 Hello, my name is Lee Taneato and I'm the CEO of the Australian Marketing Institute. I'm here today with Sarah and Andrew at 6DA, hope you enjoy the show. Hello and welcome to another episode of Six Degrees of Association, the only online TV show that's dedicated to the pursuit of association success. My name is Sarah Gonzalez from Redback Conferencing and once again I'd like to welcome my co-host Andrew McCullum from Association of Corporate Council Australia. Hello. Hello, Sarah. You're almost there. We're past the halfway mark. I know. We've done well I think. I think we've done well. Not bad. Despite what some critics would say. Yes, and we'll get to that feedback later on. However, I'd like to firstly welcome another special guest for this season, Lee Taneato, the CEO of the Australian Marketing Institute. How are you, Lee? I'm fantastic, Sarah, and thanks very much for having me, and hi Andrew, nice to meet you. Great to meet you and great to have you here. Thank you. I'm sure we're going to get into some really great stuff when it comes to the Australian Marketing Institute. But first of all, let's go back to thumbs up and thumbs down, a regular segment, and I'll kick it off to my co-host Andrew to kick it off, I guess. Thank you, Sarah. And please give a thumbs up to a fantastic product I've been reading about called MailJoy. It's a platform for direct mail and produces a highly personalised member postcard that can obviously be used to sell the benefits of membership, I think not just membership but events potentially as well. We know in our sector, in the association sector, that direct mail is really, really effective in terms of marketing, but it is not very cost-effective as opposed to compared, for example, to, say, mass email. The great thing about MailJoy is that it simplifies that process. It doesn't exactly make it just as cost-effective, but it certainly makes it a lot closer. So a really good product, worth a look, MailJoy.com is the website. So you upload it and then it creates these postcard type things for you, doesn't it? It's personalised. Oh, nice. It's a HTML system, which sets it up really, really well. So, yeah, definitely worth having a look for our sector. Great. And which leads me to a thumbs down, obviously. What goes up must come down. So many of our viewers would know Steven Durkin recently stepped down as the CEO of Engineers Australia after five years in the role. And while you'd never deny anyone's right to move to a different direction, I really hope that Steven is not lost to our sector. Steven came from a very, very long and successful, I understand, banking career before moving into the role with Engineers Australia. And we've spoken on this show about how the association sector needs to build career paths. We need to keep a lot of really highly talented people, like Steven, in our industry, in our sector. Because the experience he has, the capabilities he has are really important. My fear is, by all accounts, that we can lose people like Steven from the sector, which is a great shame, I think. And I think that's a really good point. We discussed this a few episodes ago about the need to really encourage leadership and growth within associations. It'd be great to even just do one whole topic on that on one episode. And if anyone out there as a CEO of an association or someone who's been through the ranks and had that experience could get in touch, it'd be great to chat to them about how we can get the knowledge and spread the word out there to everyone else. Yeah, as I say, and someone who's, you know, gone through, climbed the career ladder, if you like, through the sector and through to a CEO. So hopefully, yeah, hopefully, as I say, the likes of Steven will stay around and continue to, dare I say, share his experience with the next generation. Yeah, farewell, Steven. We hope you stay with us. So going to go to my thumbs up. Please. Introduce me. Sarah, would you like to do your thumbs up and thumbs down? Thank you. So a few episodes ago, we had Damien from ADA here, and we were talking about, I think it was your thumbs up, we had a discussion. So your thumbs down around marketing and membership, how it needs to be standalone and these people need to be recognised and not undervalued. So someone's been listening to you. I think we've gone global because I recently read in associations on associations.org over in the US, they've done some research and more associations are actually implementing these strategies when it comes to creating better content and they're now starting to create specific roles. So here's an example. We've got the double A&A, American Association of Nurse and Atheismus, got that one right? Not saying that again. They've implemented teams to focus on social media strategy and online communities. So they find they can leverage content better by having a single point within the association, delivering that. Okay. Yep. And then the other one is a New Jersey Society of CPAs and they've actually created a content steering team. So that's the team that gets together, they talk about what's hot with members and then they talk about how they're going to address their issues and then they go and do it. So they've got dedicated people focusing on these types of things that need to be focused on really. And I think that's great. That's amazing. I mean, you know, you so much sort of social media is about pushing content out there, pushing content out, seeing what gets a bite if you like, so fantastic that they're being a bit more proactive and actually, okay, what do our members need? What are the hot