Report on association trends in spain 2014

INFORME DELSECTOR ASOCIATIVO EN ESPAÑA 2014

Research conducted by MCI Spain for the Association Day 2015

Report on AssociationTrends in Spain 2014


Introduction 5

Association Management 7

Interview: EucheMS 10

IT & Digital Environment 12

Association trends 14

Interview: DIRCOM 16

Development of Associations 18

Events 20

Content digitalization 22

Membership 24

Conclusions 26

Index


5

IntroductionSince 2012, the aim of this research has been to analyze the current situation of national and international associations based in Spain. Once again the report has focused in identifying current trends in management, areas of improvement, and challenges for the future, new technologies, and funding patterns.

This third edition has been mainly focused in areas identified as the most relevant ones during the two Round Table sessions organized by MCI in May 2014 in Barcelona, and in November in Madrid. The key issues identified were:

New generations: How to integrate them into having an active participation within the associations?

How to improve the relation between the association and its members?

How to increment value to the services offered to members?

Which are the key factors in capturing sponsorship?

How are the associations facing the future?

Strategy & Development:What can associations do in order to grow and be able to capture new members?

Communication:Many associations have an active presence on social networks, is there a communication plan or a global strategy behind it?

Attendanceto the events:On average only 30-50% of the members attend the annual/biannual society congress.

Panel discussion, Association Day, Barcelona, May 2014


6

Repor t on Assoc ia t i ons i n Spa in 2014

Methodology About us

Information related to associations

The research has been conducted both by face-to-face interviews as well as online survey, from November to December 2014.

This report is based on representative sample of 52 Spanish associations, and 27 international ones with at least one Spanish member in the Board of directors.

MCI is the world’s largest provider of strategic engagement and activation solutions and has been a key driver of innovation in the meetings, events, association and congress industries since 1987. Through creative live experiences and digitization, globalization, brand enhancement and content strategies, MCI helps multinational companies and international associations enhance organizational performance, grow globally, energize communities and drive business results. An independent, privately held company with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, MCI’s 1,800 professionals in 60 cities and 31 countries help clients across Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, India, the Middle East and Africa unlock their potential and deliver real change. Find out more at www.mci-group.com.

ASSOCIATIONS BY SPECIALTY

Total number of answers:

NationalAssociations

International associations

52

27 Not Specified

7

AssociationManagement Certain areas related to association‘s

management have been traditionally managed by specialized external companies.

However, the interviewed associations show a tendency to insource part of the administration.

How does your association manage bureaucracy (membership management, financial, …?)

Through an external Congress agency

Through an external Accounting firm

Internally through a secretariat

Internally through Administration

department

76%

80%

100%

71%70%

64% 63%57%

52%

AccountingFirm

Others Travel Agency Editorial Professional Congress Organizer

Association Management

Company

Public Relations Agency

16%

11%

62%

11%

Which type of service companies does your association use?

8


Does your association have any of these resources?

Last year, 2014, the Pharmaceutical Industry’s Code of Conduct in Spain changed, and almost all the medical associations which were surveyed, were aware of the changes and the impact on Sponsor relations:

Does your association have a dedicated resource for?

100% 100%

100%

87,50% 12,50%

70% 61% 58,5% 38,1%

62.8%

4,5% 90,2% 73,1% 76,7% 70,7% 65,8% 58,5% 50% 38,1%

5%

9,7%4,9%

9,5%2,3%

29,3%36,6%

52,4%

34,9%

95,5%

7,3%2,4%

2,4%

2,5%

7,1%

4,9%

12,2%

14,6%

23,3% 26,8% 29,3%

39%

50%54,8%

25%

Administrative staff (less than

3 people)

Administrative Staff (more than 3)

Association Management

Software

Congress Management

Software

Physical Headquarters

Website Mentor program

Youth Commitee

Past Presidents Committee

Institutional Relations

Committee

Congress Manager

Financial Manager

Managing Director

Commitee by Scientific

Expertise

Yes In development No Sí In process No


10


Interview: EuCheMS

EuCheMS is an organization which includes 42 societies as members from 32 different countries and represents around 156,000 people (data 2014).

The activities EuCheMS has, as a supranational institution, are centered in:

• Increasing Chemists importance in Europe as one voice.

• Creating a European “corporate identity” among Chemical Societies.

• Show Chemistry to European, International and other institutions, as an essential and key provider for global challenges.

EuCheMS in a great society which includes many members and different Chemistry Associations. It is composed of 18 divisions and working groups. Could you explain to us how they were created and which are its main aims?

