Best Membership Engagement
Association of Event Organisers – Strive for Excellence
The Association of Event Organisers (AEO) has demonstrated exceptional membership engagement, driven by a commitment to growth, innovation, and industry advocacy. Founded over a century ago, AEO has significantly expanded its membership base, achieving a 9% increase in new members, and near 100% retention rate. This growth reflects AEO’s strategic initiatives to attract new entrepreneurial organisers and enhance engagement among existing members.
Key to our success has been the creation of impactful events and specialised interest groups, which not only drive collaboration but also amplify industry voices. AEO’s flagship events, consistently sell out, underscoring their ability to curate sought-after experiences that resonate deeply with members.
Financially, AEO has exceeded expectations with a turnover 20% ahead of target in 2023, effectively refilling reserves post-COVID and bolstering investments in new products and services. Our proactive engagement with government officials has further positioned us as a critical industry advocate, influencing policy and enhancing industry visibility on national platforms.
AEO’s dedication to sustainability and member satisfaction remains unwavering, evidenced by their leadership in environmental initiatives and consistently high event satisfaction rates. Looking ahead, AEO is committed to continue its trajectory of service and innovation, leveraging insights from members to pioneer new engagement platforms
Builders Merchants Federation
The BMF represents the UK’s building materials supply sector, a significant part of the nation’s economy, with 950 merchant and supplier company members with combined sales of over £45.3bn and employing just under 200,000 people.
- Year-on-Year Total Member Increase is 9.3%
- Merchant membership increase is 12.6%
- Supplier membership increase is 5.8%
- Overall Membership Retention 2023-2024: 97% (99% for merchant members)
Members range from FTSE 250 companies such as Travis Perkins, to sole-traders. The hallmarks of the industry are that it is generally very community-focused, wants to make a difference, provide good career opportunities, support environmental initiatives and other positive activities.
The BMF provides a platform to bring these elements together – delivering positive economic, technological, environmental and social initiatives that create a culture of improvement, best practice and address members’ challenges.
The BMF champions, invests in and facilitates the progression of industry initiatives including sustainability, training and development, digital transformation and next generation/recruitment – all of which have generated impressive membership engagement.
- Engagement to build sustainability
- Engagement to build member efficiency
- Engagement to build skills
- Engagement towards a more diverse and inclusive sector
- Engagement with the next generation
- Engagement with Health and Safety
Institute of Biomedical Science – IBMS routes to registration as a biomedical scientist
The path to becoming a HCPC registered biomedical scientist has traditionally been difficult to navigate for young students. Complex entry requirements and opaque career information created barriers and ultimately drove down enrolment in IBMS Accredited degree programs and hindered non-Accredited graduates from professional registration.
With limited resources, our solution needed to leverage and galvanise member support for the campaign so we pioneered an innovative “VR to Video” engagement strategy.
Recognising the power of hands-on experience, we partnered with Liquona to develop the innovative IBMS Accredited Space Lab VR experience to grab attention and capture the imagination. The experience places potential biomedical scientists directly into a virtual laboratory, giving them a thrilling taste of the work. They are then invited to have a conversation with a real biomedical scientist and view a video on how to become one.
The Payments Association – Engage & Elevate: Transforming Membership in a Dynamic Payments Landscape
The Payments Association has excelled in engaging it’s members amidst a complex, fast-paced, and highly regulated industry. Recognising the challenges posed, we launched three pivotal initiatives over the past year: the Payments Review magazine, Payments Intelligence newsletter, and enhanced policy & government stakeholder access.
Our strategic efforts have driven membership growth from 178 corporate members in 2023 to 237 today, with a member renewal rate of 77%. By leveraging data with industry partners and strengthening our editorial products, we’ve provided valuable, tailored content and insights that support members’ professional and business objectives.
Through extensive research and direct engagement, we identified our members’ evolving needs, focusing on high-quality content, robust networking opportunities, and policy access. Our initiatives, including over 50 annual events and targeted communications, have fostered deep member engagement. Key metrics reveal 82% high to very high engagement, with significant content performance growth and strategic readership among executive and director levels.
Our policy team’s active involvement with regulators and key stakeholders ensures members’ priorities are considered, enhancing their influence in the industry. With a best-in-class Net Promoter Score of +54, our members are highly satisfied and recommend the Association to others, affirming our role.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors – Modus
Modus is the global publication of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), for those working in the built environment. It is the trusted source of news, opinion and insight for those shaping our urban spaces, no matter where in the world they are.
Where other sites use data simply to measure the success of their articles, Modus uses it to understand its audiences and their motivations. Modus mines multiple data sources to gain a deeper knowledge of what drives readers to come to the site (visits), what keeps them there (dwell time), what drives them to return (re-entry points), and what motivates them to explore more (search data).
Upon examining this data at the beginning of 2023, the team behind Modus saw engagement with content had plateaued and took action by deploying a bold new member engagement strategy: Fewer-Bigger-Brighter, a data-driven and member-centred strategy designed to engage the heartland Modus readership while also attracting new readers through compelling storytelling across a variety of formats.
