Associations: Get out of your own way
That’s the message I got when reading this post on the TSMI Trade Show Marketing Report. Rich Westerfield mentions an example of the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s conference, and how the attendees are forcing change on what sounds like a pretty stodgy association. This is something I’ve never understood: Why associations don’t lead their members, instead of having members push and shove the association into the future. As Rich points out:
- The number of voices and the numerous opinions shared by the more than 1,000 baristi, coffeehouse owners, suppliers and others who participate in these online forums and read these blogs are in and of themselves, an alternative to having to go to an association for education.
I would hazard a guess that the upcoming generation isn’t going to bother doing all that pushing and shoving to make an association and its meetings relevant; they’ll just head elsewhere for the information they need, the way they want to get it. Associations should be all over the new information delivery (for lack of a better term) trends, even if their members aren’t there yet. Because they will be, and soon.
P.S. I was so happy to see Rich Westerfield posting again—the conversation around tradeshow marketing hasn’t been the same since he redirected his energy toward Aldo Coffee.
Related Topics: Industry trends and forecasts, Business stuff, Technology
April 17th, 2006 at 5:07 pm
Sue,
Thanks for the comments in the PS.
Here’s the difference between blogging tradeshows and blogging coffee: Both industries have smart people who read and comment on blogs. But only one of them comprises people who read blogs who are also empowered to do anything with the info.
This (coffee) is a fascinating industry to be in at this point in time. It really does share a ton of similarity to tech - the so-called “third wave” seems to share the same muse as open source IT. Everyone is sharing tips on how to improve machine performance, roast a specific bean, etc. etc. And the use of social networking is pretty prevalent - hell, most shops that feature music even have MySpace pages (as do we … www.myspace.com/aldocoffee)
And you don’t need to know how to code.
You’d love it.
April 17th, 2006 at 5:33 pm
Hmm, I wonder if Groton, Mass., could sustain a coffee shop? (We have a Dunkin Donuts and a sandwich shop that sells some coffee, but they’re nothing like Aldo.) It sounds like a pretty interesting field to get into, and one that likes to play in the same sandboxes I do.
Glad to hear things are going well, and that the big blogger boys are paying attention to what you’re doing. But we sure do miss you.
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