Twelve Organizations Join Forces To Create First-Ever Integrated Marketing Advisory Board For The Nonprofit Sector

Advisory Board Designed to Promote Dialogue and Best Practices Around Integrated Marketing Trends, Benefits and Activities for Nonprofits

Washington, DC (January 31, 2012) —

Twelve organizations recently joined forces to create the first-ever Integrated Marketing Advisory Board (IMAB) for the nonprofit sector. The participating organizations are: Amergent, Avalon Consulting Group, Barton Cotton, CDR Fundraising Group, Convio, Donordigital, Grizzard Communications, hjc, Merkle, Russ Reid, SCA Direct and Thompson Habib Denison.

“We’re very excited about the potential this leading group of organizations brings to the nonprofit sector,” said Michael Johnston of hjc, chairman of the IMAB. “Integrated marketing is quickly emerging as an essential approach to constituent engagement for nonprofits. With the advent of social media and mobile technologies, more and more donors, volunteers and advocates are using multiple channels to interact with the nonprofits they support. It’s critical for nonprofits to understand those different channels, the relationships across those channels and to engage with their supporters across multiple channels.”

Integrated marketing is playing more and more of a role in the nonprofit sector as organizations understand the need to consolidate information and better understand how to leverage different communication channels. According to a recent survey of nonprofit organizations conducted by Convio entitled Integrated Multi-channel Marketing, key discoveries about integrated marketing include: organization size and integrated marketing sophistication do not correlate, and leadership focus, the right metrics, processes and technology are essential to success.

“We’re looking to engender discussion and dialogue across the sector, as well as provide insight and best practices into integrated marketing, so nonprofits have access to the ultimate resource,” said Chris McKinley of Grizzard, vice chairman of the IMAB. “We will be working very closely as a team to leverage the entire range of expertise this broad coalition of organizations represents.”

IMAB vice chairman Katy Dubina of CDR Fundraising Group added, “It is important for nonprofit organizations to be aware of the tools available and how integration can benefit their programs. IMAB will help outline the best mix of channels and tools to benefit any organization, depending on its size, resources and mission.”

The IMAB convened for the first time in October 2011 at Convio’s Annual Summit in Baltimore. To learn more about the Integrated Marketing Advisory Board, visit the website at:
www.IMABgroup.net.

About The Integrated Marketing Advisory Board
The Integrated Marketing Advisory Board is a collection of 12 industry-leading organizations with deep expertise in integrated marketing both in the nonprofit sector and the for-profit sector. The vision of the Integrated Marketing Advisory Board is to promote a discussion of the various successes and failures related to integrated marketing: understandings, trends, benefits and adoptions of integrated marketing activities within the nonprofit community. The 12 founding members are: Amergent, Avalon Consulting Group, Barton Cotton, CDR Fundraising Group, Convio, Donordigital, Grizzard Communications, hjc, Merkle, Russ Reid, SCA Direct and Thompson Habib Denison. To learn more, visit: www.IMABgroup.net.

Press Contacts:

Michael Johnston
President
hjc
416-588-7780 ext. 210
mjohnston@hjcnewmedia.com

Chris McKinley
Vice President of Strategy
Grizzard
404-935-7735
chris.mckinley@grizzard.com

Katy Dubina
Online Marketing Account Manager
CDR Fundraising Group
301-858-1500 ext. 2202
kdubina@cdrfg.com