Divisions and working groups have been created to address the needs of members in our societies in different Chemistry areas. All of these societies held biannual conferences unless the EuCheMS Chemistry Congress is celebrated. Many of them organize Summer courses, are involved in other conferences, help to design the ECC scientific programme and also celebrate awards.Some of them have been working for more than 40 years while others have just started. There are two types of working groups. Part of them are small groups which work certain areas of chemistry mostly, and some have been created to become a division once they have enough support from the Partners Societies. Divisions and working groups are the key of EuCheMS success.

Interview to Professor David Cole-Hamilton, Presi-dent of EuCheMS, European Association for Chemi-cal and Molecular Sciences.

Many societies are worried about keeping their members and work on their capacitation but only a few of them conduct frequent researches in order to analyze their members satisfaction. What does EuCheMS do to attract and keep its members? Which is its main added value?

At the moment, EuCheMS is preparing an Strategic Planning Exercise. One of the groups that has been created, will be mainly focused on the interaction between EuCheMS Centre with Member Societies. The idea is assessing exactly what the members would like to have from EuCheMS and the best way to be in contact with professionals. This group will also study how diversity could be incorporated to all those activities in which EuCheMS and its divisions/working groups, are involved. The pan-european character helps to EuCheMS cohesion and we are trying to make the Member Societies aware, through the General Assembly, including all the Presidents of Societies and assisting members, of what we are doing for them.

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Some societies have a relatively little participation by their younger members, who prefer being at the background, and let the more experienced ones be in active role. How involved are the youngest members in EuCheMS and which are the challenges the organization has to face on this issue?

EuCheMS members are part of a youth organization, the Young European Chemists Net, They participate in ECC, having their own scientific presentations and transferable skills, and have their own Delegate Assembly once a year, and it lasts some days. They have gained sponsors, have created bonds with other national societies, specially with the American Chemistry Association, and have their own awards. They also offer courses to young people from Member Societies. They will held their first Pan-European Conference for Young Chemists Conference, associated with the Portuguese Young Chemists Meeting, held in Portugal in April 2016. Young European Chemists Net is one of the most active and dynamic member of EuCheMS.

Which are the most important challenges and aims EuCheMS will have to face in the near future?

The main aim is to be the first reference to all European Institutions in topics related to Chemistry and keep on being an independent and trusted voice in Chemistry’s world. EuCheMS also wants to affect the development of European politics, in order to Chemistry continue being considered as the exciting subject it is. Moreover, they want the politicians to see the importance Chemistry has. We are building ECC (Sevilla 2016 and Liverpool 2018), so attending this Congress is an must for all Europeans Chemists and we will keep on developing strong bonds among divisions that are part of the chemists’ community. The main challenge is having the money needed to do all the things we would like to do.

12


Have presence

In development

No interest

IT & Digital Environment

Undoubtedly, the most established channels are Magazines and Journals. From previous years we have seen a significant rise in the use of Linkedin and Twitter.

ONLINE MEDIA USED IN YOUR ASSOCIATION

E-MAGAZINE

TWITTER

ONLINEPUBLICATION

FORUM / MEMBER COMMUNITY

23,5%

57,6%

74,2%

77,8% 87,1% 90,5%

75,6% 76,5%

17,7%

24,2%

22,6%

11,1%

9,7% 4,8%

9,8%11,8%

58,8%

18,2%

3,2%

11,1%

3,2%4,7%

14,6% 11,76%

LINKED INWIKI

NEWSLETTERS FACEBOOK

13

28,68%

5,88%

29,41%

Networking among members

Promoting activities

17,65%

17,65% Member Acquisition

Sponsor Acquisition

Spreading knowledge among members

0,74% Others

Surprisingly, networking among members is not one of the most important. Content distribution and visibility seem to be the main objectives for majority of associations.

What’s the main purpose of using social networks in your association?

14


Decline

3,53

3,43

3,41

3,68

3,21

Association Trends

There exists a clear decline on sponsorship income; while training programmes and congresses remain stable, and membership fees have been on the increase.

As to different income channels for your association, where have you noticed growth, decline, and which have remained stable?

Which areas do you identify as opportunities for the future?

StableIncrease

Congress Sponsorship

5,3% 39,5% 55,26%

Sponsored member services and products

10,26% 43,59% 46,15%

Congress delegate fees

21,43% 52,38% 26,19%

Training programmes and journals

26,83% 51,22% 21,95%

Membership fees

50% 40,91% 9,09%

Expansion into new markets and sectors

Creating new products for members

Increase in sponsorship income

Increase in number of members

Partnering with other associations

15

In relation to previous years, quality of service offered to members and the visibility of association, continue to be the most important challenges, while exploring new funding models and improving the relationships with sponsors have increased significantly.

