1. GOALS, OBJECTIVES AND MEASUREMENT

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1 IABC Chapter Management Awards 2016 Submission Division 3 Small Chapters Category: Communications Work Plan Project Name: IABC Nashville New Brand Rollout Timeline: June 1, 2015 through November 15, GOALS, OBJECTIVES AND MEASUREMENT About IABC Nashville IABC Nashville currently has 45 members and an average of 25 attendees at monthly professional development luncheons. The luncheon attendees represent a 60/40 split of non-members to members, with some potential members being long-standing guest attendees. The chapter hosts eight to 10 professional development/networking luncheons and one to two after-hours mixers per year. Membership has increased in the past six months, primarily due to consistent and effective communications with current and potential members and delivery of strong and relevant programming and networking opportunities. IABC Nashville has an established digital presence, communicating with its audience via (450+ database of professional communicators), website and social media (Facebook 219 likes, Twitter 277 followers and LinkedIn group 634 members). The chapter is healthy, as measured by standards in a recent Chapter Health Benchmarks report, developed by the IABC Southern Region. Key indicators are: Leadership, Membership, Financial, Communications and Programming. The Board currently has no vacancies and consists of 10 active and engaged members (one who is serving dual roles). The Board meets monthly. The newly-elected Board, consisting of 11 members, will begin their terms in January The chapter competes for members and participation with two primary organizations which are both local chapters of national organizations: 1. Nashville Chapter of American Marketing Association (NAMA) and 2. Nashville Chapter of Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). NAMA has over 300 members and PRSA has approximately 50 members. Need/Opportunity As a result of IABC unveiling a new brand at the 2015 World Conference, each chapter was charged with the responsibility of following suit utilizing branding guidelines and other resources to implement to their local audiences. With efforts already underway to reverse a declined membership, we approached the rebranding as an opportunity to to draw attention to the chapter s brand promise regarding the value of membership with a focus on networking opportunities for professional and career development. Challenges As with all volunteer organizations, talent, time and resources can be difficult to predict and direct. Although our Board is very engaged, career and other obligations can detract from chapter business and project execution. At the time of initial planning, we were also unsure of the timeline and technical aspects needed to update our digital channels such as website, and social media. Again, resources were slim in terms of which Board members were proficient in these systems and who could dedicate the time to support the implementation.

2 2 Goal: Interpret and implement new IABC branding guidelines within the Nashville chapter to engage members, draw attention, drive traffic via digital channels and increase event participation and membership. Objectives and Measurement Objective Measurement Meet Develop committee to establish Committee formation and 100 percent and execute a plan to implement participation new brand. Deliver under budget $1,500 Meet timeline July 2015 Create and convey messaging and implement branding standards across all channels: verbal/meetings, website, social media pages, , internal/external collateral and materials and signage. Completely updated materials 100 percent updates for templates, website, social media pages, internal templates, reports and collateral 2. BUDGET A budget of $1,500 was approved by the Board and allocated, primarily for graphic design services, the purchase of new signage (banner stand and table runner) and promotional items/giveaways (stress reliever/ball and travel mug). The project was completed under budget. 3. IMPLEMENTATION The formation of a branding committee was the first step to ensure the success of a brand launch. Jennifer Fuqua, who served as chapter president and had a background in branding, led the charge by recruiting four additional members: Phil Matisak, secretary and president-elect; Gene Boulware, vice president of membership, Tom Kenley, vice president of awards and Gayle Gallagher, member at large. Each committee member was selected based on their subject matter expertise, experience and level of commitment to the chapter. The committee met via conference call four times and worked independently and via s to develop and execute the plan. The overarching goal, as stated earlier, was to incorporate the new IABC brand across all channels within a timeline that would allow for reinforcement at future events. The brand was launched internationally at the 2015 World Conference in June. IABC Nashville chose to launch the brand locally in July This decision was made for two reasons: 1. To leverage the existing promotional efforts and momentum behind the international brand launch; and 2. To communicate changes to the local audience prior to the summer mixer and fall programming kickoff in September. Quickly, a timeline was established and tasks were assigned. See Below (portion of Work Sample).