topics? And then following the process from there. And that brings us to another point, which we'd probably have to talk about in another episode, which is gated content because one of the things they spoke about. Is that your thumbs down? Well, no, I won't get into that. But anyway, okay, I'll keep going. So my thumbs down, thank you for cutting me short there, is really people not looking outside the box. And it's a bit cliche, this whole think outside the box in the square, but I'm a big fan of it. And I think we all need to actually do it a little bit more, especially within the sector. So we consult to a lot of associations when it comes to their CPD strategies and taking that digital. And many don't actually know about their return on investment or why they're actually running these programs. And a lot of the reasons are, oh, well, everyone else in the sector is doing it, so we need to be doing it. And it's like, okay, we get why you want to do it, but why don't you start looking outside, look to government, look to corporates and start to see how they're doing things. Look outside the for-profit, do you know what I mean? And start to get some more understanding and build that knowledge gap between the sectors. You know, we're all friends here. We can all learn from each other. And I think there's so many other organizations out there outside the sector doing great things that we can all learn from and be amazing at the end of the day. Yeah, so you're exactly right. And people are willing to share that information. They're happy to share their good stories and what's worked and what hasn't, so why not? So, there must be a thumbs up and thumbs down. So, we just spoke a little bit about content and social media and marketing. We touched on a lot there. Yeah, we did. I'm pretty excited and pumped. I hope you are, Lee. Very much so. Ah, look. Excellent. So, you're consistent with what I'm about to say, so I'm really happy. What a coincidence. Thank you so much for joining us. You've been part of the AMI since 2014. You joined as CEO. Yes. How's it all going? Ah, it's going extremely well. I have spent a lot of time with the AMI, mainly as a volunteer, so I've been associated with the AMI for 20 years. Wow. 18 years as a volunteer and a couple of years as the CEO. I was on the board for six years and chair for three of those years. And so recently, last September, reappointed as CEO, so it's always a pleasure that there's going to be some continuity of leadership in the board, and so I'm delighted to be able to make a contribution. Excellent, great to have you here. So, we know a little bit about the AMI, but can you just explain what the Australian Marketing Institute does as a preeminent brand for marketers in Australia? We know that your purpose is to provide cutting-edge marketing theory and practice to professional marketers. How do you actually go about achieving this? Well, in terms of providing cutting-edge marketing theory, we achieve this purpose by accrediting and endorsing tertiary university degrees, the vet sector, as well as higher education. And I'm delighted to tell you, Sarah and Andrew, that we currently have 17 universities and some 34 marketing degrees across Australia accredited. And that's a very important program because what it does is actually ensure the job readiness because we assess programs based on their work-integrated learning and also that the curricular is current and relevant to industry's needs. And so we're delighted that so many universities are embracing the concept to be accredited by the professional body for marketing in Australia. And we have, yeah, so we're in discussions with the vet sector at the moment to expand that because we're all about improving capability in professionalism in marketing. Fantastic. In terms of providing cutting-edge practice, our 2016 Insight Survey showed that marketers wanted the AMI to help them with improving progress in their careers through professional development. And during 2016, we put a great deal of focus into developing a range of initiatives that was going to help people at every career stage that they're in, whether they're leaving university all the way through to the latter stages of their careers. And so I can sit here today and honestly say we have Australia's most comprehensive professional development program. We have over 30 classroom-setting workshops, 45 online training, and we also have a diploma of business specializing in digital marketing. There's over 63 disciplines in marketing and as the umbrella body for marketing in Australia, you'd expect us to have a very comprehensive offering for people across their careers. And I'm delighted to say we have that today. Very good. Yeah. Well, I mean, we've touched on so much there. We've got accreditation, career progression, thought leadership, mentoring. One thing I'm interested in is, you're obviously a marketer yourself, but interested a bit in the brand strategy at AMI. You know, how do you go about heading that up? The, for us, it really goes back to making sure that we have a brand that's relevant and trusted in the minds of marketers. We, from our research, and I'll go right to the top in the workforce, we know that one in two adults in the working population have something to do with marketing and their roles. Because Andrew, I'd put to you who isn't about increasing customers, retaining customers, or improving the customer experience these days. So we think that marketing, in some ways, is actually a life skill. And so our brand needs to infuse that type of thinking, skills and capabilities into the workforce. Whether