using outdated marketing practices?  If your marketing team still relies upon the tech side of your business to help build and moniter your marketing campaigns, the answer to that question is yes.  With the emergence of marketing automation software your team no longer has to rely on IT or Engineering to carry out marketing campains.  Marketing automation is the key to a self-reliant marketing team that is capable of building and running sophisticated, personalized campaigns on their own.  We found this article, written by Matt Zilli at Marketo, that lists 3 red flags of archaic marketing practices.  Find out whether your marketing needs to be updated and how marketing automation will revolutionize your marketing efforts.

Many brands invest in thought leadership to differentiate themselves from their competition.  Thought leaders are the informed, go-to people in their fields of expertise.  They are able to move and inspire others with innovative ideas and they are able to turn those ideas into reality.  Becoming a thought leader allows you to be a trusted source of expertise which gives you greater influence and leads to greater brand loyalty.  In this webinar you learn what the characteristics of a thought leader are, 9 things true thought leaders do, and the 3 steps to take to become a thought leader yourself.  Thought Leadership As A Differentiator, now on-demand, is the latest in our Analyst Brief Webinar Series, produced jointly with Demand Metric.  Join Demand Metric's Chief Analyst Jerry Rackley and learn how your association can use thought leadership to support your mission and increase growth.