3 3 IABC New Brand Rollout Timeline Week of July 6 o Finalize messaging and logo usage o Update website new masthead and color scheme, content on About Us and Membership page, plus new Globally Connected page and Home page slider and News post o Update social pages with new logo and cover photo Week of July 13 o announcement o Social posts on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Week of July 20 o Blog written by Board or committee member o Mixer promotions begin under cover of new brand ( s, social, website) Late July Mid August Banner stand, table runner, and promo item giveaways design and purchase Week of August 10 o September 16 professional development luncheon promotions begin August 27 o Host after-hours mixer introduce new banner stand, table runner and distribute new giveaway items September 16 o Display banner stand, table runner and display/distribute giveaway promo items o New nametag design used o Verbally reinforce new brand in welcome and announcements Color Palette and Logo Treatment The first order of business for the committee was to review the IABC Branding Guidelines to select the chapter s color palette. After taking into consideration competing organizations, the committee chose tones of red, turquoise and gold. Red would be the primary color and used on the logo treatment. See Work Sample. Digital Channels IABC Nashville already had an established digital communications infrastructure. The website recently underwent a redesign in June The chapter had been using Constant Contact for distribution and event coordination for several years, and the chapter had an online presence through social media channels Facebook, LinkedIn Group and Twitter. However, this was a great opportunity to freshen up our look with the new graphic standards. All proposed changes were reviewed with the Board via a summary document prior to final approval. See Work Sample. Website The existing WordPress template was flexible enough to allow us to incorporate a custom color palette using the red, turquoise and gold accents, along with gray and black. After a few versions were presented, we agreed upon a final treatment and set forth to incorporate the changes per the timeline. As part of this, a new masthead was designed blending the new logo, a new evening skyline image of Nashville, the newly-crafted tagline Connect Here. Go Anywhere! social icons and the phrase IABC is the only place to connect with communicators globally. See Work Sample. The existing template used for event coordination was updated with the new IABC logo treatment and Nashville skyline image. The colors were added to the master palette for consistent use in the system. Social Media To create a consistency among channels, the new logo treatment, color palette and Nashville skyline image were incorporated into the chapter s Facebook, LinkedIn Group and Twitter pages.

4 4 Messaging The committee collaborated to take an inventory of the current messaging and, adhering to the branding standards set forth by IABC, updated messaging for the website and future communications. As part of this brainstorming, a local chapter tagline emerged: Connect Here. Go Anywhere! This, along with the phrase: IABC is the only place to connect with communicators globally, was adopted appropriately in all messaging and used prominently in the new website masthead (referenced earlier). All messaging was reviewed with the Board to gain final approval before it was shared. Communications to Audience: letter from the president with announcement and links to additional content. News release, posted online, promoted on the Home page and distributed to local media outlets. New page titled: Globally Connected, that includes overview information about IABC and its shared values. Blog post, titled, BRAND. NEW, written by a committee member that focused on the significance of the new brand. Social Media posts Signage For the first time, IABC Nashville had the opportunity to visually represent our brand with exiting imagery and a message that resonated with our audience. The committee worked with an outside designer to create a banner stand and table runner to display at events. Additional signage includes membership and event flyers. See Work Sample. Promotional Items/Giveaways To align with and further reinforce the new brand, the committee purchased globe stress relievers/balls and red travel mugs to give members and guests at events. See Work Sample. Corporate Identity Materials and Collateral Other documents and templates such as e-letterhead, reports and membership materials were updated with the new brand. Verbal Communications At each event, a Board member reiterates the significance of the new brand and what it means for our chapter and individual members. This continues to be an important part of our events. 4. RESULTS AND EVALUATION The IABC Nashville New Brand Rollout was a success in many ways. We approached the project in a very diligent and effective manner to communicate this historic event to our members and potential members. We used this as an opportunity to increase awareness and understanding of the organization as a whole, increase attendance at events and grow membership. GOAL: Interpret and implement new IABC branding guidelines within the Nashville chapter to engage members, draw attention, drive traffic via digital channels and increase event participation and membership. IABC Nashville received positive feedback via both digital channels and verbally from members and increased average event attendance increased by 25 percent compared to pre-launch. Proactive membership measures are in place to continue to reverse decline by leveraging the new brand and reinforcing the value proposition.

5 5 An additional outcome from the IABC Nashville New Brand Rollout was being asked to present our project as a Case Study at the 2016 Leadership Institute, co-presenting with a member of the International Branding Taskforce. Objective Measurement Meet Results Committee formation 100 percent and participation. Develop committee to establish and execute a plan to implement new brand. Create and convey messaging and implement branding standards across all channels in July 2015: verbal/meetings, website, social media pages, , internal/external collateral and materials and signage. Deliver under budget. Meet timeline. Completely updated materials. Channel engagement. $1,500 July percent 20 percent open rate / 15 percent clickthru rate Increased social media reach Increased website traffic 100 percent - Committee formed, met multiple times, developed and executed plan. Expenses were under budget at approximately $1,300. All elements updated on schedule and news announced via digital channels mid July followed by verbal announcement at summer mixer and September luncheon. All elements updated: website, social media pages, , internal/external collateral and materials and signage. Document developed and shared with Board and stored/shared on Google Drive See Work Sample percent open rate / 17 percent click-thru rate. Social Media: Twitter Top Tweet for July 114 impressions, Priya Bates mention; Facebook 118 reach; LinkedIn 3 posts 11 likes. Website: All key indicators increased by average of 59 percent (Sessions 75 percent, Users 82 percent, Pageviews 59 percent, Session Duration 21percent). Website: Brand announcement page ranked second for July 15 July 31 (two weeks post launch) and remained in top 20 through the end of November; New Globally Connected page ranked in top 15.