Improving quality of services offered to members

Improving public relations and visibility

Improving institutional relations

Defining new funding models

Facing the generational shift of members

Improving sponsor relations

Others

Which do you consider as the main challenges for the future of your association?

87%

79%

72%

59%

44%

38%

16


Interview: DIRCOM

Recently, the Word Public Relations Forum 2014 has taken place in Madrid, hosted by DIRCOM. Which challenges has its organization posed?

For DIRCOM, the WPRF Madrid 2014,has posed a top challenge, involving certain risks, as it was the first time our Association was hosting a worldwide event, with about one thousand participants from over sixty countries. In order to face this successfully, we reinforced our staff, with the best professionals in all areas. Among them, obviously, the PCO was critical and that is why we set off a strict selection process, finally won by MCI Spain. Some of the key challenges with WPRF were the institutional dimension (including the participation of Spain’s Prime Minister in the plenary), the economical dimension (with a very big total turnover compared to our regular budget), the media dimension (with over 150 accredited journalists) and the corporative one (with the need of satisfying more than twenty sponsors, among them some of the most important companies in our country).

Which has been the impact it had in DIRCOM?

This Congress has been a milestone in DIRCOM’s history, and apart from the satisfaction it brought in all aspects, it has helped us reconsider our activity and mostly, our international image. The WPRF 2014 has started a new stage in which the international dimension and the organization of important events, are two working paths that we see from a new point of view. In relation to the media impact, we have beaten all expectations. There have been 608 news generated by the event, which have reached an audience beyond the 129 millions people worldwide. In social networks, the WRPF has had a top potential impact of 49.6 millions users.

Interview to Sebastián Cebrián, General Manager of DIRCOM, Association of Communication Executives.

Which has been your approach to sponsors-to-be in the forum?Were they receptive from the beginning, feeling it as an opportunity, or was it a hard task for DIRCOM?

Sponsorship always require a hard work to get it, even when, as it is the case, most of the companies were already connected to the Association and have supported our candidacy to Madrid 2014. An intense work was needed during the year before the event, and we have the satisfaction for the compliments received from the three levels of sponsorship and, also from the exhibitors in the commercial exposition which was being celebrated simultaneously.

17

DIRCOM is member of the international organization, Global Alliance, responsible of the event. In your opinion, has DIRCOM’s position been reinforced in Global Alliance, before the celebration of the WPRF2014?

Yes, undoubtedly. It was a challenge also for them due to the low impact they had in the Latin world. It has been the first bilingual Congress, with an important presence qualitatively, not only from Spain but also from Latin America, specially considering the growth GA has in that continent. DIRCOM, which already had a representative in the executive Committee of GA, has been reinforced, no doubt about it, in this worldwide federation.

18


Development ofAssociationsFrom the following areas, which do you consider are being adequately developed in your association and which do you consider that are below your expectations or underdeveloped?

100%

14,28% 25,58% 18,6% 24,44% 6,82% 9,3% 12,2% 4,65% 40,91%

66,67%

51,16%

55,82%

48,89%

25,58%26,67% 29,55% 37,21%

41,46%44,19%

52,27%

19.05

Consolidated In progress Not developed

Acquiring additional sponsors

Media relations

Adapting to new

Outreaching general public

Adapting to new

technology

Relating to different institutions

(public

Internal Acquiring new

members

Expanding to new

markets (i.e.

There are still many areas in progress but it is interesting to note that the importance of strategic initiatives has increased from previous years. As expected, adapting to new technologies is one of the subjects of importance. It is really interesting to check out that there are many initiatives focused on attracting new sponsors and adapting to new generations to come.

According to the results shown, there appears to be a general fail related to long term planning, or a structured way of managing it.

Does your association have any of these tools?

100%

42,9% 66,7% 60%31%2,4% 2,4% 2,4%

45,2% 52,4%

26,2%

19,1%20%

19,1%

23,8%21,4%

14,3%

20%

47,6%

28,6%23,8%

31%

Strategic Plan

Marketing Plan

Development Plan by

scientific area

Plans for collaborative actions with international associations

Institutional Relations

Plan

Measurement and Analytical

tools

Using it In development Not using it Externallyprovided

19

How is the financing of your association structured?

From the following options, which possibilities do you think are more viable as a source of income in the future?

There are no notable changes compared to previous years.

