Greenfield Services to attend #CSAE Tête-à-Tête (#TeteaTete)

On Thursday, January 29, 2015 leaders of Associations, Not-For-Profits, Professional Meeting Planners as well as Government Producers will be heading to the Ottawa Convention Centre to attend 2014’s installment of CSAE’s Tête-à-Tête – and Greenfield Services Inc is thrilled to be joining them!

Every year Tête-à-Tête continues to grow, and we can expect huge attendance for the 25th Anniversary!  The Chapter has set it up for success - offering two FANTASTIC keynote speakers (David Usher as the morning keynote; and Ron Tite as the lunch keynote).  Last year; over 500 people registered for the event - will you be celebrating the anniversary with us this year?  

The Chapter put out a great article about the humble beginnings - read more here. 

For more information on the event, or to register, please click here.  Feel free to stop by our booth (#231), or contact us by email to pre-book an appointment.  We will be offering a complimentary registration draw for our Engaging Associations Forum later this year to those who come by.  We look forward to seeing you all at the show!

See you at #CSAE!

The 2014 edition of the CSAE National Conference & Showcase is almost here, and Greenfield Services Inc. is proud to be attending for the fourth year in a row!

Keep an eye out for Meagan Rockett, Director of Client Solutions who will be exhibiting at the show.  Association executives attending the showcase are invited to stop by booth #437 to pick up complimentary new resources:

• Executive Summary of the 2014 Pulse Report on Membershi Marketing & Engagement Practices
• Preliminary Program for the 2015 Engaging Associations Forum
• Other resources to assist you in membership marketing & engagement
• Our new overview of our full-service association management services

We will also have prize draws available at the booth – including a complimentary pass to the Engaging Associations Forum in July 2015! SO many reasons to stop by and say hello!  If you would like to set up a time to chat during the showcase, please email Meagan to schedule a time to discuss how Greenfield can assist you in achieving your marketing goals.

Safe travels to all attending, and we look forward to seeing you in Niagara Falls!

Greenfield Services to attend #CSAE Tête-à-Tête (#TeteaTete14)

On Thursday, February 6, 2014 leaders of Associations, Not-For-Profits, Professional Meeting Planners as well as Government Producers will be heading to the Ottawa Convention Centre to attend 2014’s installment of CSAE’s Tête-à-Tête – and Greenfield Services Inc is thrilled to be joining them!

As a gold sponsor of the event, Doreen Ashton Wagner (Chief Strategist & Managing Director) & Meagan Rockett (Director, Client Solutions) are looking forward to re-connecting with old friends, and establishing new relationships.

Every year Tête-à-Tête continues to grow, and with David Chilton (author of "The Wealthy Barber" and Dragon on CBC's "Dragons' Den") being the breakfast keynote speaker, it just keeps getting better every year!  We have heard that there are over 500 executives and planners already registered this year - will you be in attendance?

For more information on the event, or to register, please click here.  Feel free to stop by our booth (#300), or contact us by email to pre-book an appointment.  We look forward to seeing you all at the show!

Top 13 blogs of 2013

2013 was a year of great blogs, opening the doors to great education opportunities.  Here are my top 13 blogs from this year:

