First there were two, then there was one — better, faster, stronger, more nimble! Okay, that may be a little exaggerated, but you get the idea. In the past, we have had two CSIA marketing committees. The Integrator Marketing Committee supported the CSIA staff to execute marketing initiatives to reach out to integrators and achieve brand recognition and growth in the CSI industry. The Client Marketing Committee was focused externally to market CSIA membership and Certification to our partners and to the clients of our CSI members - the end users.
These two committees have merged, bringing together our initiatives for a more cohesive and dynamic Marketing Committee. Co-chaired by Jessica Mlinaric of DMC, Inc. and Georgia Whalen of Rivergate Marketing, our new Marketing Committee is devoted to supporting the CSIA staff in connecting with CSIA's two key audiences: integrators and clients. We are welcoming new members to join our new team; please let us know if you are interested!
Here is a quick summary of what we have been up to:
- End User Advisory Board (EUAB) planning: To deliver on its strategic objective to influence the marketplace so that CSIA Certification becomes commonly accepted by end-user clients, CSIA CEO Jose Rivera spearheaded the creation of the End User Advisory Board (EUAB). The EUAB has end user representatives from Engineering or its associated Procurement Department from the most popular industries served by CSIA SI members. The first EUAB meeting took place in January. Our committee helped to identify and recruit participants to fill missing industry representation. We also helped plan the questions to be asked of the end user participants. Following the first EUAB meeting, our committee was given an extensive update on the results of the meeting from Jose. We will continue to give input on planning the meeting and help to recruit end users to fill open industry positions.
- CSIAs Industrial Automation Exchange: Our committee is helping to update and/or create new industry landing pages to help with the Exchange's search engine optimization (SEO).
- Raising end user awareness of CSIA:
o Media outreach: We continually monitor the progress of our CSIA staff's success in gaining media placements for CSIA members. Articles in key industry publications build brand awareness, thought leadership and influence for our members and for CSIA as well!
o Industry trade show strategy: Our committee gives input on key industry events to target for CSIA speaking opportunities.
- Helping integrators utilize marketing resources provided by the CSIA: The CSIA Staff is in the process of updating the marketing resources available to our membership. When completed, our committee will assist the staff with a strategy to ensure CSIA members are informed on how to access and best utilize these resources.
Past marketing initiatives generated have included coming up with a new tagline for the new CSIA website. We needed a tagline to help end user visitors immediately know what our organization is about and why they should care. Lively and engaging conversations and polling led to the formation of the new tagline - "Delivering automation success through qualified integrators."
We also worked with the CSIA staff on planning and executing a video series promoting the organization and created a CSIA Payback Model to guide members on how to assist their clients in financially justifying their projects and increasing sales.
We are always in need of fresh ideas and new perspectives. If you think you would be interested in joining our new Marketing Committee, please reach out to Jessica, Georgia, or the CSIA staff!