Members’ fees

State aids and grants

Journals and publications

Association’s Scientific activities

Financial Sponsors (economic contribution)

Non-financial sponsors (non economic contribution)

47,26 %

5,14 %12,8 %

4,34%

4,29 %

26,17 %

Sponsorship 3,9 / 5

Exhibitor revenues 3,7 / 5

Advertising 3,7 / 5

Free content for members sponzorised by the industry 3,6 / 5

Content dissemination (paid) 3,5 / 5

Sponsored research 3,5 / 5

2,75 / 5Average

Content dissemination 11%

Free content for members sponsorized by the industry 22%

Advertising and media 10%

Sponsorship 34%

Exhibitors revenues 23%

11%

22%

10%

34%

23%

20


CongressesPercentage of members who assist on a regular basis to your recurring event(s):

Are you using or are you planning to use any technologic tools to support the organization of your events?

0% - 10%

10% - 30%

30% - 50%

50% - 70%

70% - 90%

25%

5,88%

24,39%

30,77%

12,5%14,63%

50% 64,71% 39,02% 30,77% 20% 12,2%

25%29,41%

36,59% 38,46%

67,5%

73,17%

4,76%

14,29%

30,95%

35,71%

14,29%

Mobile apps Others Virtual events Content capture Event Management

software (registry and abstracts

online)

Social networks

21

Key challenges facing your event (from most to least important):

What do you think could mean for the congress to make the session available in streaming?

1. Increasing the number of participants 1.73

An opportunity to generate additional in-come and a new way to distribute content

56.41%

A threat for thetraditional format

17,95%

A technical issue with a high cost to the

congress

17,95%

An added value to the members as a mean of

loyalty plan

30,77%

An added value to the congress participants

as an innovative image of it

38,46%

2. Increasing the number of sponsors 2.46

3. Improving the programme/content 3.24

4. Improving the participants’ satisfaction 3.96

5. Giving more visibility to sponsors and exhibitors 5.10

6. New formats (for example, online events) 5.22

7. Sustainability and social responsibility 6.29

30,95%

35,71%

22


Digital Content Extends Your Congress Life-Cycle

Making content available after your congress or educational event will significantly extend its lifecycle. Content dissemination services and portals allow delegates to access sessions that they may have missed, or simply to review the sessions most relevant to them, as many times as they need to. Key messages can therefore be continually reinforced long after the closing session is over.

To help ensure that people are using the online content, particularly in the early stages, it’s vital to send reminder messages, including the login details for easy access.

Digital Content Creates New Revenue Streams

Digitising your content can provide a significant new revenue stream.

For its 2013 congress, ESPEN created different access models for congress delegates, with full access to conference presentations included in a ‘Full Access Registration’ fee. The conference attracted 2,523 delegates, 2,095 of whom (83%) chose to purchase the Full Access Registration, making an impressive profit of over €80,000.

WGA chose to launch its educational content portal to all participants soon after the Fifth World Glaucoma Congress. While delegates received this service as part of the overall conference package, the educational portal offered a new revenue stream for WGA since non-congress participants paid for access.

An additional source of revenue was created by capturing industry meetings and Glaucoma Society symposiums during the 5th WGC at an additional fee. These symposiums were also added to the portal.

Five reasons for content digitalization

1

2

By MCI Group

With large volumes of information available online and with members increasingly assessing the value gained from membership, healthcare associations must innovate, and do so quickly, in order to stay relevant.

A major part of this effort must be focused on driving digital innovation, and a simple but effective place to start is by digitising your association’s content.

From the World Glaucoma Association (WGA) to the European Society for Clinical Nutrition & Metabolism (ESPEN), our experts have worked with a number of leading healthcare associations to digitise their congress content, with great results.

Here are our top five reasons for taking your association’s content digital:

22

23

El contenido digital puede llegar nuevas audiencias

Digitalizar el contenido es también un modo de alcanzar uno de los objetivos de una asociación: compartir su valioso contenido. Las comunidades que no son capaces de asistir al congreso pueden aprovechar esta valiosa oportunidad que anteriormente no era posible.Siguiendo el ejemplo del 5º World Glaucoma Congress, el portal de contenido fue comprado por otras sociedades que querían ofrecer el contenido a sus propios miembros.Éste es un magnífico ejemplo de cómo el contenido puede comercializarse no sólo a nivel individual sino también a otras sociedades que quieran incrementar el alcance original del congreso.

El contenido digital proporciona valor añadido a miembros y delegados

Un buen portal de contenido digital o de servicio de divulgación puede aumentar los miembros y delegados potenciales. Si están dudando sobre darse de alta en una sociedad o sobre asistir a un congreso, un modelo de compartir contenido novedoso puede ser el incentivo que necesitan para decidirse.