1. Mitchell Beer’s post on the Content Marketing Lifecycle encourages organizations to take a step back and really work the research and information they have to share.  He provides us with six questions to determine what an association’s content lifecycle could be.
2. Don’t Poke the Meeting Feedback Bear Unless You’re Willing to Act. This has been the subject of many conversations I have had this year.  Why ask about the food when you can do a better job at getting feedback on the content of the meeting or conference?  Donna Kastner says it so well here.
3. This year, I was thrilled to come across Daniel Varroney, a consultant based in the US.  His blog has been extremely informative.  One of my personal favorites is “Can Silos Stunt Association Revenue Growth?” – the short answer is yes, but this blog both explains the dangers, and what you can do about it.
4. As Jeff Hurt’s “unofficial #1 fan” – I always include a post of his.  And while there are so many to choose from, “5 Conference Conditions that Lead to Attendee Focused Attention” is my favourite  with his advice to increase the attention span of your conference delegates.
5. Ever wonder what Gen X & Y need to trust you?  Sarah Sladek provides us with six ways you can build trust.   My personal favorite is about work-life balance.
6. Personal connections still remain one of the best ways to keep sponsors, clients, and members loyal.  Allée Creative talks about this – and ways to implement on social media, in this post.
7. To share or not to share?  This blog sparked some great conversations online, all about non-members and sharing your associations’ info.  Thanks to Associations Now for starting the discussion!
8. How is your organization pitching your membership?  Membership180 shares five different ways associations pitch to non-members.  I really like the second point about “diffusing the objection” and explaining how an organization’s value goes far beyond networking events.
9. The Infographic produced by Socious “The Anatomy of a Private Online Member Community” was full of great information.  It shows you the various steps of strategy, features and community building it takes to be successful.  
10. Avectra produced a blog earlier this year on the skills needed to be a membership professional. The short answer is that it takes a lot of skills, but there is a breakdown.  Being a membership professional is not for everyone, but this can certainly be a great way to build your skill set!
11. Putting the strategy into strategic planning by my friend Meredith Low is another great post. She is constantly challenging the status quo, and encouraging organizations not to be generic when they are trying to be strategic.  
12. Virtual Inc.’s Association Management Blog posted a great article by Andy Freed on why professional associations’ need a strategic plan - right now.  Strategic planning should not be an annual effort, but should be looked at quarterly, especially with emerging technologies and changing member needs happening frequently.  
13. Social Tables rounds out the top blogs I have seen this year with their two-part series on event marketing to Millennials.  With this generation, email, online and social media are in, and print & direct mail are out.  Check out their tips and best practices in part 1 & part 2 of this series.

What were your favourite posts this year?

Image courtesy of cooldesign / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Greenfield Director, Meagan Rockett, to speak CSAE Trillium Winter Summit

Greenfield Services' Meagan Rockett will be speaking at the Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE) Trillium Chapter Winter Summit on January 31, 2014 in London, Ontario.

“A Lost Opportunity? Membership is Declining and We Need to Pay Attention” is the subject of the session where Rockett will report on key statistics from Greenfield's latest Pulse Report on the membership marketing and engagement practices of Canadian associations.

Participant outcomes include:
- Opportunity to discuss the key findings of the study;
- Identify areas for improvement and appropriate strategies in these key areas;
- Peer exchange and discussion amongst of strategies that have worked

For more information on the Winter Summit, or to register, please click here, or download a copy of the Greenfield Pulse report here.

Meagan looks forward to joining other esteemed speakers at this conference, and helping Canadian association executives with ways to work through membership engagement issues!

Going to the CSAE National Conference & Showcase this year?

The 2013 edition of the CSAE National Conference & Showcase is almost here, and Greenfield Services Inc. is proud to be attending for the third year in a row!

Keep an eye out for Meagan Rockett, Director of Client Solutions who will be exhibiting at the show.  Association executives attending the showcase are invited to stop by booth #9 to pick up complimentary new resources:

• Invest In Your Future – Tips & Best Practices for Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)
• Executive Summary of the 2013 Pulse Report on Membership Marketing & Engagement Practices

Right after the showcase, she will be on a panel discussing “Blurring the Boundaries – Member Engagement and Non-Member Marketing (or is it the other way around)?” with Beckie MacDonald (Ontario Library Association), and Mike Brennan (Canadian Physiotherapy Association), with moderator Meredith Low (Meredith Low Consulting).

We will also have prize draws available at the booth – many reasons to stop by and say hello!  If you would like to set up a time to chat during the showcase, please email Meagan to schedule a time to discuss how Greenfield can assist you in achieving your marketing goals.

Safe travels to all attending, and we look forward to seeing you in Winnipeg!