Showing How Association Research Impacts Everyday Life

Transforming Everyday Life

How can you make a centennial research compendium about associations relevant for busy policymakers and industry leaders? The answer is creating a brand that puts people at the center, a strategy that empowers leaders to make this story their own, and content like a microsite and video that make the story easily digestible.

Association research impacts society in countless ways by protecting the public, supporting economic growth, and training the workforce of the future. In anticipation of its 100-year anniversary, the ASAE Research Foundation embarked on a multiyear effort to convey the critical role that research and evidence-based practices play in informing decisions made by America’s industry leaders, policymakers, and academics. ASAE planned to showcase the Centennial Research at their annual meeting. It was essential that the research presented had a website to live on, so attendees and non-attendees could reference and share the transformative power of association research. To make this research as shareable as possible, ASAE needed an integrated strategy to deliver clear, concise, and engaging communication materials that members could easily disseminate.

Harnessing the Power of Associations

Due to COVID-19, ASAE canceled its face-to-face 100th Annual Meeting & Exposition and transitioned it to a virtual experience. With this change, it was more important than ever to have a digital strategy in place. Social Driver designed a comprehensive and easy-to-navigate microsite to showcase the results of ASAE’s multi-year efforts. From the homepage to each of the 20 case studies, our team built a branded microsite with content that would allow users to view each case study at a glance and to seamlessly dive deeper.

But a website alone was not enough, they needed a way to drive their members to the microsite. Leveraging the Social Driver 5 C research methodology that explores channels, conversations, communities, competitors and peers, and content, we identified exactly where, when, and how to best engage their audiences to drive them to the microsite.

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Capturing Association Impact

One of the most powerful tools we uncovered in our research was ASAE’s existing network of members, partners, and advocates. We knew if we could engage them to talk about the campaign, it would be successful. So Social Driver’s creative team developed a social media engagement toolkit that included sample copy for social media platforms, GIFs, and personalized graphics for each association featured in the compendium to share with their networks. Social Driver developed a graphic template versatile enough to fit variations in copy and logos, but still be visually engaging. Each graphic had its own export with multiple logos. Finally, we produced a short, eye-catching video explaining the influence association research has on improving society through protection, education, and workforce development. All creative assets were developed using similar branding elements to achieve a cohesive look and feel.

Celebrating 100 Years of Research, Inspiring 100 More

The ASAE Research Foundation demonstrated the impact of associations on society over the past 100 years to not only celebrate past successes, but also to create pathways for associations to navigate the changing societal landscapes of the future. The Research Foundation showcased the campaign website, video and social media toolkit at its 2020 Virtual Meeting & Exposition to inspire awareness and pride in the work of the association community, and to motivate everyone to look toward the future impact they will make over the next 100 years.