For one ad agency pitching a brand in the recreational category, we dug into trade association research and press releases. We pulled together a list of smart questions based on the research to prepare for a phone call with the prospect, who was impressed we’d done our homework. The agency is now in the finals.

RFIs and RFPs in the agency business are very common. Several years ago, an agency was pitching their state’s Lottery business. While you wouldn’t think it, there are associations and related businesses in this category. The team spent hours on these websites and scattered “best practices” from other state lotteries in our RFP response. This demonstrated the agency’s passion and understanding of the category, and helped propel the agency to the next round.

Sadly, we promptly lost that round. Ugh. But that’s another story that must be told at a different time!

Excellent advise. Do you have an example of using an association this way and having it make a significant difference in the pursuit of an opportunity?

The Council of Public Relations Firms is another excellent association.

Ford

Here’s another way to use associations - to better understand the audience for any given presentation. A surprising amount of information can be found on a category’s association Web site. You can find common trends, major players, interviews…all sorts of helpful nuggets that can shape message content and context. While some associations understandably protect the most valuable information with passwords, a friendly phone call to Member Services can do wonders.

Thanks for the comment. Are there any associations that you have found especially helpful?

Ford