Los consumidores digitales ansían el contenido digital

Las nuevas generaciones han crecido en la era digital y son consumidores de nuevas tecnologías. Con motivo de aumentar su visibilidad y empatizar con los jóvenes profesionales (un objetivo clave de cualquier sociedad para asegurar su futuro y relevancia) centrarse en la innovación digital es casi una obligación.

3

4

5

Digital Content Reaches New Audiences Digitising your content is also a great way of fulfilling your association’s goal of spreading valuable scientific content. Communities unable to attend the event itself, in particular those from low or middle-income countries, can be provided with valuable learning opportunities and resources that would previously have been unavailable.

Following the Fifth World Glaucoma Congress, the WGA’s portal was purchased by affiliated societies to make the content available to their membership at a special buyout fee.

This is a great example of how content can be purchased not just by individuals, but by affiliated societies who can dramatically expand the original reach of the congress.

Digital Content Provides an Added Value for Members & Delegates

A valuable digital content portal or dissemination service can sway potential members or delegates. If they’re hesitating about membership or conference attendance, an innovative content sharing model could be just the pull they need to sign up.

Digital Consumers crave Digital Content!

Healthcare associations need to think seriously about tomorrow’s members. Today’s medical students and young healthcare professionals have grown up in the digital age and are digital consumers. To increase visibility and engage with young professionals – a key long-term objective to ensure any association’s future relevance – driving digital innovation is a must!

3

4

5

23

24


MembershipWich do you consider as the most valuable reasons for joining as a member to your association?

Facing the challenge of incorporating new generations, which of the following best describes your association?

1. Reduced fees for scientific activities

2. Training and content

3. Prestige

4. Networking among members

5. Contact with international associations

6. Legal advise

7. Others

Today we do not have any problem on that concern and we do not have a specific action

We need to change the format concerning scientific activities, by integrating new technologies and personalized content

Today we do not have problems on that concern because we have a person in charge of new generations

We have created a youth council to ease the integration

Others

We bearly have assistance of young professionals

3%

8%

10%

10%

33%

41%

During a round table session organized with several societies in May 2014 in Barcelona some of the main challenges facing associations were identified. As the most important one was how to engage the new generations in the activities of the society.

Some of our respondents highlighted the following for improving their interest:

• They make promotions and disclosures at colleges.

• They offer a discount on congress’ fees for students and post-graduate students.

In some european societies, like EuCheMS, which has been interviewed for this report, youngest members have their own division, in order to awaken their interest and make them participate more actively.

25

Which could be the best way to attract new generations?

21,33% % Incorporating young professionals in the board of directors

14,67% Creating a comitee with young members in the association

22,67% Creating special contributions and discounts

25,33% Offering supplementary services (journals, sessions…)

13,33% Creating a loyalty programme

2,67% Others

Are satisfaction surveys conducted regularly to members?

Only 20-25% of the surveyed associations measure regularly the satisfaction in an structured way. Compared to previous years in which a survey was conducted, there is no improvement noticed. There are still many associations which do not have a standardized procedure to measure the level of satisfaction of their members, what was already striking in previous years.

Annually

14,63%

4,88%

4,88%

26,83%21,29%

26,8%

Biannually

When the board of directors

Only for congresses

Sporadically

Never

26


ConclusionsCompared with previous years, quality of services to members and the visibility of the association, are still the most important challenges. The importance of defining new business and the relationship with sponsors has increased considerably.

Regarding the development of associations, we noticed that there is a lot in process and it is interesting to observe that the strategic initiatives have gained importance, though still many in their early steps.

We have also seen that there is a lack of planning in the long term among the surveyed associations.

There has been an improvement in the use of social media, but Spain tends to be conservative in other issues, like mobile apps or virtual events.

There has been no improvement regarding the measuring of members’ satisfaction.


27

MCI hopes that the results obtained with this report could be of help and guide the associations on the decisions they take, by giving them a better understanding of how other associations work in Spain.

We thank all those people who responded the survey, and take this opportunity to inform you that the next research will take place during 2015. Further information regarding the research of any area presented, we are at your disposal.

Digital or printed copies are available upon request, as well as the original research paper in Spanish.

The MCI team

Joonas Järvinen

Research and Contents

Beatriz Ramírez

Survey and Analysis

Cristina Vizcaya

Editorial and Interviews

María Herreros

Survey and Contents

Miguel Delgado

Layout and Design

Laia Cuberes

Layout and Design

Pilar Ramos

Project Lead

Conclusions


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Report on association trends in spain 2014