IFMA finds a partner completely invested in its success | Multiview

Summary

The International Facility Management Association found a digital publisher to help it produce a buyers guide, but ultimately evolved that relationship into an invaluable extension of its own team.

Company Background

Founded in 1980, IFMA is the world’s largest and most widely recognized international association for facility management professionals, supporting over 23,000 members in more than 100 countries.

The Challenge

IFMA wants to stay on the leading edge of membership engagement and benefits – always providing the most value it can to members – but like many associations has limited staff and internal resources. “Our plates runneth over with projects,” explains Kim (Coffey) Jackson, Executive Director, Business Development for IFMA.

Without the ability to consistently invest in new technology or provide complete marketing services to advertisers and sponsors that need it, IFMA needed a partner that could provide a range of services it simply wasn’t capable of effectively handling in house.

The Solution

IFMA initially partnered with Multiview to help it produce an industry-best buyers guide to connect members and vendors. Soon, the association realized it could utilize Multiview in so many other ways, such as an array of digital publications in which Multiview provides relevant industry content while also assuming the lift of distribution and selling advertising into the newsletters for non-dues revenue. The partnership also evolved to site retargeting, graphic and other business services, and, as much as anything, a consistent catalyst for innovation and improvement.

"Multiview is a partner in every sense of the word. They want to make sure their association partners are as successful as they can be. They understand the membership relationship better than anybody that isn’t another association. This is key, and they really are an extension of my team.”

The Results

What started in 2006 has evolved into a long-term and ongoing relationship that truly defines “partnership.” IFMA is able to stay ahead of trends in membership engagement and sponsorship value, while focusing its internal staff on the core aspects of running the organization.

“There’s so much expectation when people spend money with an association,” Coffey added. “To have a partner be able to meet and exceed those expectations, while we aren’t taking on the costs of staff hours and technology to support that. That’s why we’re with Multiview. They’re a partner that treats our members like their own members.”