it's the customer experience you get when you grab that cup of coffee first thing in the morning, all the way through to very sophisticated digital marketing programs. We know that our strategic intent is all about being a conduit between academia and industry. And we wanna make sure that we create compelling, relevant value propositions that are fueled by great professional development. And our commercial success, we believe, is all about, not about the AMI, it's all about the strength of talent in each individual member of our association, but also marketing more broadly. So this is why this opportunity to speak to you today is so important to us because we wanna get the message out that if you're in an association, marketing is actually the lifeblood to growing your top line and improving your profitability. It's an interesting concept. I mean, you're talking, you know, the strength of the association is measured by the knowledge of the members. But in terms of members, I mean, how do you, AMI is a huge organization, how do you go about maintaining that consistency of service to those members that are so valuable to your brand? I feel that we are absolutely blessed, first of all, by over 150 volunteers within the AMI. And we also have a great band of very talented staff who all have an intrinsic motivation around the importance of the work we do. And so when you're onboarded and when you're, if you will, oriented within the AMI, if you wanna help provide cutting edge marketing theory and practice to fuel progress in the careers of marketers in Australia, then we're the place for you. If that's your passion, if you're interested in contributing, then, and I think that's a really important part. We also believe in the concept of utility. And so we're here to help. And that's a very important part of our culture. I often say that we'd like to be the Google of marketing in Australia. And what I mean by that is that we've built a network of over 46,000 people within our community. And so if you have a need within marketing, we know the guy that will be able to help you. We can put you in touch. With the need. And whether that's at the small to medium enterprise level, whether that's at the association level, we're here to help, we're here to give you utility and meet your needs. We spend a lot of time also collaborating and we think it's really important with our associations, both trade associations and professional associations. The market isn't large enough. And so when I first came, as opposed to choosing to compete, I believe in the concept of co-opetition. And so I went to my CEO peers that the Market Research Society, Admar, AANA, PR, Promotional Products, Point of Sale, IAB and said, look, if you actually believe that there's 6 million people with some interest in marketing here in Australia, then we should band together and figure out how we actually elevate the capability and professionalism. And he said, something of interest to you. And they all went, yeah, that is. And so from those conversations, we've figured out ways to cooperate and collaborate and it's been fantastic because there's a lot of points of parity in associations, even with corporate councils, I'm sure. And so with the Australia Marketing Institute. And so with those points, we're able to help each other. And I think that that's done really well in terms of building marketing knowledge across associations. I love that idea, that co-opetition. I think so many more organisations, whether they're in the sector or out, need to stop focusing on their competitors and how they can sort of compete with them and focus on the greater good for everyone. So, kudos to you. We believe our only asset is our members and marketing professionals. It isn't with ego that we operate in the market. We only exist for our members. And so we've found like-minded associations that we partner with to do good and let marketing prosper. Now, you briefly just touched on the role of the marketer within associations. And I think this is something we've covered almost on every episode this season. I think it's something we really need to focus on. So, how important do you think the role of marketing is within associations, especially when it comes to digital marketing? Because there seems to be this argument between digital, online, print, and the traditional way of doing things. So what are your thoughts on that? Well, I think for an association to grow, it needs member relationships. And we believe in an effective and efficient integrated marketing plan based on your business objectives. Whether that's in associations, driving members, acquiring them, retaining them, growing share of wallet, you need a different marketing plan using your owned assets and non-owned assets and paid media to support your business goals. So to me, it all starts with what are your business objectives? And then a tailored integrated marketing communications program to actually meet those needs. So we're media agnostic, because it's all driven by what are your business goals? Yeah, definitely. And what the marketers, the effective marketers are all about really getting into what are the needs of members, understanding their needs, what are their motivations. And as I think we spoke about the Jersey CPAs and the anaesthetists, listening is absolutely critical. You know, we spend a lot of time listening to our members. We have great partners in Vision Critical. We do a senior marketer's monitor. So we stay really close to our members to serve up content that is relevant to them. And we do a lot of lead nurturing for membership