10 Greatest Australian Television Commercials Ever

Ok ... so this post isn’t about membership, sponsorship, fundraising or even revenue generation. But I really enjoyed this article on the Anthill online website. There's something about watching the old tv ad that reminds me of when I was a kid ... yes ... I am a child of the television revolution (or de-volution depending on your perspective!) ... click here to read the article.

Free Help for Association Execs

The Global Network of Association Executives (G-Net), has recently expanded the range of free support services for international association managers and executives. This is a great initiative that is bringing the associations (and the national bodies representing them) from around the world together. Best of all, it is free if you are a qualifying association manager. To join simply visit http://www.g-net.eu.com/ where you can access the support available including: direct access to international peers, advice on sponsorships, specialised supplier search engine, Special white papers, Governance guidelines and online professional qualifications.

The Building Blocks of Social Media for Business

Found this great article by Chris Brogan on his blog. It provides some great grassroots advice for those wanting to both understand and use social media more effectively ... read more.

How to Defraud A Nonprofit

We've been lucky enough to have Lisa Bundesen, an international speaker and expert on the topic of fraud in nonprofits, agree to run a couple of workshops for us in October. She's a very entertaining speaker with a raft of interesting stories to tell that really back up the amazing content.

Attending this session is really important as fraud can happen to any organisation. One of the stories Lisa told that really resonated with me is about an organisation who was defrauded by a staff member who held such a position of trust that she even picked up the children of the CEO from school .

Lisa has prepared a session that will ensure delegates walk away with a fraud control process that includes their Fraud Control Plan and Policy; Whistleblower Policy; Fraud Recovery Plan; an appropriate fraud reporting structure; and a Fraud Risk Assessment framework.

If you are interested in attending or would like more information you can click here to book online or click here to download a PDF Booking Form

She will also tell you why people commit fraud and provide tools to identify the major fraud risks areas for in your organisation. Armed with that knowledge, you can then put in place appropriate processes to curb the opportunities for fraud to occur in your the organisation - pick it up quickly if it does occur. After all, the longer fraud goes undetected, the greater the impact on the organisation.

25 logos with hidden messages – Amazing graphic designing tricks

I found this great article that showed many familar logos and the hidden messages contained within them. There's a couple of really clever ideas in there. If you are about to review your branding it is worth a look to get those creative juices flowing ... read the article.

Fundraising Via Facebook

I read an interesting case study on the Acronym blog this week that talked about how Feeding America has been successful in fundraising from Facebook. I like the way they leveraged between the real and virtual worlds to create an outcome. Very clever.

Win two movie tickets

In so many aspects of our lives we don't realise the benefits of being part of a group - whether simply one in a crowd or a member of an association. This point was brought home to me this week. While crossing the street at one of the busiest intersections in Brisbane, I snagged the heel of my shoe and fell ingloriously to the tarmac landing surrounded by my shoes, the entire contents of my handbag and a fair portion of my pride. As several nice young people came to my rescue several things occured to me ...

• There was no way I could escape with dignity intact.
• I needed some urgent chiropractic care ... and a new pair of shoes. Not necessarily in that order.
• You don't notice the people around you until you need them.

Therein is the strength of associations. The majority of members don't notice their association membership until they need it. It simply sits in the background. When things go wrong, or when they need a little help, a member should be able to seek support from their association. That safety net is a huge benefit of being a member - but also one of the hardest to convey.

I'd love to hear your ideas on how to convey this benefit. I will give two free movie tickets to whomever can provide the best story about how to effectively convey the safety net benefit of membership before the 15th of October, 2009. Tell your story via adding a comment below (to enter the draw please either put your details on the blog or email me separately).

UQ Corporate Education: ‘Advanced Leadership for the Not for Profit Sector’

UQ Business School has a special offer available for those wishing to attend the ‘Advanced Leadership for the Not for Profit Sector’ course. If you in a senior position within a nonprofit organisation I highly recommend attending as these courses are good value. The details are:

Date: 21 – 25 September 2009
Cost: One Registration $2,950 – Two registrations $3,250
Venue: UQ Business School Downtown, in the heart of Brisbane’s CBD.

Details: This course will focus on each participant as a leader and will expose them to knowledge, skills and competencies required in the current climate, and on the challenges and opportunities facing the sector. Your course fee includes tuition, all course materials, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea each day and a formal course dinner on the Thursday evening. You can register online or download the Registration Form from the UQBS Corporate Education website: www.business.uq.edu.au/corporate-education

If you'd like more information, please contact Ms Simone Hicks, Client Relationships Coordinator, on (07) 3346 7111 or email corped@business.uq.edu.au.

Hard sell membership may be good for short term sales but won't generate loyalty.

I read an article by Aaron Crowe who talked about the unpleasant experience of being sold a gym membership. I could really relate as I've gone through the same process recently myself. The sales pitch was so intense that, despite joining, I resigned a couple of weeks later. I'd found I'd really come to resent the entire process and going to the gym reminded me of it. I ended up joining another gym with a much more relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Thankfully not too many associations have chosen to follow the membership sales approach adopted by many gyms.

Does Twitter matter?

While I'm a big fan of social networking sites such as LinkedIn, I'm not a huge fan of Twitter. It's not that I'm totally against the idea. It's just that I'm yet to be convinced that the investment of time into Twitter is actually worth the return. However I did read with some interest Rohit Bhargava's article "10 Reasons Twitter Might Actually Matter". Still not entirely convinced but it does have some reasonable arguments in there.

Social media aggregators - getting all your social media in one place

There are so many different forms of social networking available that many people are finding it difficult to keep up. This is seeing the rise of a new online tool called a social media aggregator. This is a website where you can view all your social media streams from one place. Adam Pash reviews 3 of these on PC World. For those associations who are looking at ways to bring their members together perhaps there are opportunities here to be explored ...

Do you know why your members decide to join?

It's interesting to read members and prospective members discussing the pros and cons of buying a membership. I read with interest Amy Wang talking about the benefits of reciprocal memberships available with different zoo memberships. While this is not necessarily a big consideration for the general population, for mothers on a budget seeking ways of keeping their children entertained this can be a big factor in the decision to join or not. It shows the benefits of considering each segment of your membership when developing your membership product.

Do you know how and why your members make the decision to join your organisation over other alternatives?

Free guide to Making Work Work

The Acronym Blog has released a free guide listing the different work policies of 260 work policies. It's got some great ideas for creating better working environments for your staff. Click here to read more.

Social network usage

E-Marketer has reported on a new study called the Consumer Internet Barometer that looks at who is using social networking sites. Interestingly, nearly 1/2 of women visit social networking sites compared to 37.6% of men. Not surprisingly, it also found that a greater percentage of younger people were regular users of online social networks. Click here to read more.

Want to maximise returns from charity races?

I found this interesting blog by Lori Rice that provides some good tips for people organising fun runs to ensure that their participants come back year after year. If you are involved in organising charity runs it is well worth reading her post "Keep Them Coming Back".