SOCIETY EXCELLENCE AWARDS APPLICATION- OUTREACH & AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

Transcription

1 SOCIETY EXCELLENCE AWARDS APPLICATION- OUTREACH & AWARENESS CAMPAIGN Instructions: Complete all sections of the application and return electronically to Society Relations by 23 March Applications received after 23 March 2012 will not be considered. View more information on requirements to enter, the judging process, and prizes on the Society Leader Resources Center. Society Name: CFA Society of Alabama Society Contact(s): Name Kenton Russell Steve Smith Zach Ivey Award Description - Outreach & Awareness Campaign This category recognizes efforts to build awareness and understanding of the CFA designation and/or of the CFA Institute and society brand through relationships with employers, universities, the media, other professional organizations, regulators, investors, and/or the community at large. Application Page 1 of 11

2 DESCRIBE THE PROCESS THAT WAS FOLLOWED TO IDENTIFY THE NEED FOR OR VALUE OF THE CAMPAIGN. As we celebrated our 25th anniversary with the financial capacity to do a big event, we decided our 6th Annual Forecast Dinner should be the focus of the resources of the society. Our goal was to host an event with enough scale to accomplish all of the advocacy objectives covering he members of our society and other Southeastern societies, the universities in our geographic area, the media, and the Alabama financial community and employers. A cost/benefit analysis revealed a synergistic and beneficial effect from centralizing our outreach efforts rather than separately trying to reach each of the targets. Application Page 2 of 11

3 DESCRIBE THE OUTREACH OR BRAND AWARENESS EFFORTS RELATED TO TARGETED GROUP(S). PROVIDE SAMPLES IF APPLICABLE. TO THE UNIVERSITIES: We provided the very high profile and otherwise unavailable speaker Jim Rogers to Alabama universities for student events. The University of Alabama and Samford University welcomed the opportunity and hosted 3 separate events with a cumulative 750 students and 400 nonstudents. At each event, Jim Rogers newest book A Gift to My Children was provided to all of the guests, and inside of the front cover of the book we placed a sticker for longer term and more permanent brand recognition. Also, we ensured that in each introduction of Jim Rogers, the CFA Society of Alabama was provided prominent recognition. The Universities helped us accomplish our outreach to the media due to their extensive local and national media relationships. TO THE MEDIA: In the past we have struggled with getting media coverage of our events, so we decided to pursue a different approach to our media outreach. We invited Barron s Senior Editor Jack Willoughby to moderate the event, and Barron s very generously paid for his visit. There would have been very little opportunity for this type of exposure through any of our typical channels. With the use of social media, we were able to thank Barron s by uploading the portion of Jim Rogers presentation where he says he learned the business by reading Barron s. Application Page 3 of 11

4 The CFA Society of Alabama paid for a 1/2 page ad in the Birmingham News. Application Page 4 of 11

5 As mentioned above, the 3 University events assisted us with their media relationships to get coverage in the following: BIRMINGHAM NEWS Application Page 5 of 11

6 TUSCALOOSA NEWS Application Page 6 of 11

7 UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA STUDENT PAPER THE CRIMSON WHITE For those schools who were not able to host an event, the CFA Society of Alabama will donate 2,000 copies of Jim Rogers book A Gift to My Children which will also carry the same sticker (shown above) placed inside of the front cover as the event books. The CFA Society of Alabama will provide a copy of the video recording for any of the students or professors to use. TO THE ALABAMA FINANCIAL COMMUNITY AND EMPLOYERS: In addition to the 1,150 guests at the other events, we hosted 390 for our dinner. This consisted of 90 members (best attendance ever by our 170 members) and 300 clients, students, and nonmembers. We generated 30 local, regional, and national sponsorships ranging from $1,000-$2,500. The presenting and title sponsors received very prominent visibility with a ½ page ad in the Birmingham News (see above), ads in our dinner program, signage throughout the venue and during the presentation, recognition in the introduction, and table placecards. The 390 were also given a brief introduction to our society, the CFA charter, and the CFA Institute in the speaker introduction and program, so we were able to leverage the event and large audience. The CFA Society of Alabama negotiated with Jim Rogers to do a book-signing, and we paid for an event photographer to take professional photos of the guests with Jim Rogers and his motorcycles from his Application Page 7 of 11

8 Investment Biker trip which are on permanent display at the chosen venue. The photographs were delivered to the guests as they left the event as another longer term reminder of their experience and the CFA Society of Alabama. TO OTHER SOUTHEASTERN SOCIETIES: Although we were unable to achieve a live stream that we hoped other Southeastern societies could use for an event, the experience communicating and coordinating strengthened our Society s relationship with other societies in our region and with the CFA Institute. We were delighted to have guests travel from other societies, especially 20 from the CFA Society of Atlanta. The CFA Society of Alabama paid for a professional recording of the event, which we have provided for the entire CFA Institute membership. TO THE MEMBERS OF THE CFA SOCIETY OF ALABAMA: Our Board and Executives hoped to provide an event that would attract the best participation by members ever. We also viewed the event as a very valuable resource for our members to entertain clients and prospects and offer a unique and memorable experience that would only be available through cumulative and cooperative efforts. We accomplished both objectives with member attendance at 90 or 52% (compared to an average 15%-20% for our other events) and resounding appreciation from members who invited guests. Application Page 8 of 11

9 LIST TARGETED GROUP(S) AND WHY THEY WERE CHOSEN. The CFA Society of Alabama viewed the event as a special opportunity to gather and touch all of our primary advocacy targets: universities, media, other societies, the financial community and employers, and our members. We elected to focus on regulators and government for future years. Application Page 9 of 11

10 PROVIDE QUANTITATIVE (I.E. INCREASE IN PRESS MENTIONS, INCREASE IN ATTENDANCE BY TARGETED GROUPS AT SOCIETY EVENTS) AND QUALITATIVE (I.E. ANECDOTAL FEEDBACK ON INCREASED BRAND AWARENESS) METRICS RELATING TO THE SUCCESS OF THE CAMPAIGN. CFA Society of Alabama Officers and Board of Directors with Jim Rogers QUANTITATIVE MEASURES: Total attendees: 1,500 at 5 events in one day Attendees at Forecast Dinner: 390 this year compared to 230 last year Sponsors of Forecast Dinner: 31 this year compared to 20 in 2011 UNIVERSITY OUTREACH: 750 students and 10 professors in attendance 3,000 books with CFA Society of Alabama stickers provided to students from 5 Alabama universities Application Page 10 of 11

11 MEDIA COVERAGE: 3 press articles compared to none previously Event moderated by Barron s Senior Editor 1/2 page ad publicizing the event, CFA, and sponsors MEMBERS: 52% compared to 15-20% average attendance; some had not ever been to a CFA Society of Alabama event in more than 10 years QUALITATIVE FEEDBACK: Truly top-notch event. Wonderful location, wonderful food, and most-importantly, wonderful guests and speakers. You really had a full crowd of the cream of the investment-related community (and investors) in Birmingham. And even some big hitters from ATL, etc. Congrats! Great job! I'm sorry I did not have a chance to introduce myself. My clients had a wonderful night, it was a first class experience. Please keep me in mind for any upcoming events. That was the best one I've ever been to. in comparison to multiple CFA Forecast dinners from around the US, including societies with 1,000 plus members Great job. It would be fantastic if we can get such high caliber speakers every year for that event. Not sure how you guys pulled it off, but it would be worth repeating. Glad to be a part of it -- thought it was an incredibly well run event and a great venue! a magnificent event to be proud of Application Page 11 of 11