acquisition and event registration and even our awards program, talking about the topics that are of interest. And it all starts with listening to what their needs are and serving up great knowledge to help educate them and fuel progress in their careers. Great. And like many of our guests, you've had experience both in the corporate and in the association space. What do you love about the sector? What gets you up every morning and just raring to go and get into it? Sarah, I think I have the best job in the world because I am doing my passion every single day. I get out of bed, I leap out of bed, because there's always so much opportunity and I operate in a full purpose way. I have fantastic stakeholders that I meet, opportunities to talk about what I love, which is the marketing profession. And that's why I'm here because after a very solid FMCG and services career and making a contribution in that way, I'm actually every day, I hope making a contribution to fostering marketing professionalism in Australia. Great to hear you. Don't want to get much better than that. Someone who loves their job, isn't that great to hear you? Very much so. It's a real privilege. I love my job. I just don't know if I can jump out of bed every morning. I'm just struggling with... I might injure myself if I do that. There's some crops around there. Thank you so much. Great to get some more insight into AMI. I'm great to see the work you're doing and how passionate you are, not only about your members, but also the industry as well. Please stay with us because Andrew is also passionate about something and he's going to share that with us now. And that's some of the world's most obscure associations. So every fortnight we ask Andrew to go out, search the wonderful World Wide Web and come to us with some information on an association that he thinks is a little bit different. What have you come up with? Thanks, Sarah. I am passionate about obscure associations. I'm also passionate about baseball. My Boston Red Sox in particular. One day I'll tell you about the time I went to the game when I actually got to go on the grass. Ball of fun. But, yes, so today within those themes of passion baseball, I'm very pleased to introduce the Tennessee Association of Vintage Baseball. The team AVB, as I like to call them, were established in 2012 with the purpose of entertaining and educating by recreating the civility of 19th century baseball. Hard to think of a noble cause than that. There is a serious side of the association they aim to provide cultural enrichment and education programs that emphasise honour, team play, respectful conduct and community pride. And some of those, let's face it, some of those things are lacking in sport today. A total of 12 clubs form the association, the TAVB. There's some super names there too, Sarah. Let me just read you a couple. We have the Emmett Machinists of Knoxville. Yep. The Lightfoot Club of Chattanooga. And the Quick Steps Club of Spring Hill. So some good names there. So there you have it, the TAVB. Good on them for remembering and reliving what is obviously an all too forgotten time in history, that of 1860s baseball. So well done to you. It's a pleasure to be able to feature you on this segment. I feel like I know more about the TAVB than baseball in general now. So thank you. I feel like my life is almost complete. Yeah, well, there's a lot to know. But happy to help you out. Thank you. Ding, ding, two minute warning. So this brings us close to the end of the show. And this is where we are accountable for the good and the bad and the amazing things that we've attracted over the past few episodes. So first of all, we did have some feedback. And that was regarding the thumbs up that we showcased, AIST, the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees. Great to see associations focusing on good governance. It's critical and I don't think many realize. So thank you, Tracy, for that feedback. I agree with that. And I think, Lee, you would as well. Governance is sometimes like marketing and membership within an organization, sometimes undervalued. So I think definitely something we need to talk more about. Very much so. Any feedback that you've heard through The Great Vine? No, but it's probably worth mentioning again that our next episode, we will be live at the AIS conference. So very excited about that and very excited to announce our special panelist, guest panelist in a couple of days as well. So... Can't get to... Can't catch Jeremy Mayans as yet, as you know, but we're very close and very excited to welcome that person to the desk in Sydney. Excellent. Thank you. And it's almost the wrap of the season. Like you said, the next one will be live from AIS, Ozei. They're our national conference down at the ICC in Sydney. So make sure you get there and catch us live. We'll also be recording that content and hosting it on demand. So that brings us to the end. Sorry, sad moment, but thank you, Andrew. As always, have an absolute pleasure. Thanks, Sarah. Very enjoyable as always. And Lee, thank you so much for joining us. Thanks, Sarah. It's been great to have you on. Thank you too. As always, you can view all the on-demand episodes at sixdegreesofassociation.com. Feel free to share your feedback by contacting us directly or hashtag in 6DA because like we've discovered today, we all love a bit of social media and digital. And also, just remember that next time we'll be live from Ozei, so make sure you tune in. And another thing to remember, too much conversation always kills a chat. Bye for now. Yay. It's good. Thank you. You're happy with that? Yes.