What Success Looks Like
CANS will have been successful in the area of Marketing and Communications when our brand is widely recognized and we are recognized as the leading voice of industry to government and industry. The Association is recognized as the leading provider of membership services in our industry. The industry is seen as an employer of choice for potential labour. CANS and the industry are recognized for the positive contributions made in our communities.
What We’ve Accomplished
The past few months have been busy ones for the Marketing & Communications Committee as we set out revitalize our brand and find better ways to communicate with you our members. Success in Marketing & Communications was defined in the Strategic Plan as having a widely recognized brand, seeing CANS as the leading voice to government and industry, the leading provider of membership services and the industry of choice for potential labour, recognized for the positive contribution we provide in the community.
With that in mind we set out in 2012 to explore what CANS means to our membership and to get feedback on CANS’ existing communications and what we could be doing differently.
COMMUNICATIONS AUDIT AND PLAN
The Committee began 2012 with a comprehensive communications and marketing audit –The audit was conducted over several months and consisted of: executive interviews with CANS President and Board of Directors; an online membership survey; an online communications survey; staff interviews; analysis of CANS branded materials; analysis of CANS media coverage and perception; and member focus groups.
The communications audit had three major findings:
- A lack of consistency in materials produced related to CANS both generally and with the subsequent brands,
- Members were looking for more streamlined communication from CANS,
- And that there is a need for an enhanced positive profile of the construction industry – and that CANS should lead the charge on this.
The committee then took these findings and began the process of exploring the CANS brand.
CANS REBRAND
Following the communications audit the Marketing and Communications Committee began a comprehensive rebranding exercise to work with members to determine what CANS represents to them and where they want to see the industry and the Association in 5, 10 and 15 years.
Through focus groups, surveys and member feedback, we heard that members wanted CANS to have a brand that captured the scope of membership across the province and region; highlights the many facets of the industry; and that is reflective of the organization’s history.
Next Steps
From the Communications Audit CANS also heard that our members wanted better but less frequent communication. To that end we have been developing and implementing new ways to ensure our members get the information they want and need through a variety of communications vehicles.
The introduction of the CANS Weekly e-newsletter allows us to send members a weekly snapshot of life at CANS- upcoming events, must-attend courses, and news and information on how we are working on your behalf on the issues facing the industry.
CANS is also now social media savvy with a presence on both Twitter and LinkedIn.