Course Description: 

Associations offer meaningful value to their members, but that value is not always easy to explain, or act on. When messaging is too broad, benefits feel disconnected, and teams describe the organization in different ways, members may miss the very reasons they should engage, renew, attend, or participate. When your audience, value, and strategy are not clearly defined, communication can become too broad. Teams may describe the organization in different ways. Member benefits may feel disconnected. Marketing may become more focused on activity than clarity.

In this session, Cheri Quinn and Emily Youngblood will share a practical brand strategy framework associations can use to clarify who they serve, what they offer, why it matters, and how they deliver value differently. Using the same approach Mercury Creative Group uses when building brand guides with clients, they will walk through how to write a value proposition and strategy statement that support stronger messaging, better internal alignment, and more meaningful member engagement. Attendees will leave with practical language frameworks they can begin using right away to make their association’s value clearer, more specific, and easier for members to understand.

Learning Objectives:

Define a primary audience so your messaging is focused on the members who matter most to your organization’s growth, engagement, and impact.

Write a value proposition that clearly communicates who you serve, what they need, what you offer, why it matters, and how your organization is different.

Create a strategy statement that gives your team a simple internal guide for decision-making, marketing, and member experience.

Apply these brand strategy elements as messaging guardrails for emails, website content, event promotion, membership campaigns, and internal alignment.